(ThyBlackMan.com) It has been four years since the execution of George Floyd at the hands of four uniformed agents of the state in Minneapolis in May, 2020. The cold blood murder of Mr. Floyd unleashed protests throughout the US and around the world. The protests denounced George Floyd’s death, proclaimed that Black lives mattered and called for an end to police criminality and lawlessness.
Both the size and intensity of the protest as well as the diversity of the protesters compelled some pundits, talking heads and others to wonder if things would be different this time? That the unquestionable brutality, savagery and torture captured in an eight minute 46 second video would finally force the US to confront its long and ugly history of police brutality and injustice against Blacks and other people of color.
People, many people, who might not have seen or known about the murder Mr. Floyd were forced to take note of his death. They also saw some or all of the video capturing the execution. They basically were compelled to be aware of the murder and the video if for no other reason than that there was nothing else happening. There was basically nothing else to watch.
There was no professional sports to watch other than rebroadcasts of games and matches from an earlier time. Theaters, restaurants and amusement parks were all shut down. So, many were forced to binge watch, read a book or engage in taking out their unhappiness on the people in their nearest proximity. .
By May 2020, for many people with the possible exception of the numbers game, how many people died today and the total death count, many Americans were already tired of hearing about Covid19. By May even the conspiracists and the merchants of misinformation, and false information were prepared to move on in their pursuit of the crazy and the spreading of lies.
In the absence of anything to watch, people in the US heard and saw the news and the video of a man, hands tied behind his back, a knee on his throat as he took his last breath. They saw a man die his life and all life is precious stolen from him by a demon and three accomplices
There was a feeling, probably more of a hope than anything, that perhaps Americans, in particular White Americans, would finally look deep into their soul as well as the nation’s history in a great national reckoning. That just maybe this time George Floyd’s name would be the last name on a long, too long list of Black men and women who had their lives stuffed out in senseless, brutal, state sanctioned Black murders at the hands of police personnel.
People were forced to question whether this moment of national and international outrage would lead to an acknowledgement and exorcism of America’s unholy soul. Would this time be finally different?
Well it is probably safe to say that the verdict is in. As expected by many, George Floyd died in vain.
One question, among several, was the only reason that people in the US and around the world knew about Gorge Floyd’s death due to Covid? That as a world we are so detached and/or so desensitized that we are unable to see or feel inhumanity towards others?
At the same time, did those that took to the street in protest do so only because school was basically out, work and other activities shut down? Was the protest akin to the recent protest on college campus which may have been fueled more with school was basically over and the weather was nice? Would there have been such protests on the college campus if it had been the start of the school year or during cold winter months? Not judging, just asking.
While we are talking about the recent protest, is there anything more cynical than the reactions by hedge fund billionaires to the college protesters? It came across more like blackmail or extortion than sincerity.
Were they just seeking to show that they were godly rich or look for their 15 minutes of notoriety? Did they really want the entire world to sit back and witness the daily murder of men, women and children in Gaza and Israel? Did we not learn anything from the 1930s and the Holocaust? It was not just bullets and guns that killed six million Jews. It was also silent.
It thought, probably more accurately hoped, that with the cold-blooded murder of an unarmed George Floyd that the amount of attention given to the murder that indeed things this time would be different. Unfortunately, it was a misread of the moment and also America.
Instead of a sincere, heartfelt and enlightening discourse of America’s torture, sinful history of inhumanity and crime against humanity, brutality, savagery, heartlessness and just plain evilness, forces inside the US went to work from the outset to try and prevent a sincere and enlightened reckoning. The backlash to what was being called the Black Lives Matter movement was intense and quite successful.
Not only did these reactionary forces basically stop the movement before it could take a few baby steps, they unleashed their own counter movement that proved far more successful than the Black Lives Matter movement.
The reactionary counter movement effectively lobbied state legislatures to ensure there would not be any police and criminals justice reform. They also worked to make sure state legislatures enacted laws that put obstacles, restraints and restrictions that they hoped would make it more difficult for Blacks and other people of color to vote.
Instead of a Great Reckoning, Blacks, other people of color and their allies were now witnessing a Second Post-Reconstruction period. What started out as a desire for true and honest discussion of race in America was shut down by a reactionary movement that would seek the banning of books and the enactment of laws which would prohibit the teaching of America’s racist and evil history.
At the same time, reactionary forces dusted off a few handpick Fetchn@@@@@@ to spread misinformation, disinformation about right lies.
In the end, Black Lives Matter got outplayed by the extreme right and the racists. It also didn’t help that a tiny handful in the movement decided to profit off of the blood of George Floyd.
The injustice, inhumanity, violence, discrimination, hate, racism and just pure evil directed at Blacks cannot, must not be forgotten or dismissed. To do so would be worse than the injustice and evil itself. At the same time, elements of backlash and reaction to Blacks, Latinx and other people of color has not subsided but intensified.
What was thought and hoped would be a new day of justice and humanity in the US turned out to be just a fleeting moment in time. George Floyd who was a man, a man whose life mattered, a man who should not have died as he did and whose life desired justice died in vain. His life and death was made a hashtag. He deserved better than that. Unfortunately, that is the verdict.
Staff Writer; Al Alatunji
Question? Comment? Regarding the above article. Feel free to send a message to this address: Alatunji@ThyBlackMan.com.