By Alexander Speid
Just yesterday, President Donald Trump gave seven-minute press conference regarding the murder of George Floyd by a white police officer. He claims that his death would not be in vain, and that the peaceful protesters would be protected from the violent rioters. During this conference, sounds of thunder rolled across the skies. However, this was not thunder. This was the sound of what was the point of Trump’s conference.
“I am taking immediate Presidential action, to stop the violence and restore security and safety in America. I am mobilizing all available federal resources; civilian and military, to stop the rioting and looting, to end the destruction and arson, and to protect the rights law-abiding Americans including your second amendment rights.”
“I have strongly recommended to every governor, to deploy the national guards, in sufficient numbers, that we dominate the streets. Mayors and Governors must establish an overwhelming law enforcement presence, till the violence has been quelled. If a city or state refuses to take the actions that are necessary to defend the life and property of their residents, then I will deploy the united states military and quickly solve the problem for them.”
These words obviously stem an unprecedented connotation of fascism, and dictatorship, but such undertones only added fuel to the already burning flame of revolution that has swept the nation.
Many Americans join together in remembrance of the many Black lives slain by police officers—the most prominent being the murder of 46-year-old, George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 24th. He was slain by officer Derek Chauvin, with a knee planted on his neck. There to observe the blatant disregard for human life was Thomas Lane, Tou Thao, and J. Alexander Kueng. Together, all four of them heard the weak cries of George saying “I can’t breathe” only to final succumb to his asphyxiation at the hands of the officer. That same week on Wednesday, those four officers were fired. However, the family of George believed they should face justice for their crime.
From that day, leading to now, a spur of protests had begun to form all across the country, in remembrance of not only George, but the many other Black citizens who were brutally slain by white police officers. Just some of the long list of names include.
- Ahmaud Arbery
- Christian Cooper
- Breanna Taylor
- Atatiana Jefferson
- Kathryn Johnson
- Kevin Davis
- Sandra Bland
- Mike Brown
- Trayvon Martin
- And of course, George Floyd.
Most have taken to the streets; masks and large signs in hand, as they marched the downtown to spread the message as loudly as possible. Others have donated to bail relief funds for arrested protesters. Many have used their media influence to spread the message of Black Lives Matter, including such celebrities as John Boyega, Christine Teigen, and Tory Lanez to name a few. Martin Luther King Jr III and Bernice King are strong advocators of the BLM movement, correcting the misuse of their father’s words to offer strength towards peaceful protests, but to also act against the bigoted system.
However, with such a movement, there are bound to be detractors.
Some of which are rioters who join in the crowd of BLM protesters to paint the movement as a group of anarchists. These agitators tend to be white supremacist or undercover police officers who wish cause havoc under the guise of protesting. Police officers have also made their own moves to further the negative perception by damaging small businesses themselves, providing bricks for agitators to use, and the worst of them all in taking a knee in solidarity with the protesters on camera, before switching to tear gas the moment the camera’s shut off.
Despite this slander, the strength of the people’s voice has never been stronger in such a long time. People of all different races, sexualities, genders, have all come together towards a common goal. Though there is violence, it is a strong resolve that the BLM must struggle through, in order to make the world hear their cries. And so far, the world has listened in very interesting ways.
The Amish have decided to stand with the BLM movement, the witch covenant offers their support, and funnily enough, an Instagram influencer, famous for dressing as Batman walked in arms with protesters. But more important than that, the hacker group famously known as ‘Anonymous’ has begun their fight against the government to help the BLM movement towards justice. But that is only within the United States. All across the world, others have joined the walk for justice. New Zealand, Italy, Britain, Germany, France, Berlin, and many more. The belief in equality has spread to others on the other side of the planet, and it truly feels as though the world has connected in such a way that shows we are all human, and we are all of one mind.
And so, we await what new events await all of us in the coming days. There will be racism, there will be fear, and there will be violence, regardless of what is done. However, we must never forget that despite all of our shortcomings, that Men are still good; we are still good. We will continue this fight, until we can truly say that Black lives do indeed matter.
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