I'm hoping this doesn't become a nationwide series of riots
I'm afraid I have some bad news...
As many have said, this cannot be seen in isolation as a white v black incident, there are many known and unknown variables.
Powderhorn ("the incident occurred during Floyd's arrest in Powderhorn, a neighborhood south of downtown Minneapolis" -
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_George_Floyd) has a way-above average crime rate (
https://www.areavibes.com/minneapolis-mn/powderhorn+park/demographics/).
NOTE - I am not familiar with Minneapolis so am unsure if Powderhorn is the same as Powderhorn Park.
As the area has a high crime rate, it stands to reason that the police may act more aggressively towards a black, brown or white suspect in that area than they would in more affluent black, brown or white areas.
We don't know what Derek Chauvin's upbringing was like. Was he raised in a racist environment whereby he may have developed a nurtured tendency against non-whites? Was he raised in a violent environment whereby he may of developed an ideology that excessive violence is OK in certain circumstances? I think the latter holds true as "The former Minneapolis police officer seen in a video with his knee on George Floyd's neck had 18 prior complaints filed against him with the Minneapolis Police Department's Internal Affairs, according to the police department" -
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/05/28/us/minneapolis-officer-complaints-george-floyd/index.html.
So, I AM NOT CONDONING THIS HORRIFIC ACT IN ANY WAY, SHAPE OR FORM, what we have here are all the essential ingredients for this type of terrible event to take place.
- A suspect, quite a large one at that "Mr. Floyd is over six feet tall and weighs more than 200 pounds" - https://www.hennepinattorney.org/-/media/Attorney/Derek-Chauvin-Criminal-Complaint.pdf (page 2), being apprehended by an known-aggressive police officer in a known high-crime area
- It is further reported that "Mr. Floyd did not voluntarily get in the car and struggled with the officers by intentionally falling down, saying he was not going in the car, and refusing to stand still." - https://edition.cnn.com/2020/05/29/us/derek-chauvin-criminal-complaint-trnd/index.html which is possibly born out by the CCTV footage - "Surveillance footage from a nearby restaurant appeared to contradict police claims, with Floyd shown falling twice while being escorted by the officers" - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_George_Floyd. It is mentioned whether Mr. Floyd fell before or after he was taken to the police cruiser. This falling down may have been perceived as non-cooperation by Chauvin causing his levels of aggression to increase.
- A crowd of onlookers filming the incident, perhaps further inciting Chauvin
Would Chauvin have acted this way in the same area with a white or Hispanic suspect? Who knows? IMO, I don't think there would have been this much hysteria (media and public) if George Floyd had been white though. This leaves me wondering who has the most to benefit from this hysteria?
I do honestly hope that these tragic events will at least benefit the balancing out of some social inequalities, or a least contribute a little, so that Floyd's death and the destruction that has followed in its wake isn't meaningless.
./empeebee
