The TLDR: The death of George Floyd, an African American man, due to police brutality has sparked protests across the nation—and led to rioting and looting in some places. The protests in turn have triggered shockingly violent responses from an enraged police force. Curfews have been imposed in 25 cities even as America braces for another night of confrontation. And people are taking to the streets in London, Berlin and Toronto in support.
Wait, first tell me about Floyd, and how he died
The 46-year old worked as a bouncer in a local restaurant in Minneapolis. Here’s how he ended up dead on May 25:
What happened to the police officers?
At first, the Minneapolis police attempted to dismiss Floyd’s death as a “medical incident,” and flat out lying: “Officers were able to get the suspect into handcuffs and noted he appeared to be suffering medical distress.” But that inconvenient and shocking video couldn’t be denied.
The four officers were first sent on unpaid leave pending an investigation—but were fired Tuesday afternoon. Derek Chauvin is now facing murder and manslaughter charges, but the three ‘bystanders’—Thomas Lane, Tou Thao and J Alexander Kueng—have not been charged as yet.
Ok, tell me about these protests
Peaceful protests started in Minneapolis on Tuesday evening, but turned into a confrontation with the police. Crowds damaged the police building and threw water bottles, and the police in turn used tear gas and rubber bullets on crowds.
This dynamic has since repeated itself over and over again across the country, spiralling entirely out of control. Anger at police brutality—which has included some rioting, arson and looting—in turn triggers more acts of police brutality. Here is an eye-opening montage of such incidents. What is most astonishing is the openly vicious, and vindictive rage displayed by these policemen.
And it isn’t limited to protesters. Journalists have been repeatedly targeted, and one of them lost her vision in one eye after being shot in her face with rubber bullets. Watch this clip of a Vice reporter.
Is it this bad everywhere now?
No, not everywhere.
In Minneapolis—where the government has called in the National Guard (the American equivalent of the CRPF)—it looks like this:
But in Santa Cruz, California, it looks more like this:
White women formed a barrier to protect their African American peers in Louisville, Kentucky:
OTOH, in New York, police cars appear intent on mowing down protesters:
And since this is America, Batman strolled around to check things out in Philadelphia:
Why is this happening?
Short and comprehensive answer: racism. The long and painful history of police violence against Black America is impossible to recap in this space. But the key point to note: black people are 13% of the US population, but accounted for 23% of the people killed by the police in 2019. In Minnesota, they are nearly four times as likely to be killed by law enforcement, with black victims comprising 20% of those killed, despite being only 5% of the population.
The bottomline: ‘Why is this happening?’ African Americans are asking the exact same question—and they ask it over and over and over again. We leave you with this clip below (watch it till the end) that sums up the high and painful price of inequality—which is paid by generation after generation. This is as true of India as it is of America—and almost every other place in our world.
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