Pandemic, Protests, Riots!

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As if 2020 did not already have enough challenges; first with a Pandemic, then something happens that triggered protests and riots. That something was the death of a suspect at the “knees” of a police officer. Yes a “suspect”. Before we dive into what races were involved, anyone with a conscience that saw that video circulating of a police officer kneeling on that person’s neck for about 8 or 9 minutes, pleading for help, would have found the entire scene disturbing. The cop certainly looked heartless and guilty. Me being me, I just expected that media would divulge more details about what transpired. That said, I do not trust mainstream media these days. Too many things are manipulated to fit certain narratives. Relevant aspects are omitted. Facts are not facts. Many times important pieces of information are twisted or left out entirely to get out a message that the reporter or news station wants us to believe. Perception is not reality. Perception is not always the truth. You don’t have to agree with me. I just want you to start to pay attention to what is happening. Seek the truth and be respectful doing so…always.

All I know, or think is that no one should have to die during an arrest. Cops apprehend suspects breaking laws and it is determined in the courts if that suspect is innocent. All I have are questions. Was there a reason that this cop felt he had to be so forceful? The man was unarmed, so why did he have to be roughed up? Was he dis-armed, did he have a weapon at some point? Is it common procedure to pin suspects by their neck? If so, maybe this has to change. Why didn’t the other officers or bystanders, alert the cop to ease up? Didn’t anyone see that the suspect was in distress and offer any help or outrage at the time? Who was video taping? How did this go viral? I have very few answers from mainstream media.

I know a few police officers and I believe they have tough jobs often dealing with conflicts. They are put in dangerous situations where sometimes they are forced to make split second decisions. That said, like in any profession, there are those that are excellent at what they do and others that just get by. There are also those that should be turfed or fired. As my sister-in-law always says, someone had to graduate at the bottom of the class. Is this the case here?

It is heartbreaking to read and hear what police officers are going through across the country, at the expense of one idiot. We can never judge a group of people by one individual. Isn’t doing that very thing, in and of itself a form of prejudice? I worry about this as I have a nephew who is a policeman and I think about him being out there.

Now, talk about taking a bad situation and making it worse. This situation was taken to the next level, it quickly became about race. Why isn’t it simply about a rogue cop who murdered a suspect? How can we definably state the cop’s intention was purely based on the suspect’s race? Did he get up that morning with the purpose of arresting and killing a black suspect. I don’t think we know that for certain. We just don’t know what was going through that man’s mind. No matter how we look at it, what that officer did was inherently wrong and he must be held accountable for his actions.

I understand that people feel compelled to protest this injustice, but did everyone forget there is a pandemic? A protest is a peaceful public display of disapproval, usually carried out by marching, and/or holding signs with messages. It is a way to publicly make opinions heard in an attempt to influence public opinion or policy. They may take direct action in an attempt to get the desired change. Ok, so people felt the risk to go out and protest was worth dying for…by COVID. That is there perogative…I will sit back and see if COVID cases accelerate. If they don’t, is the information being touted by our leaders real? I am so confused.

The suspect, now victim, George Floyd was a black man and he died because of that officer’s actions. This is horrible and just wrong. The cop is Derek Chauvin, a white man now charged with second degree murder. I also heard on June 3rd, there were arrest warrants for the other three officers that were present at the arrest on May 25th. They will be charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder. Wow…so good, take out the rotten apples! Investigate and let justice prevail. Did the protests help make sure these cops were arrested? Maybe so….I have no idea.

Someone dying in this manner should never, ever happen again. I don’t care what color, race you are…it just shouldn’t happen. I totally respect peaceful protests and appreciate people who are committed to making changes to improve things. So since these cops are charged and arrested will the protests calm down OR will they continue til these guys are convicted? In my opinion, a good protest needs a plan, and goals and expected outcomes. Based on my project management training all goals should be SMART, meaning Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-bound. So, if this protest is about race, what else is needed?

That said, as my friend Ioana, says “we all know racism isn’t a new thing” and if this is truly about that, “we need to make sure no person lives in fear because of their skin colour” How do we make changes to support that goal?

Riots! Really is that the answer? It is as if this one situation was the tipping stone, that sent everyone into a frenzy. A riot is civil disorder characterized by a group lashing out in a violent public disturbance against authority , property or people. Riots involve destruction of property, public or private. If you want to gain supporters, why would you damage their property or hurt people? It seems counterproductive. Are these rioters really out there because of the George Floyd tragedy, or do they have an entirely different agenda? I wonder because rioters have killed four other black men during the riots. Peaceful business owners and a retired police lieutenant who was just trying to stop looting.

I have to talk about Twitter . I joined back in January and didn’t really do anything with it. I am now actively tweeting and found some interesting people to follow and some that follow me. I have to say I just love the connections made. These people are passionate, love their country, are respectful, and God loving… I get so much information from Twitter and sometimes days before it hits national news. It is entertaining to get so many different viewpoints and to sift through to see what is fact and what is fiction. All fascinating. I read that there are a couple of groups involved in the riots. Like, Antifa, short for antifascist which is a left-wing group and Black Lives Matter. Some stuff on Twitter show video of skids of bricks being brought in for rioters. It is speculated that they are paid for and funded by George Soros, billionaire investor and philanthropist. There is evidence that these groups saw an opportunity and jumped on the bandwagon. In one tweet, I read that 300 to 400 people were arrested and none of the rioters/protesters were residents of the state they were rioting in. They were basically bused or flown in from other areas. Highly suspicious!? Other tweets that show videos of people apologizing for being white and many of my followers, some of whom are black, insisting that no one should apologize for their skin color. One video really tugged at my heart in which an older woman was cleaning up her store that was ransacked and destroyed. This lady was so upset and was yelling about the hypocrisy of Black Lives Matter. She said for them to kill her. She said “I am black and this has nothing to do with race and is only about stealing and destroying things” She told them to get a job. Funny I ended up tweeting this out which is really sharing information. Interestingly, that tweet and video can’t be found on Twitter anymore. Another person said, luckily he downloaded the video and still had it. There is “shadow banning” on Twitter which is a form of censorship. Many tweeters talk about it and I see how even Twitter tries to control the narrative. I also saw a couple of great videos, reputable people saying that they are turning George Floyd into a matyr meanwhile this man has a consistent background of arrests where one of them was quite violent. He basically held a gun on a pregnant woman in her home and he with others robbed her. Wonder what she is thinking while hearing his name being martyred all over the news? By the way, that pregnant woman was black. That shouldn’t even matter. Wonder why these facts are not disclosed by mainstream media? While they may not be relevant to how he died, it does provide us with a clearer picture of what possibly lead to his arrest and what else may be involved. What happened to him shouldn’t have happened…case closed. I just don’t think people need to be wearing a shirt with his name on it. I wonder if roles were reversed…would white people be rioting or just be saying “geez bad dude died in a horrific way”? I have an inquiring mind…does this raise questions for you? I have always been fact based and respect all viewpoints, but all I can say is I feel there is more here than meets the eye. Lastly, I read all this coincides with the trials for Hillary Clinton re the leaked emails. Wow? Is this part of a bigger plan?

I have to say 2020 is unsettling to all. I wonder if everyone is extra stressed and frustrated because of lockdown and this situation just was the tipping point? How many more COVID cases have resulted? I haven’t heard this on mainstream media. How come it is okay to riot, but we can’t congregate with our families? Confusing times? How can we help and how do we stay sane?

Based on my perspective, all each of us can do is look to our own circle of friends and continue to build those relationships. My wonderful friends comes in a variety of sizes, shapes and shades, ages and races. We are respectful of each other and listen to each other’s viewpoints. I don’t know about you, I love making connections and learning about different cultures. I learn a lot from my friends. I think this is what keeps life entertaining. Generally, it isn’t the outside appearances that attracts me to people, it is listening and hearing and observing people’s values.

Change can only start within…there will always be people that are prejudiced toward different races. That can mean black hating white, white hating black, or any number of races hating one another etc. All I know is we are human. We are not infallible. We can make mistakes. We can choose to act intelligently and respectfully and educate ourselves. At the end of the day, are we not all striving to just be happy and have a good life?

My final thought on all of this is; Love one another. Always be kind and always be grateful.