Are you on the fence about protests and politics? Then this is the blog for you!
With so much global news going around lately it can be hard to really understand what’s going on. Look no further as with this simplistic yet informative blog you can make your own opinion.
Lets talk about one of the most current global movements. #BlackLivesMatter. This movement has been of some controversy as the media creates complex debates around the topic. This blog is here to help you understand what its all about.
#BlackLivesMatter has been the basis of hundreds of anti-racism protests from the UK to America to Hong Kong. We’ve all seen these protests and riots all over the news when they weren’t talking about Covid-19. It has become a necessary vocal point for many average people like you and me to really stand up against our often oppressive system. Let’s talk about the reason these protests and hashtags began.
The Black Lives Matter movement has really been considered a long time coming. It began with systemic oppression dating back thousands of years. (Systemic oppression meaning unfairly injudicious treatment created by political leaders and enforced by laws.) The slave trade was a massive part of black history which I’m sure we all learnt about in school. Black people then had to face segregation in the sixties and now police brutality. Let’s look at the facts first. Black people are 3X more likely to be killed by police than white people and 123 black people have been murdered at the hands of police (statistics from August of 2020.) Now this has been going on since forever and now a singular death has been the last straw for this movement.
We’ve all heard a bit about George Floyd. Killed in Minneapolis on May 25th 2020. He was murdered by officer Derek Chauvin who had assistance from three other officers. Before I give you some brief history on the tragic tale of George Floyd, let’s recognize the reason the police were there in the first place. George Floyd was accused of using a counterfeit $20 bill at a small convenience shop. I think that’s one of the key parts to remember, he was killed in such a brutal way over $20. So here’s some history about the man who sparked the Black Lives Matter movement. He began his life just like you and me. He was a normal boy. He attended South Carolina Community College for two years on an American Football scholarship as well as being an avid basketball player. After college, his life began to go further astray than he ever expected, spending multiple times in prison on drugs, theft and trespass. Now this is where some people decide to finish and instantly make up their mind that he was a bad person. Although, if you look more into detail he really redeemed himself after working with young men to help educate them to stay on the correct path, helped his mother recuperate after having a stroke, delivered meals and assisted with other projects with Angels By Nature. Later, he worked with drug rehabilitation and addiction groups to attempt to inspire optimism. George Floyd had a bad beginning before redeeming himself with his charitable work. By the time of his death he had five children, one of which was a six year old daughter. Let’s talk about why his life is so important.
He was a family man. Often described as a “gentle giant” by friends and family. George Floyd was the idealistic, perfect portrayal of how your actions truly can turn your life around in the smallest to the largest ways. His life is truly such a message, especially about racism and police violence. You can be the kindest, most giving black person and that means absolutely nothing to our oppressive system. It’s important to remember his death wasn’t a one off. His death is one of millions from the past hundreds and hundreds of years. Even the role of police was designed to catch black slaves. This issue isn’t a singular problem that we can now just ignore, this singular tragic death is a miniscule piece of a massive collective oppressive system. We cannot have a job (police officer) where you can make your own judgement based on prejudice. Our three main services are police, healthcare and firefighters. Nurses and doctors and firefighters have never, and cannot, choose who they save. They save every life possible no matter the race. Police however can kill who they like and not even face a fair trial. We cannot have a job like this. We must take money that we give to the police and resource it to healthcare and firefighters because that is where the money belongs. That is a massive part of the reason for these protests.
#DefundThePolice is something that people don’t really take seriously, nor truly understand. Defunding the police is exactly as previously described. Taking money from the police services and giving it to nurses and doctors, firefighters and even schools (who at the moment need all money they can get as teachers risk their lives during the global pandemic.)
And that’s all for today, we hope you learnt a bit about current politics and to read more blogs like this stay tuned and notified as we talk more in depth about out world.
