So far, 2020 has been a pretty rough year. From the deadly COVID-19 pandemic, to the conspiracy-laden lockdown protests, to the looming authoritarian crisis in Hong Kong, we have more than enough catastrophes to worry about.
And now, yet again, we have to bear witness to another case of an unarmed black man being killed by police - a story that is, unfortunately, all too common in today's America.
On May 25, 2020, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, a 46-year-old black man named George Floyd had an encounter with four policemen - three of them white - that ended in tragedy. Two of the officers pinned Floyd to the ground while a third officer - Derek Chauvin - knelt on Floyd's neck. Despite repeatedly saying "I can't breathe" and "Don't kill me", the officer continued to kneel on Floyd's neck for almost nine minutes, during which Floyd lost consciousness and stopped breathing. He would later be declared dead on arrival at the hospital.
Like all Americans, I was utterly appalled to see the video of Floyd begging for his life while his face was pinned to the pavement by three white men. I was disgusted to see the nonchalant, callous demeanor displayed by officer Chauvin as he slowly crushed the life out of the man beneath his knee. And I was horrified to see the fourth officer involved, Tou Thao, simply standing by and watching his colleagues slowly kill a man for no discernible reason, doing nothing to stop them.
Although all four officers have since been fired from the MPD, and although officer Chauvin now faces charges of third-degree murder and manslaughter, the death of George Floyd served as a catalyst for nationwide unrest. In the days following the killing, massive protests erupted in Minneapolis and several other US cities. Millions took to social media, demanding that the officers involved be charged with murder.
And there were calls to action, demands to institute some sort of reform, enact some sort of change, and to do something - anything - to fix this problem. Because this issue wasn't just about George Floyd. It was about all the innocent black men, women, and children who had lost their lives to white police officers - officers who had never been held fully accountable for their actions. This was about a broken, unfair, and intrinsically-racist criminal justice system that had been born out of centuries of oppression, exploitation, and discrimination.
Faced with such an unbalanced, oppressive system that seemed impervious to change, it is no surprise that, with the protests, there also came riots.
Over the past week, Minneapolis and several other American cities have been engulfed in riots, lootings, and chaotic violence. Police stations and patrol cars were destroyed, officers were assaulted, shops were burned, retail stores were looted, and random people were attacked and beaten in the streets by mobs of rioters. As of May 31, 2020, three people have died in these riots, and dozens of others have been injured.
I have addressed police accountability in the past on this website. Back in September, I published an article about George Gwaltney, a California police officer who nearly got away with murder.
Gwaltney was an officer in the California Highway Patrol, and although he was a highly-respected cop, he had a secret habit of pulling over women on the highway and then extorting them for sex in exchange for letting them off without a ticket. At least twelve women fell prey to Gwaltney this way, and, when Robin Bishop - one woman he preyed upon - threatened to report him, Gwaltney shot and killed her.
Despite a mountain of evidence incriminating him in Bishop's murder, two different juries voted in favor of acquitting Gwaltney and the murder case against him was dismissed. It wasn't until the FBI pressed civil rights charges that Gwaltney was finally convicted and sent to prison, where he would later die.
Clearly, Gwaltney's status as a cop had enabled him to abuse women without fear of consequence, and it very nearly enabled him to get away with murder. Fortunately, the justice system did not fail the family of Robin Bishop, but, unfortunately, Gwaltney's case is an anomaly. The criminal justice system is stacked in favor of the police, and little, if any, accountability can be expected to come from it. Time and time again, we have seen white police officers kill black men, women, and children without any apparent provocation, and time and time again we have seen them fail to be held accountable by the justice system we rely on.
So I completely understand the rage, the anger, and the frustrations that these riots express. I totally understand it. When we feel trapped, and when we don't see an easy way out of our troubles, it is human nature to lash out in anger.
But it is one thing to understand why the riots are happening, and another thing entirely to approve of the riots. As much as I sympathize with the frustration, the pain, and the anger that has fueled these riots, I cannot approve of such behavior. Not only is it needless, indiscriminate violence, but it is counter-productive to the cause of social justice.
Police brutality and systemic racism are very real and very serious problems. But they need very real and very serious solutions. And violence, hooliganism, and riots are not solutions to these problems.
Hatred foments nothing but more hatred. Darkness foments nothing but more darkness. Somewhere, someplace, the cycle of destruction must be broken.
The Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s didn't succeed because of violence; it succeeded in spite of it. Martin Luther King used nonviolent protests and acts of civil disobedience to raise awareness of the cause of social justice. He discouraged riots specifically because he knew they were counterproductive. He discouraged violence because he knew it would perpetuate the cycle of destruction.
And to those pointing out that Dr. King was murdered - as if that somehow invalidates his nonviolent methods - I must ask: What legacy did Dr. King's assassin leave? What change did he bring? What did he do that had a lasting, positive impact on the world?
Dr. King's assassin, James Earl Ray, spent the rest of his life rotting in a prison cell, languishing and wasting away until he died in near-total obscurity.
But Martin Luther King's legacy continues to inspire us to this day. Dr. King left a legacy of change, of peace, and - most importantly - of progress. It was through nonviolent protests that the Civil Rights Act was passed and signed into law. It was because of nonviolent activism that the Voting Rights Act was passed in 1965, giving black Americans the chance to vote and make their voices heard.
The violent factions of the civil rights movement - such as the Black Panthers, the Symbionese Liberation Army, and the Weather Underground Organization - they accomplished nothing. All they did was bring about more destruction, chaos, pain, and misery.
Martin Luther King's nonviolent activism produced change.
The militant "Black Power" movement produced nothing but bodies.
If you plan to take a stand for justice in the wake of the tragedy in Minneapolis, I have nothing but robust encouragement for you. I, for one, will do everything I possibly can to do my part to make the world a better place, and I will stand in solidarity with those who are peacefully - yet fiercely - fighting for change.
Choose your path carefully. The world is watching.
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