US protests and racism

The United States is currently facing two major crises: coronavirus and racism. While the virus has taken away over 100,000 American lives and infected over a million, racism and police brutality has a long, chequered history in the country.

The latest incident involves an unarmed black man, George Floyd, in Minneapolis who died in police custody. A graphic video from the scene shows a white officer kneeling on his neck on the pavement for several minutes before he died of asphyxiation. Floyd was arrested for allegedly using a counterfeit note for buying cigarettes but the police handling and brutality shows the inherent problems.

Protests have flared in various towns and cities across the US as people defied lockdown restriction to come out in large numbers against the incident. Many of them turned violent leading to riots and looting, forcing police to react even stronger. The National Guard was called in and curfews have been imposed in various parts of the country. The situation remains tense as people demand that all the officers involved in the incident should be charged for the killing.

This was compounded by a belligerent and provocative president who threatened violence against the protesters rather the offering any consolation. The tweet from President Trump threatening to shoot protestors for looting triggered a warning label. The president fought back against the social media giant rather than appearing apologetic although he has backtracked on his claims.

This is not unusual for a president who had appeased to a far-right base and is known to have a soft corner for white supremacists. During a 2017 incident in Charlottesville when woman was rammed to death by a white neo-Nazi, Trump shocked when he said there were “very fine people” on both sides. He offered no such words when Floyd was on the curb yelling “I can’t breathe” before passing out.

The United States has seen a systematic targeting of African-Americans and other minority communities. People of colour are still discriminated, have the lowest rate of education and employment, high cases of incarceration and live in the poorest neighbourhoods.

Police brutality came to limelight since the 1992 Rodney King incident which showed the beating of a black man. The irony is that white police officers are never charged or walk away without any justice. The police continue to act with impunity and such incidents keep repeating itself. There is no respite for the black community who are fighting racism and discrimination even in modern America.