Death of George Floyd Forces American Democracy To Look In the Mirror
It’s horrific.
For some reason, this time it hurt more than the countless other police brutality cases America has had to see.
Whether it be because just when we thought something like this wouldn’t happen again - it did, or because I recently watched the Ava DuVernay Netflix original series, “When They See Us” on the Central Park 5, this time it hurt more.
46-year-old George Floyd, unarmed and handcuffed, died in Minneapolis when police officers pinned him to the ground. While he yelled he couldn’t breathe and spectators tried to push the officers to stop hurting him, the police officers continued leading to Floyd’s eventual death.
Protests and riots continue to ensue in Minneapolis and other states. As a matter of fact, other nations in Europe like the United Kingdom.
The anger is justified. The sorrow is justified. The irritation is justified. The need for change is justified.
Floyd was killed like a zebra under the clutch of a lion. And the white officer kept his knee on Floyd’s throat casually, as if he could do so without any reason. Whether one calls this subtle or obvious racism, the fact of the matter is this - it is racism. It is not allowed, and it should never be. But the truth is - it has happened for way too long.
While arguments against the president and government’s response to these police brutality cases are absolutely justified, what we also notice is the process of self-introspection within a nation playing out in front of our eyes.
America In The Mirror
The protests that we see playing out in front of our eyes in America are beautiful and uplifting. The common man exercising his right to speak out in front of injustice and discrimination. The unity amongst all classes, races, and religions emerges for the common purpose - to fight against the injustice faced by a particular group or member of the American family.
Not only are these times historic and unimaginable, they are path breaking and truthful. At the core, they present the beauty of a democracy - the ability and freedom for citizens to introspect and act as a nation.
Practicing our rights is a duty in a democracy. It provides the ability for individuals to look within. It provides the mirror for a country to look at and ask - “what am I doing wrong? What can I change? Why is there injustice? Will I stand up?”
A moment like this truly provides the opportunity for a democracy to either rise or fall apart. It gives the nation the opportunity to reflect and stand up. But also potentially in a self-destructive mode. And we may be seeing a combination of both in front of our eyes.
The Combination
On the one hand, we have Americans asking the government vehemently for answers as to how policemen, our civil servants, can consistently harass and kill black men. The “enough is enough” sentiment amongst millions of Americans is solidified as we see these Americans protesting across the nation.
But when this sentiment and call for action are taken on without any control or direction, mayhem is assured.
Socrates famously ranked a purely democratic nation second to last (in front of anarchy) in Plato’s Republic. He states that democracy naturally leads to a “mob rule,” because of its “extreme form of liberty” for all. The result is anarchy.
The riots, the looting and the destruction are not answers to the death of George Floyd. And this rage may be a result of the extremism that Socrates warned us about. Such action is certainly aimless but also potentially self-destructive.
We see in front of our eyes the United States of America both of these realities - the unison for the purpose of fighting discrimination, but also the irrationality from a group of rioters.
As people living in a democratic nation, we must speak up, stand tall, and fight. But sometimes more important than “what” we fight for, and “why” we fight, is the “how” we fight.