Week number 12 of lockdown in the UK. I am still furloughed or signed off sick (whichever it may be) and the time off has been helping with my mental well-being after the last few weeks being mentally taxing and exhausting. This last week has been different to the last with projects and things to do running out.
I am still irritated with all of this Coronavirus Shit there is a reason and a need for it it and to keep the "R" number down and all that jazz, but seriously its getting boring. I just hate queueing. Queuing for this and queueing for that. I am done with it all. Gone are the days when you could just walk into a shop and buy your crap and get out. No. Now I have to stand in the rain for 40-minutes just to try and take back some wallpaper and buy a couple of lampshade which took all of about 5 minutes, if that. I suppose you could say I am at the end of my tether with it. It is all just so pointless. Figures from the BBC today have confirmed that the death toll is now in double figures after significantly dropping to just 55 (Monday 08 June 2020). With more than a half down from last week's 111 deaths from COVID-19 I am pleased and am hoping for this to become a norm. Now I know in comparison to other countries, New Zealand being one of them that has fully opened up the country due to no new cases, but it is still a drop nevertheless and as we have not yet experienced an unsettlingly high spike in deaths or new cases as yet I am hoping it continues so we can soon join New Zealand in getting things back to whatever normal looks like after a global crisis. As far as Boris Johnson and the UK government making a statement as yet or any sort of announcement of further openings, I am anticipating something soon, however I shan't hold my breath, especially considering the situation in hand.
It has been a fortnight since the name George Floyd was catapulted into the stratosphere and made not only a household name, but one to be remembered and celebrated for all that has been acheieved in the last 14-days. On 25 May 2020, George Floyd, a 46-year-old dad was arrested after Minneapolis police officers responded to a call from a teenage grocery storeworker who alleged that Floyd had used a forged $20 note.
As the Sun reported, there had been more reason than none to suspect him considering his criminal past and history of armed robbery in a home invasion in Houston in 2007. However life had moved on for Floyd and he had settled down with a partner and young children, who was friendly with locals where he had been working as a security guard at Latin American restaurant Conga Latin Bistro in the city. Unfortunatly the Coronavirus had affected the hospitality industry badly and Minneapolis was no exception and so George Floyd became out of work. George Floyd had been a a regular at Cup Foods. He was a friendly face with a statement from the store owner Mike Abumayyaleh, who wasn't working at the time, told NBC that "Floyd was a regular customer and never caused any trouble".
The BBC News reported further, stating that approximatly 8.10pm Minneapolis police officers arrived to the grocery store as the young clerk working that night had called it through saying that on receipt of the fupposed forged note the teller had ask Floyd to return the cigarettes he had ust purchased to which the shop worker confirmed to 911 that "he doesn't want to do that" and that the man appeared "drunk" and "not in control of himself" according to a transcript released by authorities. Officers found Floyd in the car park with two others and on approach of the vehicle one of the officers pulled out his gun and ordered Floyd to show his hands. As the officer man-handled him out of the car it was clear that there was a struggle as George actively resisted being handcuffed. However once handcuffed, Floyd appeared to be cooperative until he was ordered into the back seat of the cop car. This is when the struggle broke out.
Approximately 8.15pm, Floyd had "stiffened up, fell to the ground, and told the officers he was claustrophobic", according to the report from BBC News. Yet more officers were called to the scene and attemted to put Floyd in the police car to no avail. It was during this attempt, at 8.19pm that the officer in question, Officer Chauvin, pulled Floyd away from the passenger side, causing him to fall to the ground where he lay there, face down, still in handcuffs. This is when witnesses started to film something which has been shared the world over and ignited a furious conversation. Floyd, who appeared to be in a distressed state was restrained by officers, while Officer Chauvin placed his left knee between his head and neck.
Gasping for breath, Floyd cried out "I can't breathe", repeatedly, pleading for his mother and begging "please, please, please". Begging for his life. For eight minutes and 46 seconds, Officer Chauvin kept his knee on Mr Floyd's neck, the prosecutors' report says. These moments, captured on multiple mobile phones and shared widely on social media, would prove to be George Floyd's last. The report from BBC News continued that about six-minutes into that period, Floyd became non-responsive. In videos of the incident, Floyd fell silent as bystanders urged the police to check his pulse. One of the other officers did but couldn't find a pulse, all the while the other officers did not move, including Officer Chauvin. At 8.27pm, Chauvin removed his knee from Floyd's neck, but it appears it was too late as Floyd lay there motionless. Taken to the Hennepin County Medical Center in an ambulance Floyd was pronounced dead about an hour later. A 46-year-old dad leaving behind two children.
Now I am sure you are wondering, or maybe not, why this gained so much attention; more than most. Because George Floyd was a black man. The officer with his knee on his neck, A white man. Now I am not going to stand here (or write here as the moment suggests) I can't pretend that I understand because I don't understand! Yes I am open and honest enough to admit that in my younger years I made jokes with friends about race and colour that was in poor taste and did not sit well, but that came from a place of uneducated and lack of understanding around the struggles that those with different skin colour than to mine.
Without me even knowing it I have been the recipiant of white privilege. Never have I ever been stopped and searched. Never had I ever been looked upon as though I am violent or agressive. Never have I ever had my car pulled over because "someone in the area was matching my description". The only time I was ever pulled over was at traffic lights when a police officer pulled up aside my car and asked me to switch on my headlights as they were off and it was dark. Hardly a terrifying experiance you might think, but for me I felt aweful and for a split second, I think I know what George and his brothers and sisters must feel on a sometimes daily basis.
On the other hand, however, nor I am not saying it wasn't due, stopping and searching a man for a possible crime, especially when he was confirmed by the store assistant, but killing a man with brute force to this level was unnecessary and way over the top in my view. It is safe to say that looking at the statistics produced from the Governments own website confirms that in every 1,000 arrests in the England and Wales (2017-2018 respectively), only ten were white. Black people were three-and-a-half times more likely to get arrested than a white person. Truthful statistic or Media and Governmental Prejudice - You decide ...
'Til next time, Love A.Lou xx
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