(18k) Racial conflicts in President Trump's America

Dead and violence in USA

President Trump says Minnesota's mayor is a weak person but I don't think so as he dared to fire four of his police officers after one of them put his knees for about 8 minutes on Mr George Floyd, a black man, his throat until he was death. The president didn't dare or didn't want to condemn the officers while in a tweet threatens that looters will be shot (such tweets should not be deleted as some claim but instead warn people but also intelligence agencies so they can intervene).

 

Indeed, violent clashes broke out after the video made the arrest public. It is even worse because Mr Floyd was already handcuffed and thus limited in his movements while he didn't seem to fight against his arrest. Other videos suggests the knee on someone's neck is likely a normal way to restraint someone until they are handcuffed (and thus not until they are dead) but can no longer be used. Thus, this incident will further increase distrust between police and black people that already exist since very long so they fear each other even more while this may even spill over into distrust between white and black people in general and this fear may result in even more violence. Already during the lockdown people seemed to have prepared themselves for violence as they were massively buying weapons and thus we can expect interference by extreme right. The protesters are stronger condemned by authorities than the reason that started this violence; understandable that looting is not accepted but also the French Revolution was not acceptable for authorities at the time. This may even have effects in other countries when black people notice they too have less privileges than white people and people are rising against it; South-Africa to name only one.

 

While in the past relatives called for calmness, this time the brother says he understands people are angry as black people are still killed by police without punishment (it took days before actions against the concerned police) while he doesn't accept a sentence less than the death penalty. Yes, if the reverse had happened we know the black person would receive the death penalty. We all know since millennia (see the Old Testament, Genesis 4, 15-24) that some people are marked so they become that one person too many who died due to a violent act after which violence erupts and more people may die (WWI started after the murder of one couple, similar with the Rwandan genocide).

 

And already the cover up and blaming of the black person seems to have started as the autopsy seems to suggest the knee of the police officer on the throat of Mr Floyd didn't result in his death but underlying health problems and intoxication did (thus, suggesting he was a drug user). In a case like this whereby police is involved it should not be the local pathologist who investigates what are in effect colleagues but instead this should be done by the federal pathologist who should be more impartial. At least the USA allows an independent pathologist can investigate too. As the person said he couldn't breath the knee should have been moved away.

 

Thus, this pathology report suggests a (local) judge may still decide the officer had bad luck that the person under arrest died and thus needs to be released and maybe even compensated for being fired as happened before in similar cases. Then I fear courthouses may be burning. Instead it should be, again, a federal judge and even better, a white, black and Asian judge to prevent impartiality.

 

What we have seen during the past years and again and may continue to see may not happen so often when judges had been impartial in the past and thus condemned police officers who clearly executed non white people; if these cases were accidents than we would also see more often such violence towards white people. The Presidentrefuses even to talk to journalists about what happens while in the past black sportsman Colin Kaepernick who knelt in solidarity with BLACK LIVES MATTER lost his job for doing so without killing anyone. Also Covid-19 and poverty in a visibly increasingly unequal country may fuel the violence further. Now also climate change and the world may be ready for terror in an increasingly unequal world. Will only a second civil war be able to end this injustice? But, instead of Abraham Lincoln now a racist seems to run the country. Will black soldiers follow Trump when he may order to shoot or not? But also, many white people may see their own children standing against them, defending black people against continuing racism.

 

Police and body cameras

It also shows that police should always wear a functioning body camera so the real situation can be filmed and analysed to know exactly what happened:

• did the person resist arrest as police say he did or
• are other accounts closer to the truth that the man was calm and thus turning this homicide into a real wanton murder as videos of the public suggest it was?

And yes, the public should be able to film officers in duty so we know what happened. This will also help good officers while when it is deleted also evidence is deleted.

 

Police and the (American) public

Does this mean people are against police? Yes and no. People are clearly against police who kill with a smile and against those who protect the murderer. People also understand there are police officers who work correctly and yes sometimes a person is killed but that should be an exception.

 

But, because most police officers do not condemn publicly racists officers, they are complicit and thus guilty in the eye of the public, at least by those who suffer. As they remain silent and even agree to stop protests (although of course looting can't be allowed), people will also condemn them. When President Trump and/or other police officers had condemned what we saw as clearly wrong and called for justice, this aggression may not have happened. As they didn't while they clearly use different standards when white people protest against lockdown to stop a virus, they may become targets themselves of the growing anger. Being silent and remaining impartial is not always possible as it suggest people agree with the person who did a bad job so some died. In any job there are people who are bad and don't need to be protected as that will hurt everyone.

 

More over, people who justify this and don't want justice may end on the wrong side as people will no longer accept their silence or absence of justice. Thus, people will start to oppose them, forcing those who seem to accept wrong done to people to the side of the people who do wrong. Indeed, we need to accept white privilege exists (although I accept also white people can be poor of whom many voted for President Trump as he seemed to be the only person who understood them, even when some communists suggest to support the poor but can't stop to ridicule them) and thus white people need to speak out in favour of equality for everyone and against such aggression. A just society is never possible when injustice is allowed to rule. Therefore we need good police and judges who rule correctly. Because, next time a police officer may do the same with a white gay person the officer doesn't like.

 

My position towards President Trump

Now, certain persons may counter I defended President Trump in the past. I didn't as my writings show but I live in the today that he is president and thus we should try to make the best of him.

 

Further, I think he was right to say that cars sold in America shouldn't be produced in China but instead in America so people have jobs although this should be the new generation of clean cars. Anyone who disagree with local production of products can't win when increasing numbers of people having difficulties paying bills.

 

I also defended his closure of the USA's borders, first with China, then Europe and recently with Brazil, even when many people consider Brazil's President Bolsonaro as an ally of President Trump. When people say this is for racist reasons they may be right but, when they disagree with the closure of borders than many people may not vote for them because it seems they wouldn't do so.

 

When President Trump build a wall to keep Latin Americans out his country, partly also to stop the illegal import of drugs by the mafia, then I find it not correct he is condemned when Europe does the same but doesn't say it loudly. And indeed, the mafia should be kept out but I think by legalising drugs so the drugs mafia will become weaker while people who want to take drugs can have theirs legal and safe.

 

Thus, President Trump understands the need of many people, the reason why they voted for him, but other solutions are needed than those he suggest.

 

And thus, as before with my letter to the Presidents of the USA and China, I hope the President will review the situation and do things differently. He can invite the family of Mr Floyd, express his condolences and listen while now Floyd's family is not happy with their telephone call as President Trump didn't seem to be interested in what the family wanted to say.

 

He can order that the federal institutions will handle the investigations such as the autopsy while already he ordered the FBI to investigate and that a federal judge will rule. This way he can show people can change for the better.

 

Whether he becomes the best president ever as he hopes he will depends upon his actions but I prefer he will if that can resolves America's problem because, although some may think revolution is fun, it is not as friends and family may become enemies and the reverse.

 

Further, it would show that people can change although he will lose voters while opponents will not accept easily a change. That's President Trump's challenge: is he able to avoid more violence by changing his response about confrontation towards the situation? Yes, police and military are people we should respect unless they act wrong as the whole world saw. I'm convinced most intelligence agents, police and military really want to make their country save but that is only possible when they remove the bad ones and don't allow the rise of extremists; we may even have another president.