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Remembering George Floyd, Part 1

May 25, 2021 by WendyB

Today, May 25, marks a year since George Floyd was murdered in Minneapolis by then-cop Derek Chauvin — a death that triggered one of the largest protest movements in U.S. history under the rallying cry of “Black Lives Matter.” Memorial marches, rallies, and vigils are planned in many locations. If you’re in New York City, here are some options.

  • 3 PM: 1 Police Plaza, Manhattan. Families of victims of police violence, and survivors of police violence, will demand the prosecution of guilty cops.
  • 5 PM: Rally and march starting at Cadman Plaza, Brooklyn. Masks and white attire are encouraged.
  • 5 PM: Black-women-led march and vigil, starting at Foley Square in Manhattan. The vigil will take place at 8 PM at the Brooklyn Museum.
  • 5 PM: Rally and march for justice/defend the NYPD, starting at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, organized by the Communities United for Police Reform coalition. RSVP on Facebook.

(I wouldn’t be surprised if two or more of the 5 p.m. marches merge. Keep an eye on the Justice for George Instagram feed for live updates from the ground.)

Photo by George De Castro Day from May 2020. Sign by Artists for George Floyd.

Outside New York, you can search social media for local actions — for activism, social media is better than Poodle. You can also be an organizer yourself by recruiting friends to participate in a national walkout from school or work that has been called for 3 p.m. ET. If you can’t leave for the day, you can observe 9 minutes and 29 seconds of silence during your walkout. You’re encouraged to share photos and videos of your action on social media using the hashtags #oneyearlater #georgefloyd.

At 2 p.m. ET, before the walkout, you can learn about what it means to “defund the police” — a consistent activist demand in the wake of Floyd’s murder. Color of Change is hosting a panel about reimagining public safety, which includes “shifting resources away from an over-reliance on police and prisons and instead investing in social issues, public schools, health systems, public services, and alternative safety models.” Watch the panel here.

Photo by George De Castro Day from August 2020. Click photo for my original Instagram post.

It’s imperative to educate yourself about defunding the police, because police unions and politicians have been feeding stories to the “if it bleeds, it leads” media, linking a surge in violent crime to the calls for defunding. There’s no need to get swept up in that hysteria. Most police departments haven’t been defunded, so a sudden lack of resources is not to blame. Yes, in New York City, there was some reduction from the previous year’s $6 billion police department budget, though not as big a cut as Mayor Bill de Blasio claimed. (There was also a City Council vote to end qualified immunity and the announcement of a plan to send social workers instead of cops to mental-health calls.) But there is still a very visible NYPD substation and a heavy police presence in Times Square, which didn’t prevent a shooting a couple of blocks away from the station earlier this month.

In February 2020, there was no shortage of cops in Times Square to arrest folks holding banners (including me), and there are still plenty of cops there post-George Floyd. Photo by George De Castro Day.

The truth is that a police presence doesn’t necessarily deter violent crime. And in a country where you can buy guns that can kill or injure 26 people in 32 seconds , an undeterred gunman can cause maximum damage before cops can even figure out which side is their Taser and which is their gun. Fortunately, most cops don’t spend most of their working hours consumed with violence. As Roge Karma reported for Vox last July, “The data overwhelmingly finds that police officers in aggregate spend the vast majority of their time responding to non-criminal calls, traffic-related incidents, and low-level crimes — and only a tiny fraction on violent crimes.” Moreover, much of the time spent on violent crime comes after the violence has taken place, as cops interview witnesses, gather evidence, advise victims, and write reports. Sidebar: I realize that list of tasks might come as a surprise to you if you’ve ever tried to get a restraining order or a police report.

The examples given in replies to this tweet are worth reading.

Karma’s Vox story pointed out that we — civilians and cops — subscribe to the mythology of a “warrior cop” who risks it all, day in and day out, to take down violent gunmen and disgusting pedophiles. (On TV, the seething anger of police heroes like Elliot Stabler is justified by the lives he saves.) But then there’s reality, in which cops who are “primed for violent encounters and ill-equipped for interventions that demand mediation, deescalation, and social work” are being called to intervene with “civilians selling loose cigarettes, attempting to use possibly counterfeit currency, sleeping intoxicated in their cars, recreationally selling or using low-level drugs, violating minor traffic laws, or calling the police themselves because they are experiencing a mental health crisis.” Police training that favors mythology over reality is why civilians — an excessive number of them Black people — are murdered when minor incidents are escalated by cops who read threats into any and all movements and statements.

Remember, it was a call about a possible counterfeit $20 bill that started the chain reaction culminating in George Floyd’s death under Derek Chauvin’s knee. It’s painful to know that the bill in question wasn’t even examined by police officers before they accosted Floyd in his car in the parking lot of Cup Foods and immediately took offense to his nervous response. As former rookie officer Thomas Lane, who is one of three cops charged with aiding and abetting Chauvin, told the Minneapolis Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (page 23 of the transcript), “We were more concerned with at least attaining that person on the suspicion of passing a counterfeit bill and then figuring out the validity of the bill.” (page 23 of the transcript). He also acknowledged that he didn’t collect the bill or look at it after Floyd’s death. Police who “protect and serve”? That’s the myth. The reality is police who kill first and look for a crime later.

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Filed Under: In the News, news, politics, racism, racism Tagged With: abolish the police, black lives matter, defund the police, george floyd

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MEET WENDY BRANDES

Award-winning designer of fine jewelry inspired by women's history and pop culture. A former journalist who writes about jewelry, fashion, medieval history, news, feminism, dogs, cats and whatever else is on her mind. Blogging since 2007.
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