In the past 2 and a half months, the world has been on lockdown due to this Covid-19 issue. We have been told what we can and cannot do, who we can associate with, what is “essential” for our living, and when and where we are allowed to go. For people who live in condensed and over populated parts of their cities, this has definitely been a test of strength. It is common sense that anyone being told not to behave a certain way that they are used to will eventually act out in some manner. All in all I think most of the people in this world have been very compliant and patient with the situation, but unfortunately one of things I have noticed during this pandemic is the change of attitude in the “Enforcers” , aka the Police, Security Guards, and Lawmakers. From the time we were told to stop travel and stay home, even in our small town of 7000 people, I immediately noticed an increase to the number of police cars around. All of a sudden they have more rights to pull people over and question what they are doing. Unfortunately the Mob Mentality can be contagious and spread quickly, it can happen in any group. When Police and Security Guards are told to step up their enforcement, what does that really mean? And how much description is involved when these instructions go out? What boundaries are set?
See as far as I know the Police are there to “Serve and Protect” the community, when they are called upon. But as crime grows over the years so does the number of officers that now need to stay busy and employed all the time which results in them trying to hunt out crime instead of waiting to be called upon. If crime rates go down, shouldn’t the number of officers diminish with it? In most cases where we live the Police are usually pretty fair, but all it takes is one bad seed to change the world. With the incident that just occurred in Minnesota, the news is now filled with a repetitive topic – Racism. George Floyd was treated unfairly and ignored in his pleas for assistance, not just by the officer kneeling on his neck, but also by the other officers on the scene. Would he have been treated differently if he was not Black? We don’t know that, but we do not this is not justice. This is abuse of authority.
Now the streets are flooded with angry individuals, who were already frustrated in life before this happened, and the Mob Mentality comes from another side now, facing against the side that it originated from. Isn’t it ironic that in over 10 weeks of people being locked indoors, and literally budgeted as to what supplies are available for them to purchase as well as what stores they are allowed to visit and when, there was never any huge protests or riots. People accepted the facts that they are not to associate in public places or with anyone they are not directly related to, and they did not fight back. But 1 completely unjustified act of violence from an ignorant authority figure has sparked the anger inside so many to now act out in the wrong ways. Protests are one thing, expressing opinion in words, freedom of speech, showing the power of numbers and trying to change the world for the better. But when people start to riot and vandalize and loot, this will not end well. This will only cause more violence.
George Floyd was a man, black, white, or brown. His life did matter, and so does everyone else’s, where were his rights in this situation and why was he treated this way? We need to stop acts of racism, prejudism, sexism, and most of all Abuse of Authority. People are people and we all deserve to be treated equally, no matter what you look like, the color of your skin, hair and eyes, male or female, short or tall, able to walk or not, etc. I am tired of seeing and hearing about incidents where Lawmakers, Law Enforcers, Judges, and other Authority Figures work in amongst themselves to do, and get away with, whatever they want. The punishments must fit the crimes, and there should be no lenience in this case, especially with video proof.
The timing of this incident should be a wake up call around the globe, the bullying is happening everywhere. We are all being held down without choices, the more populated of an area you live in, the more trapped you are right now.
What is happening behind the scenes, who is really in charge of our lives, why are we forced to listen to the lies, and what are we going to do about it….