George Floyd

By Leo Kugel

June 3, 2020

On May 25, 46-year-old George Floyd was killed at the hands of a Hennepin County Police officer in South Minneapolis. Floyd’s death, another life lost in a long line of police-related fatalities, sparked outrage throughout the United States and the world.

After attempting to buy cigarettes with a counterfeit $20 bill, four Minnesota police officers, including Derek Chauvin, were called to the scene of Floyd’s minor crime. Seventeen minutes after their initial arrival, nearly nine minutes of which were spent with Chauvin’s knee on Floyd’s neck, Floyd had stopped showing signs of life and was soon after officially pronounced dead. An autopsy later confirmed that the cause of death was “asphyxiation,” a lack of blood flow to the brain.

In spite of the coronavirus’s continued spread, millions of people have taken to the streets to join the fight against systemic racial injustice and police brutality in response to Floyd’s death. Major cities including New York, Los Angeles, and Washington D.C. have been the locales for peaceful and violent protests, both of which have resulted in use of police force.

However, the frustration and disruption started on the streets has swelled far beyond. Much of the backlash has come through social media. On one side, President Trump has been tweeting in encouragement of the use of police force, with slogans such as “when the looting starts, the shooting starts.” Trump has also spoken publicly about his willingness to provide local police forces with military troops in order to stop “thugs” from protesting and looting in the streets. On the other side of the ideological aisle, many have begun to use social media to educate their followers on the history of racism as well as providing guidance on how to help battle it.

With the convergence of the coronavirus pandemic and the resurfacing of systemic racism to the top of the country’s mind, one thing has become abundantly clear: many are unhappy with the state of the union. How this all plays out though, remains to be seen.