When Will Fear Stop Robbing Our Freedom?
My plea for Covid-19 protesters to expand their fight for individual rights to the case of George Floyd.
Another citizen has died on American streets without a trial for their alleged crimes. George Floyd died on Memorial Day in police custody. While handcuffed and restrained by four police officers, his death appears to be a result of an officer’s knee against his throat restricting airflow.
Why has another American citizen died without their right to trial? Why was George Floyd denied his individual rights? In less than a month of writing about Ahmuad Arbery, I’m asking the same questions to Republicans for their silence on injustice.
For a party that claims to follow the constitution as written, their hypocrisy has become even more evident as Covid-19 spreads throughout the US. Using the constitution as the base of their argument, Republicans were quick to protest against any public health measure enacted by their state or local authorities under the perceived threat to their individual rights and freedoms. Yet, remain silent as George Floyd died without his right to a trial.
To the Covid-19 protesters, I would like to ask a few questions as to why the rationale behind your protest did not apply to George Floyd. Why did someone else interfere with George Floyd’s right to life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness?
Do you believe in freedom over fear?
Your fear ends where my freedom begins
When I saw the images of people protesting their state and local authorities, I encountered someone holding a sign with the message above. The message in its simplest form is something most people can agree with. In America, no one’s fear should prevent someone else’s freedom. But, with the case of Ahmaud Arbery and George Floyd, I’m not sure if that applies to every American citizen.
As more details come out about George Floyd, we can take an educated guess on what the officers will use to justify their actions. If their response is anything like the many cases before it, the officers involved will claim their actions were justified because they feared for their lives. But, does fear to justify taking the life of another?
Fear has kept us alive throughout our evolution and we shouldn’t diminish its abilities. It is natural to fear the unknown, but fear alone does not justify the right to act upon, especially when it’s against someone else.
As fear placed the knee on George Floyd’s neck, I’m sure he was fearful as well. But, now that he is no longer with us, we are unable to hear his side of the story. Where did George Floyd’s freedom and his rights to protect it end?
Why does self-defense overrule someone’s right to life?
In this scenario, Covid-19 protesters might argue that the officers had a right to defend themselves from danger. Again, I agree with this premise in its simplest form. Everyone should have a right to self-defense.
According to Law.com, self-defense is defined as the following:
n. the use of reasonable force to protect oneself or members of the family from bodily harm from the attack of an aggressor, if the defender has reason to believe he/she/they is/are in danger.
However, definitions like the one above allow too much leeway for the use of force in real-life implications. Again, where does someone’s fear end where someone else’s freedom begins? If it only takes the defender’s interpretation of a threat to justify taking the life of another, couldn’t the attacker and the defender claim self-defense?
To the survivor goes the spoils. Whoever lives determines who can claim the right to self-defense. The dead are unable to speak on their fears and justification for their fight to survive.
If the police officer attempts to justify his knee being on a citizen’s neck as a matter of self-defense, I won’t refute their claims or call them baseless. Maybe the officer did feel the need to use self-defense, but what I want to know is why did his actions, self-defense or not, result in the death of another?
I wasn’t there. I have no idea what actually happened. But if I was there, would I agree with an alleged self-defense claim of the survivor. Again, I don’t know. That is what trials are for and for many citizens it feels as if there is a consistent denial of rights for certain communities to have even have a trial.
Why was a hairdresser turned into a celebrity?
I’m glad the hairdresser’s willingness to disobey the law resulted in a non-lethal encounter with law enforcement. However, I wish the same could have been done for George Floyd. Regardless of his actions or inactions surrounding his confrontation with law enforcement, he should still be alive today.
In a civilized society, accusations of a crime do not warrant a death sentence from those whose sole purpose is to enforce the law. It is up to a judge and jury to interpret the law to find out if the accusations are true. Without a jury, accusations are just accusations and this week has shown there are people willing to weaponize accusations. Further highlighting the need for accusations and alleged crimes to be exactly what they are.
The Texas hairdresser was accused of breaking the law and yet she was championed for disobeying it. What made her accusations or alleged crimes different? Breaking the law is breaking the law.
Was the accusation of her crime or the crime itself meaningless because it was deemed oppressive? Or, was it because her treatment and confinement were perceived as a violation against her freedom?
It’s hard for me to see through the hypocrisy when I see someone on my Twitter timeline regarding this hairdresser as a modern-day Rosa Parks. The hairdresser is an icon for freedom while George Floyd receives a posthumous celebrity status that no family would ever want.
If George Floyd was alive today and released from jail, would the same Covid-19 protesters that cheered for the Texas hairdresser cheer for the release of George Floyd, especially if they felt the accusations and treatment against him were unjust?
To the Covid-19 protesters, as genuine as possible, what did you mean when you protested for individual rights of American citizens now that another American has died without their right to it? Though it’s hard, I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt in hopes that you meant well by your intentions. The core of your protest was drenched in liberty and freedom for all.
Moving forward, I hope you can stay true to honoring everyone’s individual rights. Instead of judging the worst actors in the Minnesota protest, try to empathize with the anger of your fellow Americans. They’re upset just like you were when you felt your individual rights were not being valued.
Thank you for reading! If you felt my words were a mischaracterization, please discuss it with me. I’m here to learn and I’m also here to heal. I don’t want to become angry and lose hope in the country I love.