My Dear America:
Like many Americans at this point in time I feel as though I know George Floyd even though I really didn't know him. Before writing this post I did check out George Floyd on Wikipedia and quite frankly I was surprised to learn a couple of things about the man whose murder has sparked, or at least contributed to, a Revolution not only in America but all over the world.
What I found out on Wikipedia was that George Floyd had been arrested many times before the incident in Minneapolis in which he lost his life.
What I also found out from Wikipedia was that George and Derek Chauvin, the Police Officer who kneeled on George Floyd's neck had worked security at the same club in Minneapolis, The El Nuevo Rodeo Club. It seems clear to me that if George Floyd and Derek Chauvin worked at this club at the same time in the same job (Security) that they would have known each other.
Did they know each other and if they did how did they get along, is a question that I would like to ask Derek Chauvin, since he is the only one alive who could answer it.
Also between 1997 and 2005 Wikipedia reveals that George Floyd was sentenced to jail terms eight times on various charges including drug possession theft and trespass. In 2009 he was sentenced to five years in prison for armed robbery in a home invasion.
So Wikipedia tells us that George Floyd was no angel. He did nothing, however, that deserved the death penalty.
George's family tells a story, however, of a man who loved his family and was loved by his family. He was, at least in later years, hardworking, athletic, religious and took an interest in helping young people. It certainly seemed as though George had worked through some of his early problem behaviors and appeared to be on the right track prior to his death.
Surely George Floyd never contemplated dying under the knee of Derek Chauvin in Minneapolis on the day he did die. Surely George Floyd could never have anticipated the extreme international reaction toward his killing that we would all see happening every day on the streets of America.
We have seen it, though. Largely through The Black Lives Matter Movement. The Death of George Floyd is something that nearly everyone in the world is aware of by this time.
For the most part, the Black Lives Matter George Floyd Protests have been Non Violent outpourings of emotions in which the leaders of the movement condemned the burning of stores and buildings, looting and attacks on police.
Then came Portland, Oregon, where the Trump Administration, although they were not asked to do so by either the Mayor of Portland or the Oregon Governor, sent in unidentified Federal forces dressed in camouflage to begin picking up individuals off the street and carting them off in unmarked vehicles.
Some called these unidentified forces Storm Troopers. Although they hopefully were not carting people off to death camps like Hitler's followers did to European Jews during the Second World War, The whole look and feel of the Trump-Barr Portland Action certainly had a Nazi Gestapo feel to it.
The truth is that according to Michael Moore's "Rumble" Emergency Podcast System the protesters were holding their own in Portland and in some respects were winning the battle against the Trump-Barr Shock Troops. Unfortunately though, people were getting hurt and there were some instances of overreaction on both sides of the Portland struggle.
I've been thinking a lot about George Floyd during the past weeks. I think that George would have mixed feelings about the protests that have developed to express outrage about his death on the streets of Minneapolis. I think that he would be proud that his unnecessary death would have been the straw that broke the camels back when it came to excessive police violence against mainly black males.
This apparent police entitlement to not only harass blacks but in some cases to kill them goes back a long way historically, especially in the south. The beginning of policing in America can be traced back in time to the Slave Catchers who returned escaped Black Human Beings to their Owners in an America that is long gone, although the racism that allowed some human beings to own other human beings is certainly not gone.
The Civil War was fought between the North And The South because the Southern States refused to accept the end of slavery in their states. Southern politicians called it States Rights but in reality they were fighting for the States Rights to own Black Human Beings.
After the Civil War, although there were always some decent police officers there were other officers who sometimes carried out lynchings of black people for the flimsiest of reasons. Some of the most violent members of the Ku klux klan we have learned over the years turned out to be southern sherriff's and police officers. Indeed, some of the Mississippi Klan members who murdered Civil Rights Workers, Schwerner, Goodman and Cheyney turned out to be law enforcement officers.
Getting back to Portland and Black Lives Matter and George Floyd I have some thoughts. I am not black and I am sure that members of the Black Lives Matter movement may not agree with me but I have a long history of working with people of all colors as a Social Worker.
I know that the emergence of the Black Lives Matter Movement has been a long time coming and that the leaders of the movement have every right to take advantage of the incredible power that has emerged from this movement.
Some called these unidentified forces Storm Troopers. Although they hopefully were not carting people off to death camps like Hitler's followers did to European Jews during the Second World War, The whole look and feel of the Trump-Barr Portland Action certainly had a Nazi Gestapo feel to it.
The truth is that according to Michael Moore's "Rumble" Emergency Podcast System the protesters were holding their own in Portland and in some respects were winning the battle against the Trump-Barr Shock Troops. Unfortunately though, people were getting hurt and there were some instances of overreaction on both sides of the Portland struggle.
I've been thinking a lot about George Floyd during the past weeks. I think that George would have mixed feelings about the protests that have developed to express outrage about his death on the streets of Minneapolis. I think that he would be proud that his unnecessary death would have been the straw that broke the camels back when it came to excessive police violence against mainly black males.
This apparent police entitlement to not only harass blacks but in some cases to kill them goes back a long way historically, especially in the south. The beginning of policing in America can be traced back in time to the Slave Catchers who returned escaped Black Human Beings to their Owners in an America that is long gone, although the racism that allowed some human beings to own other human beings is certainly not gone.
The Civil War was fought between the North And The South because the Southern States refused to accept the end of slavery in their states. Southern politicians called it States Rights but in reality they were fighting for the States Rights to own Black Human Beings.
After the Civil War, although there were always some decent police officers there were other officers who sometimes carried out lynchings of black people for the flimsiest of reasons. Some of the most violent members of the Ku klux klan we have learned over the years turned out to be southern sherriff's and police officers. Indeed, some of the Mississippi Klan members who murdered Civil Rights Workers, Schwerner, Goodman and Cheyney turned out to be law enforcement officers.
Getting back to Portland and Black Lives Matter and George Floyd I have some thoughts. I am not black and I am sure that members of the Black Lives Matter movement may not agree with me but I have a long history of working with people of all colors as a Social Worker.
I know that the emergence of the Black Lives Matter Movement has been a long time coming and that the leaders of the movement have every right to take advantage of the incredible power that has emerged from this movement.
I would ask the leaders of the movement, however, to give some thought to where the movement ends up if, as we have already seen, Donald Trump uses the movement and the protests to unleash the troops at his disposal to stir up violence and turn American Citizens from being supporters of Black Lives Matter to supporters of Donald Trump.
I would suggest to the leaders of the movement that they should continue to condemn burning, looting and other forms of violence.
Today, on the day that we have buried John Lewis, one of the genuine heroes of the Civil Rights Movement, would be a great day to renew the Black Lives Matter Movements' commitment to Non-Violence.
If Donald Trump is able to portray the Black Lives Matter George Floyd Movement as a violent Anti American Group he will have found a way to win
re election.
Clearly, the Re Election of Donald Trump would be the worst thing that can happen to the Black Lives Matter Movement.
It is time for Black Lives Matter Leaders to realize that instead of simply protesting in the streets they might do well to analyze the fact that we have less than a hundred days left before our November Election.
We have a chance in this upcoming election to vote out the worst President of the United States that I have witnessed in my lifetime. At the same time we have a chance to vote in one of the best qualified individuals that we could find to be President, Joe Biden.
We also have a chance to vote out of office all of the Republican cowards who refused to call Donald Trump to account for his misdeeds and voted not to impeach him in the United States Senate and House of Representatives setting him up as a genuine Dictator with no reason to control his worst behavioral instincts.
I think that George Floyd would agree with me that we have progressed tremendously since his death. But, If the end result of George Floyd's death is the Re Election of Donald Trump for another Four years our Democracy may be thing of the past. I sincerely ask those leaders of the Black Lives Matter Movement to Re Evaluate their strategies, goals and efforts before it is too late.
Certainly Black Lives Matter should not slow down their efforts at legitimate protest but getting off the streets for a couple of months and putting their efforts into doing what they can to get Joe Biden elected would definitely accomplish more than staying on the streets and letting Donald Trump use the movement for his own dark purposes.
Black Lives Do Matter and that is why in November everyone capable of voting must vote. Don't be complacent and assume that the polls showing Joe Biden as the likely winner are right. We need to remember what happened in 2016 when the polls showed that Hillary Clinton was going to win. Many Trump voters will not admit to the fact that they are Trump voters. We must get every reasonable voter out to the polls. Certainly every committed Trump voter will be there. We must also be there to protect our Democracy from Trump and his Republican minions.
Sincerely Yours
Jerry Gallagher
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