Recent protests in the United States erupted over the brutal murder of an unarmed African American, George Floyd by Derek Chauvin a police officer in Minnesota. To control US protests, authorities imposed curfew in around 40 cities and deployed the National Guard in more than 25 states including Washington.
A former officer who murdered George Floyd was charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter. However, according to the demonstrators, the punishment of this charge is not as harsh as the crime committed by the officer. They are also demanding extreme charges for the other 3 officers who remained just bystanders and did nothing to stop the fellow cop from not stifling George Floyd. Injustice and police brutality against the people of color has been going on in America for ages. The structural racism against black people despite, the United States electing a black President twice doesn’t seem to go away.
Violent US Protests Against Ingrained Racism
Thousands of people took to the streets across the country after the murder of George Floyd. What started as a peaceful protest for a horrible crime suddenly turned violent. Many buildings were looted and scorched, police vehicles were damaged and officers were greeted with throwable objects.
Reportedly, more than 20 officers have got injured and around 2400 demonstrators have been arrested in each city. The offensive response from the police has intensified the level of protests rather than minimizing it. About 6 people have been killed in US Protests.
Donald Trump Rushed Into The White House Bunker
Protests that started in Minnesota didn’t remain limited to that state. They eventually reached Washington DC. Ultimately, the demonstration was led to the White House which prompted the secret service to escort President Donald Trump inside a bunker. This bunker was designed to be used at the time of extreme emergency such as a terrorist attack. Who knew POTUS would be scared of a protest.
The executive mansion was surrounded by hundreds of protesters and some of them were hauling at the barricades and throwing rocks at the police. White House went totally dark and the police retaliated by firing tear gas at the demonstrators. However, they resisted the attacks and continued to set fires and wreak havoc around White House.
Eliminating Violence From The Protests
President Donald Trump usually speaks a lot (sometimes it doesn’t even make sense) but ever since addressing the murder of George Floyd, he has been quiet and elusive from the public eye. Many people have criticized him for always failing as a leader whenever America needed him and wherever his input could make a difference.
Trump mainly focused on the violent part of the protests and did not discuss the main issue. In fact, he has not given any statement that can somehow address the concerns of protestors.
But recent US protests against the structural racism are too intense to fade soon. The question is whether these demonstrations will lead to any meaningful conclusion or they will loose their purpose in the face of violence. Also there is a lack of a leader like Martin Luther King who can guide the people to get organized and rejuvenate their struggle for an America with equal rights for the every person of color, as Bangladeshi economist points in the following tweet.
Ex-US President Barack Obama has also supported the protesters while condemning the violence.
He suggests the protestors channel their energy into a sustained, peaceful, and effective action and to address the issue of structural racism in the US. Police brutality is a deadly virus that is killing America long before COVID-19 ever existed.
The peaceful protesters were applauded for drawing attention towards the killing of George Floyd but the violent behavior of few demonstrators is also harming innocent people. Right now, it seems that the violence in US protests will end with racism only.
The inflictions of this virus of structural racism in the US are often overlooked due to the more prominent one these days. But perhaps they are getting more fatal day-by-day. As it can be seen from the video below, how much humanity and how many childhoods it has killed
