From a brilliant young writer. This article is bound to get both sides talking. When I proposed a hypothetical situation to my 20 year old daughter, she had what I would consider a reasonable response. The hypothetical was that she was at work and they get caught off guard and rioters begin to loot and destroy her place of work. What would she do? She said she would get out as safely as she can and let them have at it. Rational, right? To me and millions like me, it is.

Now, add a layer. You’re the owner of a family business. Ok, let’s add all the emotional triggers. You put you’re blood, sweat and tears into it. What would you do? Hopefully the same thing. Although, it’s not as easy for many, just to walk away.

I say these because, In situations such as the two hypotheticals, it was really the duty of people we hired or elected to do their job. We have empowered them to protect us. We gave them the enormous legal, moral and ethical use of force. Unfortunately, just like what happened to George Floyd, the people we hired and elected to protect us, didn’t. We were betrayed by them. To be clear, not all of them, but enough for us to say where we’re you and why didn’t you do your job?

Daniel Horowitz’s article is to inform (for some remind) us that we gave our elected leaders enormous power, to primarily, protect us,- and they didn’t.

Clips from “Death Of A Nation.” 2018.

President Trump tweeted Sunday morning May 31, 2020 that the group called Antifa (Short for Anti-fascist) “will” be declared a domestic terrorist group. Key phrase “will be.” This means we will wait when it’s actually declared. If he does, the Patriot Act passed in 2001 will be the guiding law in the enhanced surveilling, apprehending and ultimately eliminating such groups.

There is already pushback on the announcement. CNN reporting that experts claim unconstitutionality of such declaration. However, the article by Evan Perez and Jason Hoffman does not name the current and former officials they are crediting for their article. The only positive identification in their article is of the ACLU and it’s National Security Project Director, Hina Shamsi. Director Shamsi says there is “no legal authority for designating a domestic group” as a terrorist organization.

Harsh? Considering what happened on May 25th 2020 and the days following that, it needs to be harsh!

Active Sin

Officer Chauvin kneeling on George Floyd’s neck during an arrest, is not only unacceptable, it could very well be illegal. Especially, as the viral video of it has shown, there was no resistance.

The other sinners were the rioters who were looting and destroying businesses, Police Precincts as well as assaulting a woman in a wheelchair.

Inaction – Passive Sin

Three Blind Mice (Three Officers)

The three Minneapolis Police Officers, with then Officer Derek Chauvin, are seen actively assisting in the apprehension and ultimate control of George Floyd. What cannot be seen or corroborated is their intervention on Mr. Floyd’s behalf when the latter kept asking for help. He kept saying he couldn’t breath and for eight minutes this continued with no relief. Why they didn’t check on him is inexplicable. They had control of him. He was handcuffed and on the ground. Ultimately, George Floyd died.

The Three Stooges (Minnesota Leaders – Governor Walz, Saint Paul Mayor Carter and Minneapolis Mayor Frey)

On May 26, 2020, a riot broke out in the City of Minneapolis where the death of George Floyd occurred. The 3rd Precinct Police Station was breached and the Mayor ordered it abandoned. The rioters destroyed and burned down store after store, building after building. Parked cars were not spared.

The next two days, knowing what happened, the Mayors of Minneapolis and St. Paul did effectively nothing to protect the other properties not yet ruined from the previous night. At a press conference, Mayor Frey was heard saying that those were just properties. Lost on him were all the people behind those businesses. Owners, employees and customers who have come to rely on those businesses for their daily needs.

In a State, the buck stops at the Governor’s Mansion. Governor Walz was offered help by no less than The President Of The United States, Donald Trump. Walz turned down the assistance. The mayhem continued through Friday evening May 29, 2020. Not until Saturday evening May 30th did the Governor order the rioters dispersed.

Dereliction Of Duty

The Three (Four) Minneapolis Police Officers, the Governor and Mayors of St. Paul and Minneapolis failed in their primary duty. Their jobs were first and foremost to protect all of us. It wasn’t and never was to appease lawbreakers regardless of circumstance. Specially when the lawbreaking becomes an existential threat for a community.

Victim(s)

To be sure, everything started with the unjustifiable death of George Floyd. He was the first. Then his death was somehow lost in the carnage that followed. From early accounts Mr. Floyd did not live a troubled life. Not that that matters. What I mean is he didn’t fight it out with the Police. He didn’t put anyones life in danger.

The citizens of Minneapolis and St. Paul also known as the Twin Cities are also victims. The surrounding Metropolitan cities were not spared the effects of the rioters violence. Just like Mr. Floyd, they were innocent of any infraction with society that warranted non-protection by the institutions they elected to protect them.

An inventory of the damage done after George Floyd’s Death.

The tragic death of George Floyd has been followed by another tragedy. There is no other way to describe the events that began the week of May 25, 2020.

Suspect to Victim to Symbol

From initial accounts, on the afternoon of May 25th 2020, Minneapolis Police were called to a possible forgery in progress at the 3800 block of Chicago Ave. When police arrived, they confronted George Floyd. The details of what happened from that point, to where George Floyd ended up on the ground with officer Derek Chauvin kneeling on Mr. Floyd’s neck, is under investigation.

A bystander recorded the event. The video has gone viral. In it, Mr. Floyd is heard saying he can’t breathe and is asking to be let up. For 8 minutes, he repeats his plea. Nothing.

Eventually, he loses consciousness. Millions believe, this is when he died – tragically at the hands of police officers, officers who were sworn to protect and serve.

Immediate anger came from witnesses who were now gathered around the commotion. Three other officers were with Derek Chauvin when Mr. Floyd was apprehended. Not one of the three interceded in making sure that Mr. Floyd’s immediate well-being was secure.

By that evening, there was a consensus around the nation that what happened to Mr. Floyd wasn’t just wrong. It was outrageous! Criminal! People were angry and wanted justice to be served and served quickly. This is where people parted ways.

The Offspring Emerges

As of the writing of this post, three straight days of rioting and looting occurred. Overshadowed in all this, is the rightful, lawful and genuine protest to an injustice that was clear to millions. What followed was just as angering and enraging to many who had absolutely nothing to do with Mr. Floyd’s death. Why were they enraged? For some, their property and livelihoods were looted and destroyed. For others they saw the rioting and lawlessness equally appalling as the death of Mr. Floyd.

What Next

Historically, after a riot, communities are extremely slow in getting back to normal. Businesses and other institutions leave, some never to come back. Even when a “come to the table” call is made and done, flight from the community is inevitable, because distrust is fresh. Grievances are fresh. Law enforcement, even when there are bad apples, is still needed to keep cohesiveness in the community. But when they fail, they not only fail in that immediate sense, they fail in providing what a community needs to endure – security. Security breeds hope.

The irony lost on the rioters is that they destroyed the very community they said they were fighting for. Sometimes it takes a new generation. A generation unaware and unaffected of the Tragedy that begat a Tragedy.

I don’t follow this rapper/artist but what he said about the George Floyd Tragedy and subsequently the riots that followed is straightforward and clear. Here’s the article from Dailywire.com.

John Dos Passos

“The Use of The Past”

The Ground We Stand On, 1941

“In times of change and danger when there is a quicksand of fear under men’s reasoning, a sense of continuity with generations gone before can stretch like a lifeline across the scary present and get us past that idiot delusion of the exceptional Now that blocks good thinking. That is why, in times like ours, when old institutions are caving in and being replaced by new institutions not necessarily in accord with most men’s preconceived hopes, political thought has to look backwards as well as forwards.”

A great majority of immigrants including myself, migrated to the United States for a better life. Better overall compared to what we left. We voted with our feet. Having said that, a study done in 2018 by the Center for Immigration Studies shows that a growing number of immigrants access welfare at a higher rate compared to non-immigrants. Figure 1 shows that ultimate citizenship doesn’t change that fact.

Knowing this, I simply ask, is that reason to be thankful? According to a Pew Research study done in June of 2019, the US takes in around 1 million immigrants per year. What do non-immigrants think about that? Is this sustainable? Is this something that should just be accepted or must it be changed? Do we change the number of accepted immigrants or do we change the rules for accessing welfare?