The death of George Floyd happened on May 25th, 2020 with the knee of officer Derek Chauvin on his neck for over eight minutes.

I wasn’t going to write about this. I didn’t want to write about this. I’ve been following this story since it hit the news. Watching the videos, news clips, and reading the threads on Facebook. Nothing that I could add that hasn’t already been said, it seemed. But as the talks continued and things continued to increase, this nagging voice in my head brings me to this glowing screen in front of me once again.

What happened to George Floyd was a total disgrace. Should have never happened. But not for the reasons you think.

I see posts of people claiming support for George Floyd’s family. Videos of people speaking out against police brutality. Old clashes between races brought to new. Increasing the divide. Promoting the hatred and anger. Everyone’s pointing the finger. Speaking of “actions and consequences”,etc. Things I am all so familiar with. What a bloody ridiculous world we live in.

Floyd didn’t die because of racism. He wasn’t taken to the ground because of the color of his skin. Floyd was a suspect in a crime and was being detained. And at 6′ 6″ he was willingly showing his size, by not turning around or giving his hands to be handcuffed. The headlines read that he “wasn’t resisting”. That’s not true. I watched the videos. Close. Floyd wasn’t having it being put in those cuffs. I’ve got friends that are over six feet, for them to resist, all they have to do is stand there; good luck moving them. So the officers had to take him down. But that didn’t warrant what happened next and what happened next isn’t why he died.

Once down on the ground, Floyd was handcuffed and officially detained. Derek Chauvin’s knee on Georges neck made sure of that. Chauvin sat his fat self there, with his knee on George’s neck and his hands in his pockets for damn near ten minutes. His hands were in his pockets. Clearly displaying that the perpetrator was subdued. George cried out claiming he couldn’t breath. People pleaded with the officer to remove his knee from Georges neck. But he did not remove his knee and George eventually succumbed. But that’s not what killed George Floyd.

George Floyd died that day for one simple reason. Not because of race or the color of his skin. Not because of police brutality. But because of a small crowd of people that were absolute cowards; that stood there and did nothing.

“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing” – Edmund Burke

WHY didn’t at least one of those people, watching George die, tackle that cop? Why? It would have only taken one. ONE. One person, putting themselves in harms way, would have possibly given George just enough time to catch his breath. ONE person that, when realizing what was happening and saw that words were not having an effect on the officer, stepped up to defend George with more than just words. Why?

See, I struggle with it, because I don’t understand it. People claim they want change. Claim they want justice. They’re willing to burn buildings and loot stores for it. Essentially putting themselves in a position to be arrested for a crime. They’ll rally in the streets and shout for justice.

…..but when it’s happening…when a person is down getting the life crushed out of them, they just stand there. W.T.F.?

George Floyd died because we have become a society of fucking wussies. Who are more concerned about ourselves, self preservation and our own safety than of a person that we will stand there and watch die right in front of us. We have become a nation of cowards. We’ll video tape it and post it on Youtube.

You claim “Black Lives Matter”? Then why aren’t you risking your life when it matters? Why aren’t people stepping in to prevent these deaths? Risking their own safety?

Sure, had someone not listened to the police there and tackled that cop they most assuredly would have been arrested. But George may have still been alive today. He just needed to breath. Just a breath. Just a moment was all that was needed. SOMEONE there could have given him that. And they didn’t. They just stood there. Watched him die. Stayed safe. They chose their own life over Georges’. It’s that simple.

And sure, that doesn’t address the issue of “police brutality”. That’ll still continue to happen. But maybe, just maybe, if people refuse to let it continue when they see it, there will be one less George Floyd that we get to talk about.

Just a thought.

#Don’tGetArrestedForLootingAStore

#GetArrestedForSavingALife

#Don’tJustStandThere

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