This Year Has Exceeded Everything In History

2020 so far has been a year filled with restlessness, unease, fear, and calamity. Something major has happened in every single month with covid-19 spreading in the background. Many would say this a sign from God himself that this was foreseen in the Bible. Others would say that what’s happening is just the repercussions of our own actions and the way we treat the world. 

The most violent event as of right now surprisingly isn’t covid-19 but the death of a black man, George Floyd. I haven’t been the most up to date on the news because it’s filled with nothing but depression, violence, and the same things over and over. George Floyd’s death is a tragedy and brings the issue of racism and brutality to the forefront once more. 

What bothers me the most is how violent the protests and riots have been throughout the country. Police shooting pellet bullets at civilians, throwing mace at reporters. People throwing rocks at the police and screaming profanity and demanding justice. In the ugly way of saying it, people are fighting for their lives, for their beliefs, every man for himself. 

Violence never solves anything. Violence against violence is a stupid thing to do. I am not on anyone’s side, but from the sidelines of what happened to George Floyd— if he was able to articulate he couldn’t breath, of course no one would believe him. How do you speak if you claim you can’t breath? That was misleading but as police officers, they should have known better and at least loosen their grip to see if the guy was bluffing or being serious. At least check their vital signs, how fast is their pulse, etc.? Showing a bit of sympathy or caring won’t make you a weakling. If anything, it shows cops are humans too instead of cold blooded executioners? On top of that, the way the officer had the poor guy in submission was wrong. Had the officer not received proper training on how to restrain someone? Sure seems like it. 

It takes one rotten apple in the basket to drag the whole basket down with it. One bad cop makes every cop bad. One bad mexican, Asian, middle eastern, etc. makes everyone bad. 

The tension between civilians and law enforcement has always been a thin line. It’s been stepped on many times, pulled out to the point of breaking many times, and this time it didn’t survive what happened and snapped off its hinges. My economics professor once said: the only thing stopping this world from moving forward is racism. And that will never change. 

Everyone’s complaining of how bad the protests and riots have been this time compared to times in the past. I feel it’s because this happened in the midst of covid-19, the amount of people that are unemployed, lifts on lockdowns being extended, and the government turning a blind ear to the cries of the people. 

Have you guys seen the insane lines to food pantries in the less well off neighborhoods? Have you guys paid attention to the ever rising levels of unemployment? How many people are losing their sanity in the midst of everything that’s going on? This was the perfect chance to act out and go all out. Not only for justice for George Floyd, for them to express freedom of will and speech after being suppressed for so long. The fight for poverty, for justice in racism, and to exercise their first amendment is lit. I don’t agree with how everyone’s going on about this though. No matter how suppressed we are...we shouldn’t be doing destructive things to innocent people, to loot stores, to destroy public buildings and so forth. And certainly, trying to block a fully loaded semi truck or jumping a fully loaded Fedex or UPS semi is not the answer to anything. 

If you are going to protest, please protest in peace, riot in peace, don’t disrupt the lives of others in your protests. Don’t hurt innocent people in your moment of anger and desperation. Many people are trying to be Martin Luther King but you’re not. MLK did not use violence, none of his protests or walks have been in violence. They protested in peace. That’s a perfect example of how protests and riots should be. Not screaming at the police, or taunting them. You speak formally, make your points, stand your ground. When we act out in violence recklessness and act like animals, this only makes law enforcement retaliate with violence and act like animals right back. When you act calmly with precision, with strategy and careful planning, you will get much further with what you are trying to convey. 

Show them, you are better than what they perceive you to be. That is the best weapon to use against your enemy to force change. As unjustly George Floyd was treated and died, we need to wield that anger in the right way to make change come into effect. Wielding anger and waving it blindly around with no final goal in mind is in vain. And nothing succeeds if you are going into a fight for some sort of personal gain such as looting stores, restaurants, and destroying retail stores. Again, please protest in peace. 

What a year 2020 has been. It’s been more colorful than both World Wars combined. Stay safe everyone out there and stand strong. May peace be with you. A better world is possible but this certainly is not the way to go about it right now.