This is Derek M. Chauvin.
Nothing will bring George Floyd back. But we can, we gotta, prevent this from happening continually, every day, all over America and our planet.
~
Not the moment America needs right now, unless what we need is to further wake up, and painfully, which I guess we do.
Read more here. Or:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CGDUFwrgVTS/
~
Original article follows:
“Please make this go viral. I am begging you. Make America see this, I beg you.”
https://twitter.com/_popaboywillie/status/1267257954048278529?s=21
This is a painful time.
But, as Will Smith said, things aren’t worse—they’re just getting filmed.
That’s a good thing. It’s always been this bad, for many of our sisters and brothers, and the rest of us are just now beginning to wake up. That’s a good thing.
It’s painful to wake up, sometimes. It’s not always butterflies and rainbows. Sometimes, waking up is painful. It hurts to see what isn’t fun to see. But it’s vital to face reality—then, now, we can begin to make a real change. Time alone won’t change anything—we’ve got to make personal, and structural changes, both.
And so: we’re honored, you’re honored (I hope), to get to be of any small service here. Share. Educate yourself. Listen. Donate. Vote. Get your friends to vote—if voting didn’t matter, like journalism, they wouldn’t be trying to suppress it.
And read, and share, indie media, not just monopoly social media that doesn’t give a care about truth:
“Black female officer scolds white officer for attacking a black female peacefully protesting.” Source.
“We need cops to stand up to their own members in order for real change. This right here is literally the best way we are going to see any reform.
I agree we need legislative changes as well, however in my opinion this is largely a cultural issue within police departments. The culture of the police is defined by the people themselves, we need more officers like this woman standing up and enacting change from within the system itself.
One more personal thought: As private citizens I believe it’s our duty to champion these small heroic acts and show the rest of the country and world that this is the behavior we value. After watching this video yesterday and seeing all the comments about how she will probably get fired, I am extremely happy to see how much momentum is picking up behind it. Let’s make this small victory a defining moment of these protests.”
~
While this is helpful, we also need to legislate comprehensive law enforcement reform.
Context: video of the incident
News report: here
Image source: Instagram account: __papaboywillie
He credits two Instagram photographers (“illustrious.ceo” and “dix.jpg”) in the link.
He’s already been suspended. Excellent.
Police Chief Rick Maglione said Monday that Officer Steven Pohorence pushed the woman as he and other
He’s already been suspended. Excellent.
“Well that’s a lie. He was clearly the aggressor here and was nowhere near the car at the time of the incident. He was venturing on his own into the crowd to yell at a peaceful protester. That is generally not an indication of someone who his rescuing a colleague from a dangerous situation.”
~
“Light ’em up!” What a brave coward.
“Even if it’s [non-lethal], somebody is still at risk to lose an eye. Have these guys not learned anything.” ~ comment
Even after the past few days, this footage is, I’m sorry to admit, shocking. “Share widely. This is a police state.”
Please read this whole thread:
~
Holy s**t. We need more cops like him:
“Crowd shouts at a Seattle officer who put his knee on the neck an apprehended looter. Another officer listened & physically pulled his partner’s knee off the neck.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27_yb8qYDAY
See, how hard was that? It’s hard. Police unions and culture often condemn good cops for standing up to bad cops.
This is on many of us, too: let’s do the hard work of actually healing and making structural and personal changes, both.
~
From Reddit: “The ACLU has apps for recording police conduct that will immediately be uploaded and sent to them to prevent the footage from being deleted
It also has a witness feature that will alert others to where cops are stopping people. You can turn on a location setting and it will broadcast where you are being stopped so that others can come and record the interaction.
There’s a very helpful “know your rights” section that is specific to your state so you know what you can do and what you shouldn’t do when interacting with law enforcement.”
~
My ride through downtown Philly during looting. from r/ThatsInsane
Nurse working at the medical tent, treating people injured by security forces. : Regime military police opened fire on the medical tents, nurses, and beat/ arrested patients. Please share this, This NEEDS to be seen. from r/PublicFreakout
~
“This guy is Chris Swanson.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08J3r6E0F2Y
“Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson took his helmet off and put his baton on the ground as a sign of peace.
Swanson and other Flint-area police officers ultimately joined the march, which continued back past the Genesee Valley Mall onto Miller Road to the Target parking lot.
“This is the way it’s supposed to be — the police working with the community,” Swanson said. “When we see injustice, we call it out on the police side and on the community side. All we had to do was talk to them, and now we’re walking with them. … The cops in this community, we condemn what happened. That guy (Chauvin) is not one of us.”
Protesters initially sat down to show their peace, and after conversations sparked between police and protesters, common ground was found. High-fives, hugs and fist bumps were exchanged.”
“Makes me smile.” ~ comment
Update: Journalist permanently blinded.
“Police should be held to an even higher standard than your average joe. As a cop, you have absolutely no excuse to break the law and you should get maximum sentence no matter what.”
~
~
But now how will our very fine President Trump be able to identify the fine people on both sides?
This is stunning. “Trump threatens White House protesters with ‘vicious dogs and most ominous weapons.'”
This is the same guy who praised armed protestors for entering and occupying a government building in Michigan. They were just negotiating a better deal, he said.
Shouldn’t he welcome any and all protestors into the White House who want a better deal from him?
~
What I would give for a reporter to ask him this
~ reddit comments
“The question I’m trying to raise is a very serious question. The mass media-television and all the major news agencies-endlessly use that word “looter”. On television you always see black hands reaching in, you know. And so the American public concludes that these savages are trying to steal everything from us, And no one has seriously tried to get where the trouble is. After all, you’re accusing a captive population who has been robbed of everything of looting.” ~ James Baldwin.
“Everyone arrested in St. Paul last night was from out of state.”
~
“It is as necessary for me to be as vigorous in condemning the conditions which cause persons to feel that they must engage in riotous activities as it is for me to condemn riots. I think America must see that riots do not develop out of thin air. Certain conditions continue to exist in our society which must be condemned as vigorously as we condemn riots. But in the final analysis, a riot is the language of the unheard.”
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, The Other America
If you’re actually curious, not just blind, watch all of this:
I’m a white male. I’m the same age as George Floyd. Here’s what we do with our privilege:
~
Protest in Kansas City, Missouri.
“From someone who lives in KC and works in the Public Safety Sector (Firefighter), my city has always been one of the best in terms of respect and peaceful protesting, IMO. It’s gotten close last night and at other past protests but they kept it calm. KCPD and KC in general is not free from Racism and the problem that is being shown right now, but they are and have handled it better than most Police Department’s out there.
The way to end it is the good cops to stand up and stop hiding the bad cops.
I’m proud of my city and everyone in it for last night and protesting for it.
I stand with the ones who are fighting for Justice for what happened. I also want those to know that everyone at the fire department I work with support you guys too.
Good job KC, I hope tonight’s protest goes just as peaceful.
Edit: I wanna say thank you for…the amazing questions and debates in this section. I will keep responding to everyone as much as I can and trying to help place input and learn something new! I want everyone to know too is that I wear my badge over my heart for you and for me and for what’s right. If I misrepresent anything or say anything wrong then please tell me and I will correct it.” ~ #reddit comment
Share your story: elephantjournal.com/post
Read, share, support indie media: elephantjournal.com/subscribe
Get our best inspiration and awareness, every morning: elephantjournal.com/best
Who is Derek M. Chauvin?
“No wonder he thought he could murder a man in broad daylight with complete impunity. Just look at all the disgusting things he has gotten away with.” ~ Reddit comment
He’s finally been arrested. More and sources, below.
Read: Beautifully and powerfully written, “Well. My city is burning.”
“If you think the country changed overnight, you haven’t been paying attention.
I lived in Minneapolis for ten long years before finally escaping. It is a simmering s**tpile of segregation and racism and has been for decades.
Over the last four years, racism has flourished under the beady-eyed gaze of Donald Trump, and racists in positions of power have grown more and more confident.
George Floyd was slowly murdered in broad daylight, on video, in front of dozens of civilians, by a police officer. While people screamed and begged for him to let Floyd up, his partners held the crowd back and allowed him to slowly crush the life out of “another n*****”. And instead of being arrested, this bag of human filth is being protected, not only metaphorically, but literally – dozens of cops in full riot gear were lined up around his house Wednesday night.
At the same time, in another state, seven people were shot in a protest over the killing of an innocent black woman in her home.
You didn’t wake up to find a different country. You woke up to the ignition of the powder keg that’s been smoldering for years. Fascism isn’t coming. It’s here.”
“The Poster Boy of Police Brutality.”
Remember: this is only one bad cop. There’s 1,000s. Hopefully, there’s 100,000s of good ones. In any case, we can’t rely on viral moments via Instagram or twitter to right every wrong. For that, we need the sunshine of quality local journalism. Support by reading, sharing, subscribing. They’re the only ones who’ll attend thousands of hours of boring endless city council meetings and hearings and root out this kind of corruption, big and banal, small and ongoing.
Sources below.
A worthwhile read: Hey America, I Can’t Breathe.
~
There’s a subtle difference between these two Tweets. Can you spot it?
“When the looting starts, the shooting starts,” is a threat coined by Miami Police Chief Walter Headley, who promised violent reprisals on black protesters in 1967.
He also said: “We don’t mind being accused of police brutality. They haven’t seen anything yet.”
From Reddit:
Did this man threaten military action against his own people? Nice, nice.
Reply: No, no, heavens no.
He didn’t threaten military action against conservative Republicans. That would be awful. He just threatened it against minorities and “leftists”, and they’re not even human according to the President’s son.
You know what they say: “The only good Democrat is a dead Democrat”, right?
Update: Arresting reporters at a protest is an affront to the First Amendment
Video with context: here.
~
More: “I’d love to see more of these mega celebrities encouraging voting this November.”
Taylor Swift Blasts Trump for “Shooting” Tweet: “We Will Vote You Out in November. After stoking the fires of white supremacy and racism your entire presidency, you have the nerve to feign moral superiority before threatening violence?” the singer wrote.
~
~
A beautiful, worthwhile read from Minneapolis.
~
More sources.
3. https://www.twincities.com/2008/05/26/minneapolis-police-officer-involved-in-weekend-shooting-idd/
https://wikibious.com/derek-chauvin/
~
“We know Barr’s DOJ is okay with cops suffocating people to death.”
~
“Imagine killing someone on camera and not going to jail.” Check this out.
~
“Video shows Minneapolis cop with knee on neck of motionless, moaning man who later died.”
~
Read 5 Comments and Reply
Read 5 comments and reply