Ronni
Well-known Member
- Location
- Nashville TN
I am really shocked at some of the things I'm reading here about George Floyd's murder.
Yes, he was a criminal. Yes, he passed counterfeit money, and there is some evidence he KNEW it was counterfeit, that the ink on it hadn't even thoroughly dried. Yes, he did time in prison. Yes, he threatened a pregnant woman with a gun.
He was far from perfect, he lived a troubled life, there were things he did and acts he committed which were indefensible and which I abhor.
He was also, at the end of his life, A VICTIM.
His criminal past is being used by some to mitigate or even excuse the actions of the police officer who murdered him, and the other three officers who contributed. That he used counterfeit money, that he was high, or drunk, or both is offered as a reason why he was detained and subsequently "subdued" and that his death was simply an unfortunate consequence.
Some on facebook and in the media are calling Mr. Floyd a hero or a martyr. I don't agree that he was. But because some are labeling him that, it gives others the opportunity to point out that he wasn't either, he was "just" a criminal, as though that somehow excuses his murder.
Label him whatever you want, but while you're struggling to figure out how feel about this wretched incident, how to feel about Mr. Floyd, remember that he was a VICTIM, powerless in the moments before his death to change that course in spite of his please and entreaties. He was a man crying out for his mother, pleading with his murderer that he couldn't breathe, held down with a knee on his neck for almost 9 minutes, the last two minutes of which he was completely unresponsive, so that when the paramedics arrived they couldn't detect a pulse.
HE WAS A VICTIM. Lethal, deadly force was used against him. He suffered physical harm to the point of death as a result of the criminal act perpetrated against him. He deserves justice.
Yes, he was a criminal. Yes, he passed counterfeit money, and there is some evidence he KNEW it was counterfeit, that the ink on it hadn't even thoroughly dried. Yes, he did time in prison. Yes, he threatened a pregnant woman with a gun.
He was far from perfect, he lived a troubled life, there were things he did and acts he committed which were indefensible and which I abhor.
He was also, at the end of his life, A VICTIM.
His criminal past is being used by some to mitigate or even excuse the actions of the police officer who murdered him, and the other three officers who contributed. That he used counterfeit money, that he was high, or drunk, or both is offered as a reason why he was detained and subsequently "subdued" and that his death was simply an unfortunate consequence.
Some on facebook and in the media are calling Mr. Floyd a hero or a martyr. I don't agree that he was. But because some are labeling him that, it gives others the opportunity to point out that he wasn't either, he was "just" a criminal, as though that somehow excuses his murder.
Label him whatever you want, but while you're struggling to figure out how feel about this wretched incident, how to feel about Mr. Floyd, remember that he was a VICTIM, powerless in the moments before his death to change that course in spite of his please and entreaties. He was a man crying out for his mother, pleading with his murderer that he couldn't breathe, held down with a knee on his neck for almost 9 minutes, the last two minutes of which he was completely unresponsive, so that when the paramedics arrived they couldn't detect a pulse.
HE WAS A VICTIM. Lethal, deadly force was used against him. He suffered physical harm to the point of death as a result of the criminal act perpetrated against him. He deserves justice.
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