I think many of you missed the intent of my original post. This is an historic opportunity because of COVID19 and therefore this is the time.
Why?
Black men die at the hands of the police all of the time, usually a few every week in the USA. So George Floyd's death is not unique really. The idea that it was captured on video was also not unique. The length of time was rather unique and the capturing of the police officers face during the 8+ minutes was powerful.
The real key that made his death so unique compared to the thousands of black men that die every decade from police interactions was that so many people watched it, and COVID19 is the reason. People are at home. There are no sports, no new TV shows, no youth sports, or recitals, no music concerts or summer festivals. Mr. Floyd's death was displayed to a largely captive audience with no way to escape the brutal death even if they wanted to ignore it. That's all thanks to COVID19.
If COVID19 enabled a heightened awareness of the plight then it is reasonable to conclude that those that have fought for equality in the judicial system for centuries would need to use this same period of time to demand change. Waiting until a vaccine in 2021 or 2022 to hold a protest would mean to lose the opportunity. Hold those rallies and marches in the summer of 2021 after some other death while black situation and the protest events likely would have a different set of participants and far less coverage. With fewer participants and less coverage there would be less impact and little, if any, change.
Additionally, President Trump is critical here. In the 50s and 60s it was well understood that peaceful protest worked best if those politicians and police officials in charge insisted on using force and violence to suppress those seeking civil rights. The next president (2021 or 2025) is unlikely to make statements and actions in response to the protests quite as...helpful...as the actions and statements of President Trump.
For many protesting this is probably the single best opportunity for change (COVID related slowdown & POTUS45) in generations. The idea that those protesting, in the USA and around the world, are risking their lives and the lives of their loved ones is a tribute to their commitment to the noble cause of a more perfect union.
I wish it would not result in more deaths or that it would not be used as an excuse by POTUS45's administration for all of the COVID deaths that are going to happen throughout the rest of 2020. I also wish the COVID risk accepted by the protesters would not be transferred to others, but that's not how contagious diseases work. I do suspect history will look favorably upon those that marched in 2020.
The USA moved forward on opening because we were impatient. We have a health care system built upon people getting coverage from their employer, so we waiting had economic AND health care coverage consequences in the mix.
Officials from around the world noted the USA was not ready to open. The cases were not down to a rate that could be traced and public awareness on the importance of masks and social distancing is limited. There were many countries that were much closer to ready that still had issues, but I guess as a nation we decided our belief in American exceptionalism would beat back COVID spread.
At this point President Trump is making an all-in gamble on warmer weather or the WARP speed vaccine development solving the problem before November. Seems like a weekly CDC briefing on sensible prevention steps and national tracing would be reasonable additions to the plan, but I guess that is not needed if we really are all-in on the gamble.
It is at this time that I wish POTUS45 didn't have quite so many all-in losses (bankruptcies) in his life as a business executive.
Why?
Black men die at the hands of the police all of the time, usually a few every week in the USA. So George Floyd's death is not unique really. The idea that it was captured on video was also not unique. The length of time was rather unique and the capturing of the police officers face during the 8+ minutes was powerful.
The real key that made his death so unique compared to the thousands of black men that die every decade from police interactions was that so many people watched it, and COVID19 is the reason. People are at home. There are no sports, no new TV shows, no youth sports, or recitals, no music concerts or summer festivals. Mr. Floyd's death was displayed to a largely captive audience with no way to escape the brutal death even if they wanted to ignore it. That's all thanks to COVID19.
If COVID19 enabled a heightened awareness of the plight then it is reasonable to conclude that those that have fought for equality in the judicial system for centuries would need to use this same period of time to demand change. Waiting until a vaccine in 2021 or 2022 to hold a protest would mean to lose the opportunity. Hold those rallies and marches in the summer of 2021 after some other death while black situation and the protest events likely would have a different set of participants and far less coverage. With fewer participants and less coverage there would be less impact and little, if any, change.
Additionally, President Trump is critical here. In the 50s and 60s it was well understood that peaceful protest worked best if those politicians and police officials in charge insisted on using force and violence to suppress those seeking civil rights. The next president (2021 or 2025) is unlikely to make statements and actions in response to the protests quite as...helpful...as the actions and statements of President Trump.
For many protesting this is probably the single best opportunity for change (COVID related slowdown & POTUS45) in generations. The idea that those protesting, in the USA and around the world, are risking their lives and the lives of their loved ones is a tribute to their commitment to the noble cause of a more perfect union.
I wish it would not result in more deaths or that it would not be used as an excuse by POTUS45's administration for all of the COVID deaths that are going to happen throughout the rest of 2020. I also wish the COVID risk accepted by the protesters would not be transferred to others, but that's not how contagious diseases work. I do suspect history will look favorably upon those that marched in 2020.
(06-11-2020, 10:22 PM)BostonCard Wrote: The New York Times has county by county data and make their data available for download:
The USA moved forward on opening because we were impatient. We have a health care system built upon people getting coverage from their employer, so we waiting had economic AND health care coverage consequences in the mix.
Officials from around the world noted the USA was not ready to open. The cases were not down to a rate that could be traced and public awareness on the importance of masks and social distancing is limited. There were many countries that were much closer to ready that still had issues, but I guess as a nation we decided our belief in American exceptionalism would beat back COVID spread.
At this point President Trump is making an all-in gamble on warmer weather or the WARP speed vaccine development solving the problem before November. Seems like a weekly CDC briefing on sensible prevention steps and national tracing would be reasonable additions to the plan, but I guess that is not needed if we really are all-in on the gamble.
It is at this time that I wish POTUS45 didn't have quite so many all-in losses (bankruptcies) in his life as a business executive.