Legend has it that the Cyclops originally had two eyes. It traded one of its eyes to be able to see the future. So, the Cyclops gained the ability to see the future, but the future it was allowed to see was the day of its death.
We’re a little like the Cyclops in that we know the approximate time that George Floyd died. How is that similar? Because the body cam footage shows us a time when George Floyd’s death was still in the future. And, like the Cyclops, we’re not seeing everything we should.
We’ve been told for months that racist cops murdered an innocent and harmless black man. I bought it completely. I was 100% on board.
I freely admit that my viewpoint was biased. Up until a couple of days ago, we all had the same bias. When I read the article that accompanied the videos released by the Daily Mail, my bias was reinforced. Their claim repeated what I had been told for months and I didn’t doubt it. Not for one second.
So, when I watched the body cam videos, I was looking to find the proof that this was racially motivated. I wanted to find something the officers did or said that I could use in some clever way to make a point here for you all to read. I wanted to see for myself how race played a part in his death.
After I watched the video, my pad was empty. Huh. So, I watched it again. Still empty.
So, I went back to the Daily Mail, re-read the article and I realized something, the article was reinforcing a bias. They took single frames from the videos to paint a picture that supports what they wanted me to believe. But, their article was trying to make me believe something that I couldn’t see for myself.
When watching the body cam videos, you can, essentially, see the future. You know that George Floyd was killed even though in the videos it hasn’t happened yet. You have a bias. That bias is used by your brain to reinforce what you’ve been conditioned to believe, that racist cops murdered an innocent man. So, that’s all you see.
What I’m asking you to do is to, only temporarily, suspend your beliefs and forget that George Floyd died. I’m asking you to look at the videos as if you don’t already know what the future will bring for George Floyd, and that you don’t already believe that he was murdered by racist cops. I realize that’s a big ask. Many people will find it hard to do and most people won’t be able to do it at all.
From watching the video, I know two things about George Floyd, he was very strong and he was acting erratically. How many men does it take to subdue a man on the ground? I have no idea. But I know that at least three police officers weren’t enough to get him successfully locked into the back of an SUV.
What I see is that, up to the point where he was subdued on the ground, an appropriate amount of force was used. Actually, with the benefit of hindsight, I’d go so far as to say that they should have used more force. If Mr. Floyd had been forced into the back of the cruiser, he wouldn’t have ended up being restrained on the ground.
But, as we can clearly see from the video, Mr. Floyd escaped from the cruiser and asked to be allowed to lay on the ground. The officers complied with his request to remain outside the vehicle, but they still had to restrain him. He was, after all, extremely strong and acting erratically. With the benefit of knowing the future, we can see now that it was probably not the best course of action.
I’ve never said that George Floyd deserved to die. Likewise, I’ve never claimed that there aren’t racist cops. What I am saying is that the video evidence doesn’t support the claim that race was involved in George Floyd’s death.
It’s possible to believe that George Floyd didn’t deserve to die but also believe that he was partly responsible for his death.
Had Mr. Floyd simply complied with the officers’ orders, as his friends did, it is likely that he wouldn’t have died. Had he not escaped from the back of the SUV, there would have been no need to restrain him on the ground.
So, while it is true that he was killed by the officers, he had the power to prevent it. Instead, he chose not to comply time and time and time again. Does that mean I condone what they did? No, it simply means that George Floyd wasn’t the innocent victim that we’ve been led to believe he was. And the video evidence clearly shows that.
I’ve heard that Officer Chauvin and George Floyd new each other. In fact, they might even have not liked each other. Does that make Officer Chauvin a racist? I guess that’s possible. But, more likely is that he’s just a dick.
I stand by my previous statement that I believe none of the officers were trying to kill Mr. Floyd. I believe that none of them, Officer Chauvin included, thought that what they were doing would harm him. I believe that no one is stupid enough to intentionally use lethal force in front of witnesses and video cameras.
Were they responsible for his death? Yes, but Mr. Floyd shares the blame. Should they be held accountable for their role in his death? Yes. Was this clearly a racially-motivated act? No.
Instead of “Racist Cops Murder a Black Man”, the headline should have been “Three Police Officers Accidentally Kill Man While Restraining Him After He Escaped Custody.” Because that, in my opinion, is what the evidence supports, even if you view it knowing the future.
