I can't Breathe - Examining the Death of George Floyd and the Ongoing Protests Through A Sociological Lens

"I can't breathe," George Floyd pleaded in anguish and pain as Derek Chauvin, a white police officer in Minneapolis, kneeled on his neck for almost ten minutes on the 25th of May 2020 while three of his colleagues watchful on in complete amusement. George Floyd went unconscious afterwards and would later be declared dead moments later. Therefore, it is not surprising that his death has sparked public outrage worldwide, with violent protests specifically erupting against racial discrimination in different states across America.

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Apart from the fact that America has a history of black subjugation and what many commentators have referred to as systemic racism, the ongoing protests and demonstrations can only be understood in the context of the present social milieu in America. Even the death of George Floyd, many blacks believe, is symbolic of the burden of being black in the present day American society. Like George had his neck beneath the knee of Derek, the black man in today's America, it would sadly seem, is constantly beneath the knee of an unjust system that constantly suffocate, oppress, and deprive it from living freely.

The situation becomes even more delicate when we follow the media narrative in Trump-led America where racial divisions and tensions have seemingly peaked. It then becomes very convenient to ascribe the mistreatment of a black man by a white man as systemic racism. Contrarily, the reactions of the public could have been very different had the same gloomy scenarios played out under the leadership of former president Barrack Obama. Indeed, perceptions cannot be historically isolated from the analysis of collective behaviour, especially as it is unfolding in America today.

_{Video capturing the killing of Ahmaud Arbery}

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But even if we ignore the role of perceptions in fuelling the ongoing anti-racial protests in America, we can not ignore the sharp similarities between the Georgia shooting of Ahmaud Arbery by a white man and his son on the 23rd of February 2020 and the most recent killing of George Floyd. Both men were needlessly killed even though they clearly had no capacity to cause harm at the untoward moment of their death. Ahmaud was joggling unarmed while George had his hands already cuffed behind his back. Therefore, the general assumption was that both men would have lived if they were whites - hence the public outrage.

So far, the protests have witnessed pockets of violence and lootings that have already forced twelve states as at press time to activate the national guards to avert the complete breakdown of law and order. Interestingly, the protesters consist not only of blacks but thousands of whites who also believe in a fair and just society.

But the pattern and manner in which the protests are being executed, especially in places where violence and lootings have erupted, suggests that the name of George Floyd is not just an umbrella for those rallying for a more equitable society for the people of colour but thousands of people, blacks and whites alike, who are already frustrated with the hardship resulting from the pandemic, that is, unemployment and drudgery. Today, it can not be a mere coincidence that America now accounts for about one-third of the total deaths from COVID-19 and over 40 million Americans have filed for unemployment benefits since March.

_{Who was George Floyd?}

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Frankly, it is really a harsh time in history to be alive for millions Americans who have lost their means of livelihood and find themselves occupying the hottest part of the kitchen of the novel coronavirus. And with black communities being the worst casualty of COVID-19 in New York, the epicentre of the virus in the United States, the burden of being back in the United States has never become heavier and exhausting than it is presently. From a sociological lens, the frustrated people in the system who are victims of the pandemic are also on the streets and will continue to show solidarity because by so doing they indirectly protest their own frustrations.

America under president Trump must therefore be very careful and vigilant to not allow the protests to be hijacked by unscrupulous elements who may want to profit from the social climate of the time to fan the embers of chaos and violence. This is not the time to allude to the racist words of the 1967 Boston police Chief who declared that, when the looting starts, the shooting starts. This is a time to address racial injustices, preach racial unity, and return the economy to normal as soon as possible to thwart the plans of the detractors.