Dr John Mohan Razu
More than one hundred thousands people died of COVID-19 in the United States of America. It tops the list of nations around the globe and stands out conspicuously as the world’s number one epicenter. Simultaneously for more than two weeks United States is gripped by another virus—racism. An image that went viral in the social media—a white cop keeping his knee on the neck with his left hand in his pocket pressing hard on an unarmed Afro-American George Floyd in mid-40s for about 8 minutes 46 seconds gasping for breath and desperately pleading “I cannot breathe” surrounded by three of his colleagues in Minneapolis manifests the police brutality and height of racism.
The image “I cannot breathe” has galvanized American people and brought together all races ever before and to an extent created ripples across the world. Viciousness and heinousness of racism manifests in many ways and this is one gruesome manifestation wherein George Floyd was choked to death. It is indeed blatant, dastardly and pre-mediated act executed by four white cops. USA is locked with COVID-19 and now inter-locked with another pandemic racism.
Though racial injustices and prejudices are part of American history, culture and normative principles for several hundreds of years, the millennial views this as the perfect opportunity to defy as they are propelled by information technology that has taken them to new normal. Racism is institutionalized and structured and so systemic and systematized as years went by. It has taken too long stretching to several centuries and thus institutionalized. Hundreds and thousands became its victims over the centuries.
American history is enmeshed with 250 years of slavery and several centuries of racial discrimination. 2020 is the seminal and watershed moment. George Floyd last words “I cannot breathe” has triggered that momentum wherein majority of the protesters happened to be non-Afro-Americans cutting across race and religion. His last breath sets a tone for racial justice, equality, peace and love and freedom. He died for racial equality and peaceful co-existence.
Many believe within and outside America that this is the watershed moment in the history of America. Afro-Americans in particularly firmly believe that without justice there is no peace and so establishing justice in a racially divided American society ought to be the prerogative. Raging brutality in the educational, social, economic, political, religious and cultural systems against the Afro-Americans show that everything structured systematically to protect and promote white America and so the black America continue to remain as objects without any dignity and rights.
Protesters believe that they should not let another black man to get killed and so came out with powerful captions such as: “Black Lives Matters”, “Stop Killing Blacks”, “Do the Right Thing”, “Resist”, “No Justice No Peace”, “Silence is Complicity”, “Silence is Violence”, “Stop Talking Lies”, “Stand Up and Say Get-off Our Neck” and “Stop the Brutality”. Governor of Minnesota said that “We don’t care what you say, we care what we do”. On similar vein, the Governor of Virginia said: “If it was wrong then, so it is wrong now”.
It is a defining moment to bring about change. Wherever racism is alive and active those who are against it should seize this moment and defy the forces that discriminate and oppress the blacks. In France, England and in other countries we have similar uprisings. George Floyd in his death reiterated that racially oppressed should come to terms with their resolve and resilience. Those against racism have captured this moment and have taken the struggle to the next level.
Protests across the United States are primarily engaged in countering the nefarious designs of the white supremacists’ premised and perpetuated in the police force. Peoples’ uprisings not only in the United State but also in other parts of the world signaling that racism shall never go on uncontested. Peoples’ protests are obviously going to change the contours of racism. The timings and tenors show optimistic trends, but to be cautious not to slip from the current dynamic.
Conversation is changing. Racism has surged dramatically in recent times as we come across leaders of countries known to us have dipped their politics on white supremacy insulated with heightened “nationalism” and fanatic religious fundamentalism. This is how racism has been converted as an inbuilt system in many societies In such fluid contexts anti-racist movements have been sparked by that 8 minutes 46 seconds video that depicts George Floyd struggling as he was choked to death. The video candidly exposes the systemic and structural racism.
This is the beginning of the story. The momentum has started. The movement is lit and sparked in the death of George Floyd and certainly would gain momentum. From here the oppressed communities and those opposed to racism and other human constructed divides such as casteism, religious fundamentalism, patriarchy, tribalism and many others. George Floyd death exhibits structural violence wherein the oppressed communities are deprived of every area of human life.
This time it is going to be different than the former times. Injustices in any form shall never be tolerated. This is the watershed moment in history. We have been witnessing protests across the world that has brought people together. We will have to wait and see the direction this movement is to go. Civil rights enjoined with other rights are important. Ethnic minorities and others in the lower rung of the societal pyramid should get awakened by this incident.
This is going to be a defining moment. New generation—millennial belonging to the 21st Century is ready to take up the struggle and mantle on to its logical ends. Lives do matter and the lives of those who have been treated as less-human and dehumanized on the basis of race, gender, religion and caste equally matters. No one knows how far they should walk and how long the road is, but the momentum has started. The terrains are rough and rugged. Racism and casteism have made its origin centuries ago primarily to control people who are different than them (the other). And so by all means and at all costs ought to be dismantled.
