Like millions of other Americans, I am appalled by the killing of George Floyd. The response is more troubling.
I remember the response to the desegregation movement of 50 years ago. The “authorities” said much the same thing as the “authorities” in Minneapolis. They blamed the riots on outside communist agitators who come in and stir up trouble. Then, as now, they were aided and abetted by Washington politicians.
They say they are fully behind orderly protest. “Just give us time to work.” In the meantime, stay home. People don’t do so because they aren’t stupid. They know that if it were really a small group of white nationalist and anarchists it would be a simple matter of arresting them and getting them off the streets. Massive force isn’t necessary.
The protesters know that these policemen come from a culture supported by police management. They are justifiably angry by authorities who attempt to switch the focus — who once again ask the minority community to manage the problem. Arresting legitimate media teams only underlines the hypocrisy (in case you missed it the state police arrested a CNN crew for no apparent reason!).
It has accurately been pointed out that this is a white community problem. We wring our hands and hope saner minds will prevail. “Saner minds” need to tell people like the governor and attorney general in Minnesota that racism cannot be hidden behind a skillful attempt to shift the blame.
We appear headed toward a summer like 1968, when violence erupted across the country. It was preventable then. It is preventable now. Shifting the blame to outside agitators won’t help, nor will politicians whose choice of words is meant to inflame white bigots.
Dean Crocker
Manchester
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