- Question
How do we think about the George Floyd murder?
On May 25 2020, George Floyd was suffocated to death by the police. Floyd had been arrested on suspicion of using a counterfeit $20 bill. In chilling footage that would go viral within 24 hours, officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for more than 8 minutes ignoring Floyd's repeated pleas for him to move. The asphyxiation led to his cardiac arrest. Floyd's death has so far inspired protests across more than 75 US cities, calling for an end to police brutality and institutional racism. The responses to these riots have included state-wide curfews, the threat of military intervention, attacks on the media and civilian arrests. The situation has given rise to a complex debate with commentators arguing over what precisely it has exposed about contemporary America. So, who are these groups, what do they stand for, and why?
Our freedom is at stake: George Floyd's murder exposes a crisis of civil liberties
This approach believes that this crisis hinges on the relationship between the state and the individual. It focuses on police brutality and state-sanctioned violence against innocent citizens.
- The police are violent towards people protesting the murder of George Floyd
- George Floyd's murder exposes problems with the censorship of the press
- George Floyd's murder exposes how police are threatening individual freedom
- The George Floyd riots are detracting from the real issue at hand
- Police immunity means murders like George Floyd's go unpunished
- The George Floyd crisis exposes deep institutional racism
- The George Floyd debate is really about the right to life
- The response to George Floyd's murder has increased surveillance
- Stopping the George Floyd protests is unpatriotic
Society creates the nation: George Floyd's murder exposes America’s deepening social cleavages
This approach believes that deep social divisions are at the heart of the issue. The murder has galvanised violence and unrest because of the more intrinsic identities that it represents.
- The riots have exposed a contradiction in American values - a contradiction perpetuated by right-wing politics
- American racism does not exist
- George Floyd's murder exposed rampant capitalism and a broken society
- George Floyd murder has placed America on the brink of a race war
- The George Floyd protests are part of the fight for truth
- The George Floyd protests emboldens groups like Antifa
- The George Floyd protests are an opportunity for peaceful revolution
Leaders create nations: George Floyd's murder exposes the ongoing American political crisis
This approach believes that political machinations are responsible for civil unrest and social stability. In this case, the response from political leadership has allowed the murder to grow into a national catastrophe.
- Poor leadership has led America into chaos
- The crisis has grown out of protracted American political failures
- Russia is puppeteering the American political crisis from behind the scenes
- President Trump is weaponising the crisis for personal gain
- An absence of leadership has led America into crisis
- The age of American authoritarianism is approaching
George Floyd's murder is simply a murder: It is not representative of wider issues
This position holds that George Floyd's death was simply a murder, not a symbol of wider issues. It argues an isolated killing cannot be used to draw broad conclusions about American society or politics—a view whose proponents often also dispute the protest movement that followed.
George Floyd's murder is a structural issue: American gun laws are to blame
The US gun laws mean every police engagement is potentially life threatening. Corrupted by their power over life and death, police feel above the law, which feeds their behaviour and how others respond to them.