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A Call To Action Against Police Brutality: Reading A Cop Their “Floyd Warning”
As the frequency of police brutality cases rise at an alarming rate recently, it is reassuring to see the number of reports increasing as well. It is important that the common citizen realizes that these actions could take place anywhere at any time.
The victim could be African American, white, Hispanic. While it is clear that it is happening more disproportionately to minorities, this issue applies to everyone.
You could be walking down the street in your own hometown, minding your own business, on a normal day and notice a person being maltreated by the officer. That’s what happens in the video we see of the death of George Floyd, for example.
While I understand that the passersby were definitely thrown off guard and shocked by the whole scene, there are much more effective ways of communicating the cruelty and injustice of the offense rather than calling the arresting officers “bums” or exclaiming “that’s not cool”.
It gave me hope to see that the people witnessing this atrocious crime saw what was happening and knew it was wrong. However, it is crucial that we are able to eloquently put it into words WHY this is wrong if we want to gain momentum in the fight against police brutality.
As citizens of the US, we must keep our civil liberties and rights always fresh in our minds so we can powerfully defend them when they are being violated or challenged at a moment& #39;s notice.
I hate to get on the soapbox about obvious human rights abuses, but maybe the only way to stop errant cops is to present sensible arguments for illegal behavior that violates the law and Constitution.
The idea is to convince them that what they are doing is wrong and deescalate the situation. Be a voice of reason and talk some sense into these officers who may be caught up in the heat of the moment and blinded by anger or rage.
As is stated in the Declaration of Independence, the government derives their power from the consent of the governed. The job of the police is to enforce the law, but when they abuse this power, it is up to the people to check the police.
This is a logical extension of the social contract, meant to deter discrimination. Think of it as if you, a citizen, are reading a badged perpetrator their Miranda Rights. In this instance, we might call this caution the “Floyd Warning”.
Ironic, as this may be, of course, but in this political climate, it is becoming more and more common to witness police breaking the law. Sadly, you almost take on the role of a hostage negotiator trying to save a victim’s life.
The purpose of this thread is to provide a list of possible things to say if you witness an act of police brutality firsthand. Perhaps a series of prepared statements like these could come in handy if we are likely caught off guard, freeze up or don’t know how to react.
