There is no such thing as race. None. There is just the human race – scientifically, anthropologically. – Toni Morrison.
A martyr is defined as someone who suffers persecution or death for advocating, renouncing, refusing to renounce, or refusing to advocate a religious belief or cause as demanded by an external party. Accordingly, the status of the martyr can be considered a posthumous title as a reward for those considered worthy of martyrdom by the living. Over the centuries there have been a number of martyrs who qualify according to this definition and one who springs to mind in these modern times is Martin Luther King, leader of the Civil Rights Movement in the USA from 1955 until his assassination in 1968.
What does this have to do with the pandemic? Well, look no further than the death of George Floyd at the hands of a policeman in Minneapolis on 26th May. We will certainly remember the pandemic but the death of Floyd, a black man, at the hand of a white man, and the aftermath which followed will not be forgotten for a very long time. It sparked massive rioting in the USA and across many countries
on a scale probably never seen before. It gave birth to yet another word, systemic, which the media has embraced to describe the racism still evident in so many countries. Floyds death was a deplorable act. No doubt about that. He certainly lived an eventful life having had four stays in prison starting in 1998 before doing a stint in 2009 for armed robbery and home invasion charges. He was paroled in 2013. This unfortunate event then took on a life of its own under the banner #blacklivesmatter. American cities came under siege as huge gatherings of protestors vented their outrage and anger. Dare I say it, but these protests, in many countries across the globe, develop their own systemic aspect; many people who join these peaceful protests are opportunists who have little interest in the cause but, maybe instigate and then cash in on the orgy of violence, vandalism and wholesale looting of any business enterprise along the path of the protest. The police are often outnumbered and simply have to be restrained to prevent further escalation. Somewhat insanely in these times, regulations such as bans on large gatherings and social distancing were abandoned. The
liberal fringe and a number of Democrat city leaders jumped in with bizarre demands that their city police budgets should be slashed and some even suggested that the police force in their cities should be disbanded and the funds diverted to better to end systemic racism. Really? Talk about throwing the baby out with the bathwater! The trashing, looting and boarding up of 5th Avenue stores in New York city looked akin to the impact of all out down town warfare. The media went into overdrive on this story and perspective became somewhat blurred. But, thankfully, the voice of reason and logic does occasionally bubble to the surface and cause reflection. If anyone cares to try and understand beyond the rhetoric swirling around this unfortunate death, go onto YouTube and watch Candace Owens gives George Floyd facts. She is a black, and political activist. Controversially she was quoted as saying I dont care WHAT George Floyd did. The officer should have never treated him like that and killed him! But we still must ask: Is he a hero? The fact that he has been held up as a martyr sickens me. I dont have any
Here in South Africa, media distortion was demonstrated by none other than eNCA, an independent TV news station. They devoted an entire evening to broadcasting the Floyd funeral in the USA and yet, here in South Africa, we have no idea who the other 11 people are, apart from Collins Khosa, who were killed by security forces supposedly for lock down infractions. There is not a single news article or mention of these deaths on their website.
