Murder in Minneapolis

A few days ago during an arrest in Minneapolis,  a black man named George Floyd  screamed that he could not breathe and then died while a white cop was pressing his neck onto the ground with a knee for several minutes.  Two autopsies have been performed. According to reports in the news, they disagree as to the cause of death with one naming asphyxiation   as the cause of his death and the other finding death by cardiopulmonary arrest, but  both list his death as a homicide.  The cop has been arrested and charged with murder. 

In the last few days there have been  protests  and big demonstrations against  “racism”, the police,  and  sometimes society in general in cities around the country.  In several cities rioting vandals, hoodlums, and arsonists have looted and burned businesses and government offices and attacked police and bystanders.  People in the traditional media have given the crime and its aftermath huge amounts of coverage and attention. Leftist politicians and their media flacks have tried to portray the whole country, or at least all  the white people in it, as somehow responsible for or guilty of Floyd’s murder.  (Some Democrats have tried to blame it on Trump, which is peculiar  since local police report to local officials in this country, and the mayor of Minneapolis is a Dem.) Politicians, writers,  and commentators of various sorts have attempted to represent  the crime as something of national or global symbolic significance.

A while back a cop in Minneapolis  shot and murdered an innocent woman named Justine Diamond who had made a 911 call when she feared someone was being attacked.  In that case the cop was black and his victim was white. The crime led to no massive protests or demonstrations.  There was no violence, looting,  or rioting.  People in the traditional media generally ignored the story. A few conservative politicians and their media flacks tried  to make something of the fact that the murderer was an immigrant, but  usually stopped short of tarring all immigrants with the crime.  Almost no one tried to take the thing global.  People mainly treated it as what it was – a single crime for which the man who committed it was solely responsible.

The two cases are not entirely parallel.  Floyd’s death was caught on video, and many people need pictures to be able to take a thing seriously.  One event happened  quickly with a pistol, and one happened over a long period.  One had  a cop who has been reported to have a long record of bad behavior.

Still the differences between the aftermaths of the two events are striking, instructive,  and worth thinking about for several reasons.  Some people may also be thinking about  whether the benefits of big city life are enough to justify the costs and risks.