It was difficult to watch. In Minneapolis, a video showed a white police officer kneeling on the neck of George Floyd, a black man, as Floyd was laying face down on the ground. Pleading he could not breathe, the officer continued to kneel on his neck for over 8 minutes. Mr. Floyd died. Within four days the officer was charged with third degree murder under Minnesota law. It did not take long for the demonstrations to turn violent, with looting, burning and rioting in the streets of many cities across the country.
People of all races and all political persuasions were disgusted by what happened to Mr. Floyd. People of good will have also felt revulsion at the looting and burning and rioting. Burning and looting of businesses have nothing to do with happened to Mr. Floyd. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said the protests were 'the result of so much built up anger and sadness." Frey: "If you're feeling that sadness, that anger, it's not only understandable, it's right. It's a reflection of the truth that our black community has lived." Well, Mr. Frey, you did not condemn the rioting and looting. And you neglected to say how that sadness, that anger, might be directed in a positive way. That was your job as Mayor.
Atlanta's Mayor is a black woman by the name of Keisha Lance Bottoms. Here is what she said about the looters and rioters: "You're not honoring the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. and the civil rights movement...when you burn down this city, you're burning down our community." And: "You are disgracing this city, you are disgracing the life of George Floyd and every other person who has been killed in this country."
It was reported that Minnesota's Governor received a call from a State Senator, complaining that her district was "on fire, no police, no firefighters, no social control, constituents locked in houses wondering what they were going to do." I watched in astonishment as a Minneapolis police station was attacked by a mob, and saw the police abandon the station and the neighborhood, as they drove away in one police cruiser after the next. I could not make a better argument for the right to keep and bear arms - no police, and a mob run amok. I also saw, after the state police and national guard were called out and were on the streets, continued looting and rioting. Did no one care about those shop owners whose stores were being damaged and destroyed?
Chrissy Teigen pledged $200,000 to bail out protesters who had been arrested. I was not impressed. It would have said far more if she had donated that money to minority owners of shops whose businesses were destroyed. And LeBron James Tweeted: "Why doesn't America Love US!!!!!????TOO." Does Mr. James really believe that most Americans carry a hatred of their fellow Americans who are black? No one is claiming there are not bad cops. No one is claiming that there is not racism. But just as Jews were murdered in a synagogue in Pittsburgh, and at a Chabad House in Poway, California, and even though Jews remain by far the number one target of religious hate crimes, I do not believe that America is a fundamentally anti-Semitic country. Can we do better? Clearly. Do police need better training? Apparently. But let's not condemn every police officer; let's not condemn the entire country.
The agenda-driven New York Times ran with this headline online on 5/30/20: "What Top Conservatives Are Saying About George Floyd and Police Brutality." The implication, of course, is that conservatives were reluctant to criticize the white police officer who killed Mr. Floyd. Which is a total lie. People across the political spectrum were disgusted by what they saw. The Times: "The chilling circumstances of Mr. Floyd's death - particularly the graphic, indisputable video of his arrest - have, at least for now posed a political quandary among some conservative politicians, media stars and President Trump, whose usual instinct is to focus on blaming liberals for promoting lawlessness." A political quandary? What rubbish. But they do make a good point about how some left-wing mayors and governors are willing to look the other way when it's left-wing inspired violence. Recall in 2015, following the death of Freddie Gray, the Baltimore Mayor instructed the police to not only give space to peaceful protesters, but "we also gave those who wished to destroy space to do that as well."
Another week and another 2.1 million people applied for unemployment. That gives us a ten week total of 40,767,000 people unemployed. A friend told me of eating at an opened restaurant and talking with the female server he knew. During the lock down, her mother died and the longtime family dog died. As a single mother of three she needed to work. But the restaurant could only afford to give her 20 hours a week. That day, this server only had two tables that were occupied when my friend and his wife were in - theirs and one other. The other table left a minimal tip, which my friend and his wife made up for with theirs. But there are 40 million of these stories.
The latest numbers as of last night were 1,816,820 cases in the US, with 105,557 deaths. New York had 378,951 cases and 29,829 deaths, New Jersey 160,916 cases and 11,637 deaths, Illinois 118,917 cases and 5,330 deaths, California 109,883 cases and 4,213 deaths, Massachusetts 96,301 cases and 6,768 deaths, and Pennsylvania 75,794 cases and 5,560 deaths. Later in the evening last night I saw that California had 110,100 cases and 4,214 deaths. Newly reopened Los Angeles County had 53,651 cases and 2,338 deaths. Now, however, with multiple cities in LA County suffering from rioting, the entire County is under a curfew from 6 p.m. Sunday through 6 a.m. Monday.
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