George Floyd

My next article was supposed to be a follow up to, Origin. But, as we all have learned this year, nothing ever goes according to plan.

A man named George Floyd was killed on May 25, 2020.

He was killed by a man, a police officer, kneeling on the back of his neck for more than seven minutes. What an utter shame this is. After speaking with family members (both active and retired law enforcement officers), there is no tactic or training given to police officers that instructs them to kneel on a person’s neck. What that officer did was wrong, and he should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

Unfortunately, since this incident, Mr. Floyd’s death and the subsequent protests, have been hijacked by partisan politics and by riots that have occurred across the country. Furthermore, there have been attempts to justify these riots in the name of George Floyd. Let us not conflate what is good with what is bad. Do not call rioters and looters, “protesters”. They are not the same. Protesters are not breaking the law. Protesting is a protected first amendment right. Which means you get to say what you like, but you don’t get to do what you like. Someone stealing a TV is not a protester. That is a criminal. The destruction of private property, the destruction of public property, arson, looting, these are crimes - not protests. Do not conflate mindless violence with civil disobedience. To say that the people committing these crimes are just as good as those trying to enact positive change, is a disservice to our nation. You can hate the wrong committed by the police, and you can hate wrong committed by rioters & looters. Human beings are actually capable of doing both at the same time. It is a disservice to not be logical and clear about everything that is going on. And, it is a disservice to the country to speak without clarity of thought and presence.

The story being sold to you is that there is a systemic racist boogeyman out there and that America has not changed since 1968. What bullshit. This idea of systemic racism is illogical. Systemically racist societies do not elect black presidents, black governors, or black mayors. Does racism exist? YES. Does police brutality exist? YES. Police brutality is the issue we should be discussing. There have been white people that have died in police custody. There have been latino people that have died in police custody. Unfortunately, we do not know their names, as such cases have been deemed not worth reporting. This was one man in Minneapolis who killed another man. He was bad cop, and he deserves to be in jail. But, let’s remember that there are no more bad police officers than there are bad journalists, bad lawyers, and bad soldiers. The increased police presence in black neighborhoods is a direct consequence of the excessive violent crime that victimizes the people of those neighborhoods.

As minority myself, I have experienced racism personally. I have seen the hurt that racism yields. But, we should not be telling our young minorities that any hurdle, obstacle, or hardship they may face in life is because of racism. What a disservice that is. The police officer in Mr. Floyd’s case has been arrested. He has been brought up on murder and manslaughter charges. Yet, I hear people cry, “No justice, no peace.” Where is the lack of justice? There were 50 people shot in Chicago over Memorial Day weekend, 28 people were shot the following Tuesday. A five year old girl was shot while standing with her family. Where is the justice for this little girl? Where are the protests for this little girl? If you want to enact change, protest peacefully. Do not yield. Organize meetings with elected representatives. Organize town hall meetings with councilmen and community board members. Collectively, we can discuss new protocols for law enforcement, or discuss establishing independent review committees for cases such as these. Don’t fall for the narrative.

And, while I think the idea of being “privileged” is a complete farce, to those of you that feel “privileged,” if you don’t want to be privileged, help the homeless. You don’t want be privileged? Donate money. You don’t want to be privileged? Then change how things work. Don’t sit on your comfy couch, and virtue signal by posting a black square on social media while changing nothing about your life. I have worked in the real estate industry for many years. I have worked for millionaires and I have worked for the poorest of the poor. It has been nothing short of a humbling experience. So, get out there and help those in need.

The failure of government to protect George Floyd, and the failure of government to protect private & public property has been nothing short of catastrophic. While I’m sure we are in for another sad week of riots and unyielding brutality across our country, I can only recommend that we try to find the human decency that we should have been united around, following the death of Mr. Floyd.

Origin 

or·i·gin
/ˈôrəjən/
noun
The point or place where something begins, arises, or is derived.

For this article and the next (soon to be published), I decided to borrow a hallmark from Nonprophet and Modern Adversary, of selecting and defining a particular word that encapsulates the endeavor. Although, the words I have chosen do not inspire action, they harp on two key moments that require analysis during any crisis.

With the economy shut down and most parts of the country under quarantine, it has been difficult for people to adjust to the new standard of living. When people find themselves in the middle of a crisis, they often look for a scapegoat. They look for someone to blame. While the left points to Trump, and the right points to previous administrations, the truth is that it isn’t the fault of either side. It’s very easy to play Monday morning quarterback and say you would have handled things differently. But, the truth is you weren’t playing, and you’re not helping. More often than not, moments like these are never one person’s fault. There is always a culmination of decisions and practices over the span of years that lead up to a tragedy like the one which we’re experiencing.

Over the last three months, it has become clear to me that globalization is actually the root cause of this virus. While it is desirable for governments and economies to operate on an international scale, there are pitfalls. Morally, there is nothing wrong with globalization. However, in order for true globalism to be achieved, everyone needs to have the same intentions. There must be a leveled cooperation between everyone that partakes. The free markets work beautifully provided you have principled people. As stated in my last article, it is the populace being principled that makes a society work. When you boil it down, you have people in the world with good intentions and people in the world with bad intentions. The well-intentioned people get together to keep the poor-intentioned people in their place. This is what has happened on the global stage for decades since World War II, and the effort has mostly been lead by the United States of America.

The threat of communism and the desire to protect freedom and free market societies immediately led to the Cold War, following WWII. The ideological differences between the United States and the Soviet Union made conflict inevitable. The Cold War lasted from 1947 to 1991, with an estimated 8 trillion dollars spent by the United States to keep the Soviet Union contained. In 1972, President Richard Nixon traveled to China in an effort to drive a wedge between the Soviet Union and it’s neighboring communist nation. Although, Nixon’s visit and subsequent agreements with China succeeded in shifting the balance of the Cold War, it also opened China to the world economy. With Nixon’s decision to eliminate the gold standard, trade with China also provided tremendous economic opportunities. Re-establishing relations with the West allowed China to learn western business. They learned western management, marketing, and manufacturing. While I can understand the desire to neutralize a two pronged communist axis, this relationship legitimized the Chinese economy and allowed an unprincipled state to participate on the world stage.

The hope of opening China to the West, was that increased wealth and prosperity would lead them to see the value of democratic principles. It is safe to say this hasn’t happened and it is unlikely to happen as long as the Communist Party of China remains in control. Today, most large US companies are entirely dependent on Chinese manufacturing. Since the United States is China’s largest trading partner, they remain equally dependent on the US economy. In spite of this dependency, the ideological conflict continues. The enemy remains the same. Communism. Like the Soviet Union, China is trying to be better for itself. If there is anything a communist state hates more, it is to fail publicly. This pandemic has highlighted this insecurity spectacularly. It has become clear that China has lied about their knowledge of Covid-19. To maintain domestic and economic stability, they attempted to keep news and information on the virus contained. Like the Soviet Union, China’s image of prosperity mustn’t be blemished. As long as it looks good, it is good.

China is not living up to the moral standard. And, the proper response to this is patriotism. We must cut out the bad actor and solidify the base. It is evident that as a nation, we are suffering from the malaise of our success. As China looks to diminish their dependency on the United States, we have to start thinking about our security as a multidimensional objective. When and why did outsourcing vital industries to an adversarial state become a plausible idea? We are in a new Cold War. We need to understand this and make changes now. There must be a cohesive effort at a governmental level and at a societal level. We all must do our part. We must realize that we have over stretched our free market principles. Evidently, the “biggest bang for your buck” isn’t always the best way to go. Free market principles must be more nuanced. The free market may, in fact, be more free if it’s not always marching for the greatest profit margin. So, if you can afford it, buy goods made in the USA. Buy goods from our friends in Canada, Europe, and Japan. As this pandemic plays out, don’t get distracted by the politics. While I understand Trump’s intention in calling this the Chinese Flu, his aim is poor. Aim higher. This isn’t the Wuhan Flu or the China Flu.

This is a Communist Flu. Repeat as necessary.

“We would rather be ruined than changed. We would rather die in our dread than climb the cross of the moment and see our illusions die.”

- W. H. Auden