June 10, 2020
The killing of George Floyd has brought an almost unprecedented reaction-universal agreement. From the far-left to the most conservative, everyone agrees that George Floyd’s murder was an abhorrent injustice.
Rightfully, Police officer Derek Chauvin and the three other officers involved were swiftly fired and charged with the killing. This rare moment of consensus could have been an opportunity for unity and dialogue in our country.
However, rather than being a force for uniting our country, the murder of Floyd was like a match on a tinder box. A cavalcade of events has culminated in a perfect storm: Decades of universities indoctrinating students into believing that the U.S. is a systemically unjust racist country, decades of Democrats convincing black Americans of their victimhood, eight years of President Obama enflaming divide, four years of the mainstream media accusing President Trump of being a racist, the prevailing narrative that police are killing blacks, and then the killing of George Floyd, all coming on the heels of a global pandemic.
Based on statements by Democratic leaders, rhetoric from the protesters, and the ramblings of high profile celebrities, it would appear that black Americans are being slaughtered by law enforcement. It’s doubtful that those bemoaning “white privilege” are aware of the relevant statistics. Contrary to those who believe that police departments throughout the U.S. are systemically racist, the data doesn’t have an agenda and doesn’t support this theory.
Despite what “Black Lives Matter” activists say the killing of George Floyd does not provide evidence that unarmed black men are being hunted by police. According to a database compiled by the liberal biased Washington Post, the number of unarmed black men killed by police is small. In 2019, 22 unarmed white men and 14 unarmed black men were killed by police. To date, in 2020, 5 unarmed black men were killed by police and 10 unarmed white men. Since 2015 more than twice as many white Americans have been fatally shot by police than black Americans.
Incredibly, the left interprets these statistics as proof that black Americans have a target on their back because of their skin color. The reasoning- the killings are disproportionate to their representation in the U.S. population- blacks are only 13% of the U.S. population.
Omitting pertinent facts, to spin a narrative is typical of the mainstream media and those with a political agenda. Yes- blacks are shot by police at a significantly greater rate than their representation in the U.S. population. However, the percentage of crimes committed by black Americans is also far greater than their percentage in the population.
According to Bureau of Justice statistics, in 2018, the last year for which there is data, blacks committed 53% of all murders and 60% of all robberies in our country. It’s logical to presume that the number of police shootings is a function of the over-representation of crime committed by black Americans, not systemic racism.
Academic studies also disprove the assertion that police are more likely to shoot when the subject is black. A recent study conducted with the expectation of finding racial bias against blacks in police shootings found none. However, it did find that white men were more likely to be shot by police than black men. On the study’s finding, the author Harvard professor Roland G. Fryer stated, “It is the most surprising result of my career.”
A study by researchers at the University of Maryland and Michigan State University, found similar results to professor Fryer. The authors concluded “We didn’t find evidence of anti-black or anti-Hispanic disparity in police force across all shootings, and, if anything, found anti-white disparities..”
Don’t the high profile killings of unarmed black men, such as George Floyd prove systemic racism? No, it just proves that the media is more likely to cover police brutality when the victim is black.
In 2016 police officers pinned the shoulders of Tony Timpa, an unarmed, handcuffed man as he lay on the ground, with his face buried in the grass, pleading for his life. This went on for 14 minutes. Timpa died at the scene. His death was ruled a homicide. The three officers involved with his killing were only charged with misdemeanors. However, the charges were dropped and the officers returned to active duty. What happened to Timpa was very similar to the treatment of George Floyd. Yet, almost no news coverage, no protests- Tony Timpa was white.
In 2017 an unarmed man was shot dead while crawling on his hands and knees. The 26-year-old committed no crime, the arrest was based on a mistake. The police officer was acquitted of second-degree murder and reinstated to the police force. No protests, no riots. Daniel Shaver was white.
Ironically, many of the cities where rioters brought days of destruction in protest of systemic racism among police are comprised of majority-minority police departments: Los Angeles, New York City. Washington D.C., Dallas, Atlanta, Chicago, and Baltimore, to name just a few.
Moreover, many of these same cities are run by a Democratic Mayor, Democratic city council, Democratic attorney general, and Democratic police chiefs. Despite this reality, President Trump is being accused of creating racial inequities and division in our county.
The truth is the divide in our country happened years before Trump took office. Barack Obama, the first black president, was in a unique position to speak the truth, without fear of being labeled a racist. However, he made a different choice. With every high profile clash between whites and minorities, Obama never looked for common ground. Instead, he fanned the flames of racial division.
Obama preached about systemic oppression and racism, rather than speak to the black community about solving the problems from within.
More than 70% of all black children born in the U.S. are born to single-mothers. One of the highest predictors of poverty is having a child out of wedlock. Further, in 2018, the last year for which there is data, 7407 black Americans were victims of homicide. 70% of the crime committed by black Americans are against other blacks. Obama, as are all Democrats, was silent on these issues.
If progressives cared about black lives they would be outraged and marching in the streets for the thousands of black lives that are lost every year at the hands of other black Americans. This past weekend 18 people were killed in Chicago over 24 hours, almost all were black.
Many in power cheering on “Black Lives Matter” activists don’t care about black lives. They prefer to scapegoat the police for the plight of black Americans. The Minneapolis city council recently voted to disband the Minneapolis police department. Mayors in New York City and Los Angeles have also expressed the desire to defund police in their cities. No honest, sane person believes that removing, or decreasing the presence of law enforcement in some of the most dangerous cities in America would improve the lives of black Americans.
There is no doubt that one murder at the hands of those who are empowered to protect the innocent and to bring justice is one too many. Police reform is necessary. However, agenda-free statistics fall far short of indicating endemic racism among the 800,000 law enforcement officers within the U.S.
