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16 Comments
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Anonymous
08/06/2020Despite seeing worldwide protests recently, I really don't see anything changing at all. Sorry to be the pessimist, but people will not let go of their feelings of superiority over another group of people. Whether its skin colour, religion, caste, gender, size, or any other differentiation, humans seem to want to look down on others to make themselves content with what they are. Nothing will change this ingrained attitude. We will never erase this almost natural habit, although I doubt anybody is born with it... society teaches us to take this stance. I personally wish I could practice the teachings of Islam, which directs us to stay disciplined and treat everybody as equals, to exercise patience and sincerity towards others and God
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Shameem
05/06/2020“I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe” these were George Floyd's last words. George Floyd was unarmed and brutally murdered by a white police officer! Police Brutality which stems from deep rooted institutionalised racism that is forever engrained in American history is one of the reasons George Floyd was murdered. African American people have been fighting to find a place in a country where black people were first bought and sold! That says a lot. Although years have passed since slavery was made illegal; the murder of George Floyd reminds me of how we still have an awfully long way to go. White people are still considered as superior to black people (and other races), whether anyone says this out loud or not, actions do speak louder. Why does a black man appear to be a greater threat than a white man? because its normalised, because we must ‘just deal with the fact some people are racist’. No matter what happens, the issue of racial superiority is always going to be there. It’s not the people who are speaking out about racism, or writing blogs and comments like we are doing that can only fight for change; its’ those who will read all about this, listen to others viewpoints, agree, and want a just society but never do anything actively to try and address this issue. Anyone can be good at their job and say the right thing. But if you are going to go home and make crude racial jokes, use bad language which stems of racists terminology or watch tv with negative portrayal of black people, and have friends from good neighbourhood (i.e. white neighbourhood) it’s always going to be us and them. We need world leaders to unite and put pressure on America to do something to address this, actively. If the leader of a country feels he can openly use sexist language and treat women as a sexual objects, and someone who uses George’s death as mockery to enforce some other cause, then I’m not sure we have much hope. UK must take a stand; we need to stop sending crowd control equipment to the US. Trump wants to deploy military against the people protesting and seek ‘total domination’. There is a letter template you can send your MP, follow the link and help fight this. We want to act against our own government against our own structural racism https://www.caat.org.uk/get-involved/act-now/lobby/stop-arming-us-state-violence We must never get used to being treated unfairly. We must never allow abuse to be the norm. “Justice is indivisible. You can’t decide who gets civil rights and who doesn’t” Angela Davis
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NazminA
02/06/2020I've also been thinking about this. If this is what happens on camera, imagine what else is going on?
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karimofthecrop
03/06/2020this is so true- its so sad. I think of what if it was not filmed! Probably so many incidents we dont know of.
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Sabahn
04/06/2020“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” ? Nelson Mandela I'm British - Pakistani. My Grandad was a first-generation immigrant. I believe that it's our job to explain and educate BLM to Ethnic Minorities, especially those from older generations. The current riots and violence were a result of peaceful protests that haven’t worked and anger towards the racist American Justice System. As part of the “minority” we have a duty to support black people and be educated and informed on the matter. BLM is not disregarding the struggles that immigrants have gone through and does not mean that their lives don’t matter, but right now we need to support black people. I remember my final year of university, we had a whole module on the Stephen Lawrence case. Police brutality and racism was big in the UK and still is. Black people experienced so much racism and hate, as well as South Asians. Stephen Lawrence was a Black British teenage boy who was murdered in a racially motivated attack in 1993. My Pakistani grandparents came into this country and told me countless stories of how they were bullied and harassed by the police. People were angry and frustrated, as well as tired of the constant racism they were subject to. They joined marches alongside black people, they always stood united. They know the struggle, we know the struggle, and its important to stand up for equality. In 2012 they finally convicted the murders. It took 19 years before the perpetrators were convicted of Stephen Lawrences murder. No one is disregarding what immigrants have faced, but right now we must support black people because they are the ones experiencing this the most. British - Nigerian actor John Boyega has been standing in solidarity with the BLM movement. He's been spreading awareness and protesting, as well as countless other celebrities. We can help by voicing our opinions, donating to justice funds and signing petitions. Peoples voices are finally being heard. The four former police officers are now all facing charges for George Floyds murder: Derek Chauvin, J Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao. In addition to the three Georgia men who have been charged with murder in the fatal shooting of Ahmaud Arbery are due in court. However, the police officers who murdered Breonna Taylor and countless other African - Americans still haven't been arrested or charged. So, it important that we continue raising awareness, supporting the BLM movement and standing up for equality.
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Anonymous
02/06/2020I saw this on Facebook and wanted to share. "A man was pressed down onto concrete with a solid 200 lbs sitting directly on his neck. He cried out for water. He cried out for his deceased mother, and once he realized he could no longer breathe, he cried out for mercy and he begged for his life. His nose bled and he lost control of his bladder. Yet he remained trapped and handcuffed under the weight of an officer’s knee. Onlookers tried to intervene only to be threatened with pepper spray. Even when he lost consciousness, the weight of that knee stayed firm on his neck. When first-responders demanded they check for a pulse, the cops refused. When off-duty medical personnel begged for the officer to get up, they refused. America watched a man being killed in broad daylight for 10 agonizing minutes. I understand people will dig through everything he’s done wrong in his life. I understand that people will roll their eyes at this. We will see his mug shot and he will become a villain even though surveillance video does not support police claims that he resisted arrest. But there is no crime that justifies this punishment. Whether he has a criminal history or mental health issues, there is no justification for his death. His name was George Floyd" #justiceforgeorgefloyd #blacklivesmatter
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NazminA
02/06/2020Social media is a weird one as on the one hand it allows spreading of hate and fake news but on the other hand it amplifies the voices of those otherwise silenced. I don't think George Floyd's murder will have got this much attention had it not been for social media and I do feel the pros outweigh the cons. Having said that, much more needs to be done to make the online world safe and to tackle fake news. That's going to require collective effort.
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Anonymous
02/06/2020What we need to do is make a note of the reaction of all the UK politicians to this issue and make sure the country remembers their reaction and makes them apologise for it! I have seen so many politicians saying nasty comments which you just know stem from racism and nothing is going to be done about it because we have voted in a right wing government! We need to use our votes wisely!!!
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Anonymous
03/06/2020Feeling so angry and upset and scared- as a mother, I look at the fear in the eyes of the mothers in the US- so scared every time the male members of their households leave home. That is no way to live!
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karimofthecrop
03/06/2020There have been some links on social media about how to actually support this movement by signing petitions and also sharing documentaries about what has been happening. One of these documentraries are on netflix- "when they see us"- its fantastic! It really is worth watching! Its awful it happened and its eye opening. Continuing to raise awareness and not going silent about it is probably a small step in the right direction?
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Anonymous
02/06/2020Black lives don't matter. Female Black lives matter even less. Case example, Belly Mujinga. If that was a white woman, you better believe there would have been an arrest by now!
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GrannyBibi
02/06/2020It may be my age but I feel disheartened and I don't see things changing anytime soon. George Floyd's death is one just one of many, one which happened to be filmed. I've seen the sad comments and posts and hashtags before but after a few days it all gets forgotten until the next murder. I feel all I can do is pray for change and for the safety of all. Nothing else seems to make a difference.
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Anonymous
02/06/2020A good start would be to focus on the protests and the reasons for the protests (i.e. that an innocent man was KILLED for no reason), instead of being taken in by the manipulation of words. I've seen more comments saying riots are wrong than I have seen those saying killing George Floyd was wrong. Are the reports of riots even true or are we just being manipulated into thinking the worst? Even if true, how is it that people are being manipulated into ignoring the root cause of it all.... decades and decades of racism, police brutality, white supremacy, inequality, fear, pain, anger, loss.... the list goes on
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MeowZee
02/06/2020"If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor". - Desmond Tutu. We need to raise our voices and keep raising our voices. We also need to amplify the voices of others. We need to check and accept our own privileges. And most importantly, we need to stand united.
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NazminA
02/06/2020There is so much I want to say and do but the most important of it all? Stand together and stop the gaslighting and whataboutery! I am so sick of seeing the #AllLivesMatter type comments - Of course they do! But if a house is on fire you concentrate on putting the fire out on that house and saving those inside, you’re not going to start throwing on the house with no fire! The whole thing is like going to a charity fundraiser for cancer research and saying ‘no I can’t support you as there are other diseases too’. Seriously. I am also sick of the fact that it is so easy to skewer public perception of victims, their families and supporters of the movement in general. It is so easy to paint the victim as a criminal or protestors as ‘vandals’ or ‘rioters’. This needs to stop! There are a lot of conversations to be had - Institutional racism and police brutality being the key issues that have lead to so many deaths but the discrimination and injustice extends far more than that! Health, employment, access to justice - you name it and there is discrimination. It is important to address the issues across the board and make the world a fair place. This is not just a US-based issue either but a global one. Racism is something that needs to be addressed in every single field and every single community, yes including the Muslim community. Female Black Muslims in particular face the brunt of prejudice and discrimination from all angles and this needs to be acknowledged and addressed. Sharing quotes from Quran and Hadiths about Islam being anti-racist is not enough - you need to actaually live by these principles of Islam and not simply pay lip-service. As for those who have been sharing comments saying protesting is not the way to go? Stop. We must stand up for justice and raise our voices. We must keep the momentum going. We must not forget about George Floyd in a week's time. Otherwise it really won't be long until we have another name to add to the those already lost to racism and extremism.
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HaleemaAbbs
02/06/2020Everyone needs to use their voice and come together to stand up against the discrimination that individuals are facing today. But not just that, parents and care givers should consider and really think about what they say about different races and how this affects the youth that surround them (ie their children). Even friends, elder siblings, etc. I'm not saying parents arent doing this already but the world still accommodates such ind. But unfortunately we live in a world where technology and social media views have more of an affect on the youth than what parents, family or friends and teachers etc say. Which leads us onto another conversation about the pros and cons of social media ?
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