George Floyd and the Tragedy of Selective Outrage
Something is truly awful about this world. Well, many things are, but this particular problem has been bothering me of late. It was not just the sight of an American policeman kneeling on a black man, ultimately choking him to death. You do not need my confirmation that it was a truly horrific and disgraceful incident. Everything that needed to be said about the murder of George Floyd and police brutality in the U.S. has already been said. Journalists, TV show hosts, writers, politicians, pseudo-intellectuals, activists and probably your dad have all had their say. Nothing I say will add any valuable insight, but it is clear that the U.S. is in dire need of police reform and eliminating any remnants of systemic racism. The manner in which George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and many others were killed by the very people whose job it was to protect them should never be happening. Indeed, enough is enough. But this movement also revealed an underlying tragic truth — that people only care when race-based incidents happen in America.
What started off as a series of protests and riots against police brutality soon morphed into a global anti-racism movement under the Black Lives Matter slogan (though we still need to make a distinction between the BLM organization itself and the universal truth that black lives matter). Multinational corporations and sports franchises all hopped on the bandwagon and began incorporating the slogan into their shirts, social media messages and overall marketing. Players knelt in solidarity with the BLM protests before every match. People around the world — especially in Europe and North America — were holding massive rallies in solidarity with the movement (in the middle of a pandemic, mind you). As an isolated series of reactions, this is exactly what should be happening, and long may it continue. But there is another side to this story.
It is completely understandable for Americans to protest injustices that happen within their own country in this case, but what about the Europeans or Australians? Why are they angry at injustices happening in a country where, in truth, the right of the individual is protected more than in most countries (despite the institutional flaws)? I am happy to see people stand in solidarity with this movement regardless of where they are from but let us for a moment step out of this highly pressurized, octane-fueled BLM cauldron of fury. Why did such a case have to happen in America for people to suddenly start caring about racism (remember, this movement is no longer just about police brutality)? Why were people silent when black people in other countries were being persecuted? Do people even know that slavery still exists in some parts of Asia, the Middle East and Africa? Where were the BLM banners protesting this? Do black people being sold into slavery in Libya matter less? If more media attention were focused on such stories happening outside America and Europe, would we see the indignant cries of the masses on the streets? Let us be more specific; if another George Floyd were murdered in the same way in another country — say, Egypt — would anyone care? Would people be up in arms and rioting on the streets because of police brutality and systemic racism in Egypt?
Perhaps this current BLM movement will lead to the necessary changes — in fact, you will find that some action has already been taken (click here for more details). Better still, complicit policemen have been arrested and convicted. One must give credit to America for being true to its democratic principles and listening to its people’s demands on this occasion, though change can be painstakingly slow at times. However, the same cannot be said of many other countries that continue to exploit and enslave black people, with no sign of change at all. What will you do once the necessary changes in America have taken place? Let us suppose that America has achieved a total state of equality and eradication of systemic racism. Will black lives still matter to you then? Will you start talking about the 20,000 Ghanaian boys sold into slavery on Lake Volta? Will you even mention one of the stains of the 21st century, the open-air slave market of black migrants in Libya? Or the enslaved Haratin people of Mauritania? And these are just examples I am throwing based on my limited knowledge — there are many more documented cases of slavery around the world.
I have not even mentioned the persecution of non-black ethnic groups around the world, since we are focusing on black lives. Sadly, these stories are not reported nearly enough, and the number of articles and amount of worldwide media attention dedicated to the murder of George Floyd are exponentially more than the published stories of modern-day slavery. If “black lives matter” is the slogan you are going for, then you better specify which black lives. I can already see some of the reactions I would get: ‘But you should not ignore the injustices that happen in America!’ ‘You are diverting attention away from the cause!’ If these are your conclusions from what I have written, then I suggest you re-read the whole article. If anything, I am simply reiterating that black lives matter. I will not shy away from shedding light on black lives who also deserve attention.
The reality of living in an American-centric world has sadly diminished many unheard voices. If rioting is the language of the unheard, as Martin Luther King once said, then you better start bringing those lost voices to the fore. If rallies the same size of those currently being held had focused some of its fury on Libya or Mauritania, perhaps that would rattle the leaders of those countries where such atrocities are happening. Suddenly, there would be nowhere to hide. In a truly astonishing and laughable way, autocratic leaders have exploited the murder of George Floyd for propaganda. It was almost as if they were waiting for America to slip up — most likely to distract people from the atrocities they were committing themselves. My head is still spinning from reading this tweet by Turkey’s Islamic dictator, Erdogan, on the murder of George Floyd:
NB: this lover of peace and humanity just sent troops to bomb human targets on Iraqi territory, under the pretense of targeting the PKK. Unsurprisingly, several innocent civilians (non-PKK) have been killed so far.
You cannot tell me that people around the world, at least the citizens of free democratic countries, are not selective in their outrage. Again, this article is not an attempt to undermine or downplay the current BLM movement, but rather to criticize the hypocrisy of so-called anti-racism activists. You may also call it a lack of awareness, but that is simply not a good excuse. As uncomfortable as it may be to hear it, anti-racist outrage only seems to be directed westward. Sure, the United States and Europe should be held to a higher standard considering their status in this world, but that should never excuse tyrannical regimes and developing countries from scrutiny. We cannot hope to fight every battle, but when you are brandishing a universal anti-racism message, you better be consistent. The same message goes for governments, corporations and sports franchises.
