It Actually Matters if You’re Black or White

 The trial of Derek Chauvin, the police officer accused of murdering George Floyd is over. Mr. Chauvin was found guilty by a jury comprising of both white and black people and based on the news reports, there is a sense that justice was served.

However, there is a segment that believes that Mr. Chauvin has become a victim of “political correctness.” This is a segment of society that feels that there is a dictatorship of the politically correct punishing Mr. Chauvin for doing his job in arresting a “drug crazed” low life and setting a chain of rioting and looting. This attitude is best summed up by the following Facebook posting:

 

 The message is clear. Derek Chauvin is a well-behaved guy being punished for doing his job and George Floyd is a scum bag who deserved what he got because he didn’t know his place in the scheme of things. The message is further to extended to the riots that followed Mr. Floyd’s murder were merely about lawlessness.

Let’s make one thing clear. The evidence shows quite clearly that Derek Chauvin used “excessive” force in restraining Mr. Floyd. While Mr. Floyd may have been high, he was in no way violent and there is no way the police could claim that they needed to “put him down” for the greater good of public safety as the following report from the BBC shows:

https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-us-canada-56598432

 

 

The attempt to portray Mr. Floyd as a “dangerous junkie” was also not true:

https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-us-canada-56670095

 

It was also clear that Mr. Floyd was in serious trouble after Mr. Chauvin had his knee on his neck for over nine minutes:

https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-us-canada-56595180

 

There should be no doubt about it that it that Mr. Chauvin’s actions lead to the demise of Mr. Floyd.  Excessive force was used in restraining a non-violent and non-threatening person. One’s political persuasions do not change the facts.

Much has been said about the reasons as to why the ensuring riots took place and on the feelings of the African-American community. However, the question remains – why would anyone feel and promote the idea that Mr. Chauvin was merely doing his job in restraining a dangerous junkie? Unfortunately, this isn’t the only instance in the world where an ethnic majority has failed to sympathise with a minority group that gets the wrong end of the official stick.

In the case of Singapore, substitute “Black” for “Indian” or “Bangladeshi,” and you get the same scenario. In 2013, when the workers rioted in Little India, it became a story of how we needed to restrict the sale of alcohol in Little India because a group of drunk and unhappy people went on a riot. Everyone seems to have forgotten the fact that one of worker was run over by a bus driver and the police seemed more protective of the bus driver than the guy who got run over.

Interestingly enough, this phenomena of a segment of an ethnic majority defending brutality of an ethnic minority were best summed up by a Black British conservative candidate for Mayor of London called “Shaun Bailey,” who coined the phrase “Browning of Britain.” Mr. Bailey said:

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/london-mayor-election-shaun-bailey-b1794896.html

“lots of white communities were “terrified” by the “influx of foreigners of all shades”, and warned that attempts to foster a spirit of tolerance “often turn into a quest to make everybody the same and … pushes communities apart”.

Interestingly enough, I do get Mr. Baily’s point. The “Browning of Britain” that he talks about has certain parallels to recent Southeast Asian history, where the wealthy Chinese minority gets on the wrong end of the sick from the ethnic majority. Part of this is economics, the Chinese in Indonesia for example are only three percent of the total population and many more times the economy. The majority gets scared that its going to become a dependency of the minority.

I grew up as an ethnic minority, so for me, I remember “minority rights” was always a big part of my conscience. However, I remember moving back to Singapore and hearing my boss, PN Balji often say, “The minority needs the majority to feel comfortable.” So, where is the balance between the rights of the minority and the comfort level of the majority?

Contrary to what Michael Jackson says, it actually does matter if you’re black or white (a good sentiment even if Mr. Jackson started getting whiter with age). So, how so we make it matter less or at least bring it to a point where nobody cares?

Well, nobody seems to have found an answer. However, what is clear is that the dialogue must keep going on. Majorities need to respect private spaces and not to assume the minorities will become exactly like them. Minorities need to show that they add value to the overall fabric and they need to understand that while the majority has to respect their private spaces, they also need to respect the wider public spaces. I often state that when I lived in the UK, I was free to celebrate Chinese New Year in my own home on my own time. However, I had no right to expect Chinese New Year to be made a public holiday.

People need to share experiences. France did it in the 1998 World Cup with a team captained by someone of North African descent. America does it through the NBA and who can forget Nelson Mandela presenting the 1995 Rugby World Cup to the Springboks? These things cannot be left on the basket ball court or soccer pitch. The things about a sports team that brings people together to celebrate unity needs to be pushed and harnessed to bring a nation together.