Murder of George Floyd

Last night, a man named George Floyd was killed by a police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota in what is yet another incident of police brutality against a brown-skinned American of African descent.

For whatever weight my voice carries in this world, I denounce police brutality, racism, and racist acts in this country or anywhere in the world.

Police brutality is the excessive or unjustifiable use of force by an armed police officer against a civilian, who is typically already detained, if not already unarmed and defenseless. It is the manifestation of a power imbalance through the medium of violence by an actor of the state against a private individual, and almost always represents a micro incident of a macro power imbalance (for example: racial majority against racial minority; business/capital/upper class against union/working class; religious majority against religious minority).

In no civilized place or country should an incident of police brutality be acceptable or tolerated. The brute exercise of force by the powerful or by an actor on behalf of the powerful, who is exploiting that very power imbalance against the powerless or a victim who is powerless at the time of the incident, is a sign of an uncivilized society. If such an incident occurs in a civilized society, it must be strongly condemned by leaders, media, and public alike and, with due process, prosecuted and punished in the criminal justice system.