Outbreak in the US

Published in El País
(Spain) on 31 May 2020
by Editorial (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Hannah Bowditch. Edited by Denile Doyle.
The fight to eradicate discrimination deeply rooted in history is a challenge with a long road ahead.

The wave of protests and riots spreading throughout the United States over multiple consecutive nights as a result of the death of George Floyd, who was slowly choked under the knee of a police officer in Minneapolis, demands a response from President Donald Trump. It requires measurements to be put in place to restore order and, given that ending racial discrimination is a long-term fight, the implementation of procedures that will be effective in limiting these police abuses that are all too frequently affecting the black community.

Instead, up until now Trump hasn’t deviated from his familiar strategy of finding a scapegoat that he can use to quickly exonerate himself of any responsibility whenever he is faced with a problem. Far from being aware that the words spoken by the president of the United States are not just those of another citizen, the leader has sought out those responsible practically everywhere before recognizing the true origins of the situation. He’s put the blame on governors for not knowing how to control the situation, he’s accused the “extreme left” of being behind the riots, he’s even started to threaten the protesters gathered outside the White House, telling them that if they breach the fence he’ll attack them with "vicious dogs" and "ominous weapons." Anything but face up to the police brutality that has made millions of Americans view uniformed police officers not as servants of the community, but as a threat.

The steady trickle of deaths of black citizens at the hands of police during the process of arrest or identification has been going on for so long that it would be naive to speak of isolated incidents. George Floyd is the latest case in a succession that has included, among others, Rodney King, a taxi driver beaten to death in 1992; Eric Garner, strangled in 2014 while he was being detained for the illegal sale of tobacco; or Walter Scott, a driver who in 2015 was shot several times in the back.

COVID-19 has once again illustrated the vulnerable situation of a minority that forms 12% of the U.S. population. In proportion to the population as a whole, the black community has the highest number of infected people — while also being the ethnic group with the lowest income level — and have been the worst-affected by unprecedented job losses, since 1929. In this context, the images of police officer Derek Chauvin sitting with his hands in his pockets while Floyd suffocated have been the spark that started the revolt. Restoring order, and most importantly limiting and punishing abuses against black citizens, is urgent. The fight to eradicate discrimination rooted way back in history is a challenge with a long road ahead; stopping excessive policing is, until then, a pressing need.


Estallido en Estados Unidos

La lucha por erradicar una situación discriminatoria que viene de muy atrás es un reto que todavía tiene un largo recorrido

La oleada de protestas y disturbios que recorre Estados Unidos durante varias noches consecutivas a raíz de la muerte de George Floyd, asfixiado lentamente bajo la rodilla de un policía en Minneapolis, exige una respuesta de Donald Trump. Esta pasa necesariamente por una gestión proporcionada de las medidas para restablecer el orden y, puesto que acabar con la discriminación racial es una batalla a largo plazo, por establecer mecanismos que sirvan para limitar con eficacia esos abusos policiales que con demasiada frecuencia afectan sobre todo a la población negra.

Hasta ahora, en vez de eso, Trump no se ha apartado de su conocida estrategia de buscar un enemigo para exculparse rápidamente ante cualquier problema que se presente. Lejos de ser consciente de que las palabras que pronuncia el presidente de Estados Unidos no son las de un ciudadano más, el mandatario ha buscado responsables prácticamente en cualquier sitio antes de reconocer el verdadero origen de la situación. Ha echado la culpa a los gobernadores por no saber controlar la situación, ha acusado a la “extrema izquierda” de estar detrás de los disturbios, ha llegado a amenazar a los manifestantes congregados ante la Casa Blanca asegurando que si traspasan la valla, los atacará con “los perros más feroces y las armas más siniestras”. Cualquier cosa menos enfrentarse a la brutalidad policial que hace que millones de estadounidenses vean a los agentes uniformados no como servidores de la sociedad, sino como una amenaza.

El goteo constante de muertes de ciudadanos negros a manos de policías en su proceso de detención o identificación es tan prolongado en el tiempo que resultaría ingenuo hablar de hechos aislados. George Floyd es el último caso de una sucesión en la que figuran, entre otros, Rodney King, un taxista muerto de una paliza en 1992; Eric Garner, estrangulado en 2014 mientras era detenido por vender tabaco ilegalmente, o Walter Scott, un conductor que en 2015 recibió varios disparos por la espalda.

La covid-19 ha demostrado una vez más la situación vulnerable de una minoría que conforma el 12% de la población estadounidense, que tiene en proporción el mayor número de contagiados y que —siendo además el grupo étnico con menor nivel de ingresos— se ve más afectada por una destrucción de empleo sin precedentes desde 1929. En este contexto, las imágenes del agente Derek Chauvin con las manos en los bolsillos mientras Floyd se asfixiaba han sido la chispa que ha hecho estallar la revuelta. Restablecer el orden es urgente, y sobre todo limitar y castigar los abusos contra los ciudadanos negros. La lucha por erradicar una situación discriminatoria que viene de muy atrás es un reto que todavía tiene un largo recorrido; frenar los excesos policiales es, mientras tanto, una exigencia inaplazable.

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