In her article “The enormous scale of this movement,” through the description of the demonstration in Washington D.C., Elaine Godfrey addresses one of the most actual and disturbing political and social issues related to racial inequality in the United States. The majority of American cities, towns, and villages are currently affected by massive protests and demonstrations that were triggered by the death of George Floyd (Godfrey, 2020). According to the participants of demonstrations, the inappropriate discrimination of African Americans on the basis of race, especially by the police, exists, and it should be eliminated. In general, the major policy demands of protesters include police divestment, a national prohibition on hazardous standards of arrest, and the general improvement of the quality of black people’s lives (Godfrey, 2020). The author expresses her concern related to the scale of nationwide demonstrations and states that they “could carry on for days or weeks—maybe even through November” (Godfrey, 2020, para. 3). From a personal perspective, the claims of protesters are generally reasonable, and specific actions should be taken in order to abolish racial inequality.
According to Godfrey, specific legal privileges of police officers contribute to the outbreak of war against black people. As a matter of fact, this statement may be regarded as controversial. In general, the duty of the police is the protection of the community against criminal activity. It goes without saying that on the basis of the officers’ legal responsibilities, they may apply force against individuals who violate the law and constitute a danger to the public. However, the police’s activities should not be conducted by prejudice or stereotypes concerning race and ethnicity. In other words, an officer cannot arrest an individual only because he or she is African American, Latin, or Asian. From a personal perspective, all cases of inappropriate use of force by police should be investigated, and perpetrators should be punished in conformity with the law. In addition, the demand of protesters to change the procedure of arrest and to prohibit chokeholds, in particular, is reasonable as well. Punishment should be provided in terms of legislation rather than physical force.
According to the article, black Americans suffer more from the consequences of the pandemic, in comparison with white citizens. This statement has actual evidence – 39% of positions held by black employees are at risk, opposite to 34% for white workers. In addition, black health care providers are overrepresented in hospitals. Consequently, they are currently at a greater risk of virus infection, and such discrimination that may lead to severe health issues and death is unacceptable and should be prohibited.
In addition, demonstrations should initiate the changes not only in the governmental system but in social norms as well. According to Yolanda Fleming, “she remembers white people pelting objects at her during her walk home from school as a child” (Godfrey, 2020, para. 14). This attitude demonstrated the absence of tolerance from white adults to black people on the basis of their race that has already existed for a considerably long period of time. That is why, beside political purposes, current protests in the United States should make white people realize there is considerable racial inequality and aggression to black citizens in the country that should be reduced primarily by their behavior. Moreover, parents should explain to their children that no one should be offended due to race, nationality, religion, or social status.
In general, this article is fully related to issues in the contemporary world, and, as demonstrations affect multiple countries, the problem of racial discrimination may be regarded as international. Although the author provides the description of a current situation without the clear expression of her opinion towards protests, her attitude tothem may be defined as positive. This article made me feel inspired as it demonstrates the significance of this issue to the society and mass media. It goes without saying that the demands of protesters fully correspond to my ideas connected with the unacceptability of racism and the significance of civil rights protection, and this work has strengthened my beliefs that any discrimination should be abolished. This highly useful article may be recommended for readers who start to get acquainted with this topic as it will keep them informed about the current situation related to demonstrations across the country.
References
Godfrey, E. (2020). The enormous scale of this movement.The Atlantic. Web.