I can't breathe
The killing of Floyd shows that inequalities and class contradictions in American society are sharpening.
On May 25, George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, was killed by police violence in Minneapolis, America. Police officer Derek Chauvin killed him by kneeling on Floyd's neck for 8 minutes 46 seconds, suffocating him.
The police seized George Floyd after an allegation that he had paid with a counterfeit 20-dollar note when buying cigarettes at a store. As soon as he was seized he was physically attacked, and four policemen pinned him to the ground and pressed a knee into his neck. Black people being killed by police violence in America is nothing new.
Protest against Floyd's brutal killing is bursting out across America.
Big protests are taking place in more than 140 American cities, and curfews have been imposed in about forty. For days, protesters gathered outside the White House have been chanting slogans against the racist Trump.
Five deaths have been reported in the protests so far.
About three thousand protesters have been arrested and jailed.
Floyd's repeated cry, "I can't breathe", is ringing out as the slogan of protest in American cities.
The policeman Derek Chauvin is notorious for racism. The post-mortem report makes clear that the cause of death was the blocking of blood flow to the brain and the fall in oxygen levels while he knelt for 8 minutes 46 seconds.
It is notable that Floyd was a restaurant security worker who lost his job during the corona period.
The Floyd killing has once again brought the suffering of Black people in America to the world's attention, and the undercurrents of racism and economic inequality in America are being discussed through this incident.
The killing of George Floyd was really only the trigger for the anger, frustration and grief that had built up over years among the poor of America, especially Black people, to come out. The Covid-19 crisis has cost more than 4 crore people their jobs in America, most of them Black, and most of those who have died of Covid-19 are Black too.
Attacks on Black people by armed police, with the silent approval of the government, are an everyday occurrence.
All this has simply led to an explosion. The Floyd incident shows that the inequalities and class contradictions in American society are sharpening.