{"id":2198,"date":"2020-06-11T20:17:19","date_gmt":"2020-06-12T03:17:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/shescribe.com\/?p=2198"},"modified":"2020-06-30T10:42:04","modified_gmt":"2020-06-30T17:42:04","slug":"george-floyd-the-perfect-man-for-the-movement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shirscribe.com\/index.php\/2020\/06\/11\/george-floyd-the-perfect-man-for-the-movement\/","title":{"rendered":"George Floyd, The Perfect Man for the Movement"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u201cThen the King will say to those on his right, \u2018Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.  For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,  I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThen the righteous will answer him, \u2018Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?  When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?  When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe King will reply, \u2018Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                                –Matthew 25: 34-40.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I first heard about George Floyd\u2019s<\/a> criminal record through a clip that appeared on my Twitter feed of Glen Beck interviewing Candace Owens<\/a>. In it he asked her, \u201cIs this really the guy that Black America \u2013 I mean, they were very careful to pick Rosa Parks \u2013 is this the symbol of Black America today?\u201d The clip I saw cut off there, and I couldn\u2019t help but wonder what George Floyd had done, but I didn\u2019t look any further into it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then on Tuesday, I watched his Houston funeral<\/a> where one of the earlier speakers kept saying things like, he may not have been the perfect man, but<\/em> or even though he wasn\u2019t a perfect man<\/em>, and so forth.  Again, I wondered what he had done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Later that night, I finally did a Google search which turned up an article in the Daily Mail<\/a> that pretty much had his full criminal background on display.  Some of that shit in there, boy \u2013 it was cringeworthy. There\u2019s the part where he pled guilty to busting into a woman\u2019s home after an accomplice pretended to be with the water company to get her to open the door. Then George held a pistol to her stomach and forced her into the living room to allow other men in the house \u2013 <\/strong>one of whom hit her several times in the head and side with a gun — <\/strong>while he searched the house for drugs and money. There were also a bunch of other convictions that resulted in him serving several stints behind bars.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Glen Beck said, do we as Black people, and people in support of the cause, really want to make a martyr out of a man like that?  The answer is a resounding yes, and as Wendy Williams would say, I\u2019ll tell you why.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All too often it seems that Black people have to have qualifiers to matter: it\u2019s the educated Black, the Black with a fancy degree from a prestigious school, the Black with an enviable job title, the rich Black.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Amy Cooper<\/a> pulled that stunt on Christian Cooper in Central Park simply because he asked her to put her dog on its leash like the rules dictate, part of what made her actions look so bad was that Christian met a lot of the qualifiers \u2013 a Harvard educated birdwatcher, a scientist and a bunch of other accomplishments I don\u2019t remember.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Amber Guyger<\/a> killed Botham Jean<\/a> in his own home, they made heavy mention of his church involvement, his college degree, good job and the innocuous, mundane act of eating ice cream not yet fully melted by the time assistance arrived. He had a lot of qualifiers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But what if George Floyd was the one who asked Amy Cooper to put her dog on a leash, would everyone be just as outraged by her behavior?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What if George Floyd lived in that apartment above Amber Guyger, would they still think shooting him in his own home was unjustified?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s a saying in the Black community that you have to work twice as hard to get half as much.  And the funny thing is, usually when mentioned, it\u2019s not even to complain about a system that requires more of some and less of others. Nor is it stated as an example of a misguided concept that needs fixing. No, it\u2019s usually said to a Black person forward-thinking enough to believe that they could put in the same amount of work as whites and get the same results to think again. Or to adequately prepare a Black person with big dreams for the herculean tasks ahead of them as they work to achieve their goals.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As crazy as this saying may be, it wouldn\u2019t be so pervasive if it didn\u2019t work. It wouldn\u2019t have legs if we didn\u2019t know Black people who achieved lofty goals by suffering indignities in silence as they made their way to the top. Or Black people who spoke out, and never got a chance to get their footing on the first rung. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the climb, many work to disassociate themselves with any accoutrements of ghetto or socially conscious black life, and assimilate as much as they can to this whole new world only to discover that you can become a world-renowned talk show host and still be denied entry into an Hermes store in Paris<\/a>. You can become the President of the United States, and still be forced to show your birth certificate<\/a> because of a lie that someone\u2019s jealousy created. You can be a football player with deep pockets, a great credit score, that\u2019s cheered on by millions while on the field, yet still not be able to rent a home<\/a> in the city where your training camp is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I guess that\u2019s the problem with trying to connect our right to be respected with social, scholarly, or monetary achievement instead of our humanity. It\u2019s a bar that\u2019s in constant flux.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then on Memorial Day 2020, somewhere in Minneapolis, the revolution was televised.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

George Floyd wasn\u2019t an Ivy League Black man, or a rich Black man, or even a drug-free Black man. But as we all watched him lay on his stomach, wrists handcuffed behind his back, his neck under the ruthless pressure of that former officer\u2019s knee, he also wasn\u2019t a criminal-past Black man, or a drug-using Black man or a counterfeit $20 bill slipping Black man. He was just a man, suffering an inhumane attack.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With cries out to his Momma, his last breaths managed to give new life to a movement that got the whole world to say what so many others with qualifiers had not: Black Lives Matter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Was George Floyd perfect? Nah, he wasn\u2019t perfect. But still he should have gotten a chance to rebuild his life like the opportunity afforded Robert Downey, Jr. who went on to become a top-paid actor after his jail stint. Or, Mark Wahlberg who\u2019s enjoyed similar Hollywood success after also having a criminal past.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Was George Floyd perfect? Nah, he wasn\u2019t perfect. But still he had the right to be taken into custody with dignity and respect much like Dylan Roof was after viciously murdering nine people in a church. And Patrick Crusius was after he drove hours to an El Paso shopping mall killing 22 people and wounding 24 others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Was George Floyd perfect? Nah, he wasn\u2019t perfect. But it was his lack of perfection that was necessary to remind us what it is to have humanity. That no one\u2019s humanity is a function of what they do for a living, or how much money they have in the bank, or their race, or even their mistakes. The beautiful thing about his horrible death, is that the world wouldn\u2019t allow his lack of perfection to distract from or be used as a scapegoat for that former officer\u2019s inhumane behavior. That\u2019s what makes him the perfect man for the movement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jesus said it\u2019s what you do to the least of these. And that\u2019s why this movement should bring you hope and joy. Because no matter who you are, at some point in our lives, everyone will come to realize that we are all the least of these.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cThen the King will say to those on his right, \u2018Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.  For I was hungry and you gave me…<\/p>\n

Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wprm-recipe-roundup-name":"","wprm-recipe-roundup-description":"","_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,11],"tags":[83,84,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-2198","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-on-my-mind","7":"category-politics-as-unsual","8":"tag-george-floyd","9":"tag-racism","10":"tag-redemption","11":"entry"},"yoast_head":"\nGeorge Floyd, The Perfect Man for the Movement - Shirscribe<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A writer shares why she believe's George Floyd's checkered past doesn't take away from Black Lives Matter's mission to promote equality and justice for all.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/shirscribe.com\/index.php\/2020\/06\/11\/george-floyd-the-perfect-man-for-the-movement\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"George Floyd, The Perfect Man for the Movement - Shirscribe\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A writer shares why she believe's George Floyd's checkered past doesn't take away from Black Lives Matter's mission to promote equality and justice for all.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/shirscribe.com\/index.php\/2020\/06\/11\/george-floyd-the-perfect-man-for-the-movement\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Shirscribe\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-06-12T03:17:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-06-30T17:42:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Shirscribe\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Shirscribe\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/shirscribe.com\/index.php\/2020\/06\/11\/george-floyd-the-perfect-man-for-the-movement\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/shirscribe.com\/index.php\/2020\/06\/11\/george-floyd-the-perfect-man-for-the-movement\/\",\"name\":\"George Floyd, The Perfect Man for the Movement - Shirscribe\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/shirscribe.com\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2020-06-12T03:17:19+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-06-30T17:42:04+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/shirscribe.com\/#\/schema\/person\/a7347811ae0cb446db51c8ff22f7048f\"},\"description\":\"A writer shares why she believe's George Floyd's checkered past doesn't take away from Black Lives Matter's mission to promote equality and justice for all.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/shirscribe.com\/index.php\/2020\/06\/11\/george-floyd-the-perfect-man-for-the-movement\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/shirscribe.com\/index.php\/2020\/06\/11\/george-floyd-the-perfect-man-for-the-movement\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/shirscribe.com\/index.php\/2020\/06\/11\/george-floyd-the-perfect-man-for-the-movement\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/shirscribe.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"George Floyd, The Perfect Man for the Movement\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/shirscribe.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/shirscribe.com\/\",\"name\":\"Shirscribe\",\"description\":\"I talk a little bit about a lot of shhh...\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/shirscribe.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/shirscribe.com\/#\/schema\/person\/a7347811ae0cb446db51c8ff22f7048f\",\"name\":\"Shirscribe\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/shirscribe.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/be9a010a1f1ffb865725e6b7dc9dbb261c4d1c414ba4ba842cf8a05ea76957e3?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/be9a010a1f1ffb865725e6b7dc9dbb261c4d1c414ba4ba842cf8a05ea76957e3?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Shirscribe\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/shirscribe.com\/index.php\/author\/mescribe\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"George Floyd, The Perfect Man for the Movement - Shirscribe","description":"A writer shares why she believe's George Floyd's checkered past doesn't take away from Black Lives Matter's mission to promote equality and justice for all.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/shirscribe.com\/index.php\/2020\/06\/11\/george-floyd-the-perfect-man-for-the-movement\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"George Floyd, The Perfect Man for the Movement - Shirscribe","og_description":"A writer shares why she believe's George Floyd's checkered past doesn't take away from Black Lives Matter's mission to promote equality and justice for all.","og_url":"https:\/\/shirscribe.com\/index.php\/2020\/06\/11\/george-floyd-the-perfect-man-for-the-movement\/","og_site_name":"Shirscribe","article_published_time":"2020-06-12T03:17:19+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-06-30T17:42:04+00:00","author":"Shirscribe","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Shirscribe","Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/shirscribe.com\/index.php\/2020\/06\/11\/george-floyd-the-perfect-man-for-the-movement\/","url":"https:\/\/shirscribe.com\/index.php\/2020\/06\/11\/george-floyd-the-perfect-man-for-the-movement\/","name":"George Floyd, The Perfect Man for the Movement - Shirscribe","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/shirscribe.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2020-06-12T03:17:19+00:00","dateModified":"2020-06-30T17:42:04+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/shirscribe.com\/#\/schema\/person\/a7347811ae0cb446db51c8ff22f7048f"},"description":"A writer shares why she believe's George Floyd's checkered past doesn't take away from Black Lives Matter's mission to promote equality and justice for all.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/shirscribe.com\/index.php\/2020\/06\/11\/george-floyd-the-perfect-man-for-the-movement\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/shirscribe.com\/index.php\/2020\/06\/11\/george-floyd-the-perfect-man-for-the-movement\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/shirscribe.com\/index.php\/2020\/06\/11\/george-floyd-the-perfect-man-for-the-movement\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/shirscribe.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"George Floyd, The Perfect Man for the Movement"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/shirscribe.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/shirscribe.com\/","name":"Shirscribe","description":"I talk a little bit about a lot of shhh...","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/shirscribe.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/shirscribe.com\/#\/schema\/person\/a7347811ae0cb446db51c8ff22f7048f","name":"Shirscribe","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/shirscribe.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/be9a010a1f1ffb865725e6b7dc9dbb261c4d1c414ba4ba842cf8a05ea76957e3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/be9a010a1f1ffb865725e6b7dc9dbb261c4d1c414ba4ba842cf8a05ea76957e3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Shirscribe"},"url":"https:\/\/shirscribe.com\/index.php\/author\/mescribe\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shirscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2198","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shirscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shirscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shirscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shirscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2198"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/shirscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2198\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2260,"href":"https:\/\/shirscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2198\/revisions\/2260"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shirscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2198"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shirscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2198"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shirscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2198"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}