George Floyd’s murder and where to go from here

Derek Chauvin, a white policeman, celebrated 400 years of slavery in America by calmly, methodically suffocating George Floyd, an unarmed, handcuffed black man. Three of Chauvin’s cohorts stood guard to make sure no one would interfere.

The protests across the country sparked by George Floyd’s murder are a fitting and necessary expression of outrage and exasperation.

The bullying, white supremacist, patriarchal culture that permeates and damages each one of us has a maniacal accelerant in President Trump and the members of his administration — all selected on the basis of mindless loyalty combined with incompetence.

The Republican Party has become a ruthlessly anti-democratic force, relying on gerrymandering, court packing, and voter suppression to maintain power. Democrats must win the presidency and the Senate in November to have any hope of tackling the systemic diseases that plague our country — racism, sexism, poverty, consumerism, constant war, and environmental degradation. The dominator culture personified by Chauvin and Trump is destroying us.

I urge each one of us to choose a way to take constructive action. Through VoteForward.org, I’m writing letters to underrepresented citizens in swing states where both the presidency and the Senate are in play. My goal is to have 500 done by October, when it will be time to mail them.

Some of the other groups that can provide effective outlets for our outrage are: Indivisible, People for the American Way, Women’s March, Stand Up America, Swing Left, J Street, Democracy in Color, Daily Kos, and genEquality.

Mobilize! Margaret Emerson, Arcata