George Floyd, a 46-year-old man, died on May 25, 2020 in Minneapolis, Minnesota after Derek Chauvin, knelt on Floyd’s neck for almost nine minutes while Floyd was handcuffed face down. All four former Minneapolis Police officers involved in the constraint of Floyd leading to his death have been convicted of second-degree murder. (Picture: NBC News)
George Perry Floyd Jr., a 46 year-old man who lost his life after being constrained face-down by four Minneapolis Police officers, on Thursday May 25, 2020. After a 911 report by a staff of Cup Foods, a local eatery on the corner of Chicago Avenue and E. 38th Street in the city of Minneapolis, Minnesota State. After being manhandled by four Police officers for over thirty minutes, including a knee-down on his neck by Derek Chauvin (this lasting nearly 9 minutes long, even after Mr. Floyd lay lifeless and obviously unconscious on the roadside by the Police car), Mr. Floyd was rushed to a nearby hospital; and in less than an hour later, was pronounced dead. The Hennepin County coroner’s report found that George Floyd died from cardiac arrest during application of “neck compression”, also, “arteriosclerotic and hypertensive heart disease; fentanyl intoxication; and recent methamphetamine use.” (https://www.fox9.com/news/hennepin-county-medical-examiner-declares-george-floyd-death-homicide)
On May 29, former officer Chauvin was charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. On Wednesday (June 3, 2020), Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison updated Chauvin’s charges to include second degree murder, and the other three former officers (namely, Thomas Lane, J. Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao) were charged with aiding and abetting second degree murder.
This may seem as an adequate service of justice to Mr. Floyd’s family and his supporters, but it can never bring back his life nor the countless of coloured people and others which have lost their lives due to Police brutality.
Despite the unified voices protesting under the banner, ‘Black Lives Matter’, there does not seem to be a resolve among the protesting majority who are defying the curfew.
Social injustice, as history has shown to us, will continue to occur, even when the MLKs and civil rights champions are long passed on!
What society needs to consider are lasting, fulfilling policies that will prevent and minimize future disasters like the unfortunate death of George Floyd.
Violence and riots are never lasting and resolute options. Americans should have organised a fund-raising in support of Floyd and other families who have lost their fathers through Police brutality. Psychiatric counselling need to be implemented for Police officers (like Tou Thao and Derek Chauvin) who have been under prior investigation for brutality.
The judiciary has served the sentences, Mr. Floyd has been given a dignified burial. People need to stop using the innocent death of this man as an excuse or platform for violence and riotous rebellion.
The Bible advises the believers in Romans 12:19, ‘Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.’ If there are two things God will pay dues for in the Bible, it is vengeance on the innocence and acts of service to the poor. In Proverbs 19:17, the Bible declares, ‘He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord; and that which he hath given will he pay him again.’ The Bible is clear that believers ought to ‘Recompense to no man evil for evil…’ (Romans 12:17; 1 Peter 3:9).
Let’s leave the avenging to God, please. For ‘It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.’ (Hebrews 10:31)
Rest in peace Mr. George Perry Floyd Jr. (October 14, 1973 – May 25, 2020).
George Floyd (1973-2020). (Picture: FOX 9 News Minneapolis)
The Solution to the Pandemic Causing Panic and Pandemonium
April 3, 2020
Latest Statistics supplied by Worldometer relating to the COVID-19 cases, globally. Worldometer is run by an international team of developers, researchers, and volunteers with the goal of making world statistics available in a thought-provoking and time relevant format to a wide audience around the world. It is published by a small and independent digital media company based in the United States.
Facts Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the name given to the 2019 novel corona virus. SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV) was first identified in 2003. SARS-CoV was believed to be from an animal host (civet cats and most likely bats), and was identified to infect humans in 2002, in Guangdong, China.
According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), the corona virus are positive-stranded RNA viruses with a crown-like appearance under an electron microscope (coronam is the Latin term for crown) due to the presence of spike glycoproteins on the envelope. The subfamily Orthocoronavirinae of the Coronaviridae family (order Nidovirales) classifies into four genera of CoVs… Members of this large family of viruses can cause respiratory, intestinal, liver, and neurological (brain) diseases in different animal species, including camels, cattle, cats, and bats. To date, seven human CoVs (HCoVs) — capable of infecting humans — have been identified. Some of HCoVs were identified in the mid-1960s, while others were only detected in the new millennium.1
Anatomy of the SARS-CoV-2 (Picture Source: Manuel Bortoletti on The Economist website)
The ‘Threat’ Factor The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) estimates that between 15,000 and 75,000 people die prematurely due to causes associated with seasonal influenza infection each year in the EU, the UK, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein. This is approximately 1 in every 1 000 people who are infected. Despite the relatively low mortality rate for seasonal influenza, many people die from the disease due to the large number of people who contract it each year. The concern about COVID-19 is that, unlike influenza, there is no vaccine and no specific treatment for the disease. It also appears to be more transmissible than seasonal influenza. As it is a new virus, nobody has prior immunity, which means that the entire human population is potentially susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection.2
Thank God for History! In 1918, a similar worldwide pandemic broke out known as the Spanish Flu. It was caused by the H1N1 virus which was genetically linked to birds. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), estimations range around 500 million people became infected with this virus globally. Additionally, the number of deaths was estimated to be at least 50 million, worldwide.3
Two of the unfortunate places to be during the 1918 pandemic, were military barracks and troop-ships. Overcrowding and bad ventilation put soldiers and sailors at high risk of catching influenza and the other infections that followed.
When the 1918 Pandemic plagued the East Coast of the United States of America, Boston city in particular was greatly affected. In response the national State Guard set up an emergency hospital; taking the worst cases among sailors on ships in Boston harbour. The hospital’s medical officer had noticed the most seriously ill sailors had been in badly-ventilated spaces. So he gave them as much fresh air as possible by putting them in tents. And in good weather they were taken out of their tents and put in the sun. At this time, it was common practice to put sick soldiers outdoors. Open-air therapy, as it was known, was widely used on casualties from the Western Front. And it became the treatment of choice for another common and often deadly respiratory infection of the time; tuberculosis. Patients were put outside in their beds to breathe fresh outdoor air. Or they were nursed in cross-ventilated wards with the windows open day and night. The open-air regimen remained popular until antibiotics replaced it in the 1950s.
Doctors who had first-hand experience of open-air therapy at the hospital in Boston were convinced the regimen was effective. It was adopted elsewhere. It is reported that deaths among hospital patients were reduced to 13 per cent. The Surgeon General of the Massachusetts State Guard stated, `The efficacy of open air treatment has been absolutely proven, and one has only to try it to discover its value.’ 4
Putting infected patients out in the sun may have helped because it inactivates the influenza virus.5
Nothing New Under the Sun: Go Get Some Fresh Air To conclude, to those panicking and fiddling around with a face mask and gloves and disinfectants, calm down! Get the necessary sunlight and fresh air. Boost your immune system with lots of dark green leafy herbs (preferably boiled), and start having home gardens to supplement with food (indoor gardens are an option! No excuses please!)
This virus is spreading at a rapid pace. It is a recognizable threat. But unfortunately as is with all threats, history has already encountered it. The Great Book declares, ‘Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls…’ (Jeremiah 6:16)
Also, the Bible informs us, ‘He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service(maintenance and trengthening of the immune system) of man…’ (Psalm 104:14)
Stop jumping up and down and buying tonnes of toilet paper. Calm down. Mainstream media is causing panic and chaos (which is what raw information does to people, without logic processing). You use your God-given logic and do your research.
Stay safe everyone. And remember the Creator demonstrated His love for the world that He gave His only Son (His only heir and beloved friend) to live and walk among humanity and offer His life (willingly), a perfect substitute for our death and disease and past mistakes; that whosoever believes and grounds faith in Jesus of the Bible, should not perish but have everlasting life.
References:
Cascella, Rajnik, et al., ‘Features, Evaluation and Treatment Coronavirus (COVID-19)’, National Center for Biotechnology Information, March 20, 2020, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK554776/
Anon, ‘Weapons against influenza’, American Journal of Public Health October 1918; 8(10): pp. 787–8. doi; 10.2105/ajph.8.10.787
Schuit M, Gardner S, Wood S et al., ‘The influence of simulated sunlight on the inactivation of influenza virus in aerosols’, The Journal for Infectious Diseases January 14, 2020; pp. 221(3):372–378; doi: 10.1093/infdis/jiz582
BIG LIFE QUESTIONS 