And suddenly everything changes. The attention of the United States was turned abroad. The Chinese National People’s Assembly had just passed Hong Kong’s proposed national security law.
Between threats to the end of the city’s special status and an inconsequential request for an urgent United Nations Security Council meeting to discuss the situation in the former British colony, Washington embarked on an apparent wave of enthusiasm in the context of the trade war (as they call it) with Beijing, who seems to have blurred his vision for what was in his gut.
With the head, soon the senses, 13 thousand kilometers away, in Hong Kong, the White House did not notice (or pretended not to see) what was growing about 1800 kilometers in Minneapolis. There, in the northern center of the nation, a criminal act by a white policeman led to the asphyxiation of a black citizen. In an act that looks like much more than a detention. There is evidence of a clear desire to subdue and show power. A knee persistently placed on a neck for eight minutes and 46 seconds … about the same time that the sunlight takes to illuminate the Earth, but that is still insufficient to remove some men from the shadows.
And suddenly everything changes. The attention of the United States was turned abroad. The Chinese National People’s Assembly had just passed the Hong Kong national security bill
Conclusion: indignation began to take to the street to protest against police brutality and demand justice. In a country also bent on the uncertainties and political, economic and social disruption caused by the new coronavirus pandemic, many have moved from peaceful protests to violent actions centered on destruction and plunder.
Among threats from President Trump to send the army out to restore order, from accusations of terrorism to radical movements and the overwhelming majority of curfew declarations are nothing more than dead letter chaos remains the order of the day in many American cities and states.
In an election year (and Donald Trump’s more than predictable re-election), the slogan “America first” has had better days.
*Executive Editor of Platform
