‘When will minorities be free to be Americans in America?’ Cowboys star on George Floyd’s death
Dallas Cowboys star DeMarcus Lawrence reacted emotionally on social media over the past two days in the wake of the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minn.
Floyd died after being detained by Minneapolis police, including one of four officers who pinned him to the ground by planting a knee in Floyd’s neck for five minutes. Video on the scene shows Floyd pleading with the officer that he can’t breath.
“Done being quiet and done being angry,” Lawrence posted on Twitter in all caps Tuesday afternoon. “How can we feel safe when those meant to protect us are killin’ us?!!!! When will minorities be free to be Americans in America!?”
Many responded with supportive replies but more than a few echoed the nonsensical and predictable talking points from right-wing social media instigators such as Candace Owens, who tweeted out purported percentages of people killed by police annually, which declared 55% of those killed are white, 27% black and 19% Hispanic. Never mind the validity of her numbers. Most importantly, she left out the racial makeup of the country, which is almost 77% white and 13% black.
Lawrence responded to one such person who parroted Owen’s nonsense while also taking a swipe at Lawrence for “making 20 million a year.”
“But yeah you go ahead and act like you have it so bad,” Matthew Troyer, of Ohio, said in a reply to Lawrence on Twitter, which is no longer available because his account is locked. “It’s just [not] broadcast because it doesn’t fit your narrative that it only happens to African Americans.”
Lawrence tried to expose the ignorance in Troyer’s comment.
“Thinking that since I worked my a** off to EARN a great living, makes me feel any safer in this country than any other minority living in fear cause of their skin color. I DONT!” he replied. “YOUR mindset is the problem. But it’s not your fault, it’s all you know.”
Lawrence also dismissed someone suggesting violent retaliation.
“But that would give them justification to kill [three] more black men. It’s a lose lose situation,” Lawrence said.
And when someone tried to foolishly suggest that we needed to know why Floyd was being detained with such force, as if there may be cause for such force.
From all witness accounts and video records of the incident to date, Floyd did not resist arrest.
Lawrence wasn’t having it.
“MISSING THE POINT!!!! They killed this man using lethal force when he was obviously subdued and struggling to breathe,” he said.
Riots erupted out of protests over Floyd’s death in Minneapolis and in Los Angeles on Wednesday.
