MNA and Nurses Respond to the Killing of George Floyd by Police

[tnbutterfly - Mary]

We have all seen on the news the terrible scene that played out in the streets in Minnesota when George Floyd, an unarmed 46-year-old black male, was arrested by the Minnesota Police for attempted forgery at a convenience store. The action was caught on video as George Floyd, handcuffed and pinned to the ground face down by an officer who pressed with his full weight with his knee on Mr. Floyd's neck for more than 8 minutes. We watched and heard George Floyd crying out that he couldn't breathe. We heard him calling for "Mama". We watched as his body went limp with the officer still holding him down. This will be a scene I shall never forget.

The following are quotes from the Minnesota Nurses Association's response to this heinous crime.

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As nurses, we see the horrific effects of racism in our hospitals and community every day. We cannot remain silent as yet another black man has died at the hands of police...

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George Floyd's last words were "I can't breathe.” George Floyd died shortly after arriving at the hospital."

Nurses jump into action when they hear someone say "I can't breathe", instead of standing there watching them die. Their goal is to save lives, not kill people

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In the case of George Floyd, Minneapolis Police took no care or life-saving measures. Instead, they left him pinned down to the ground until paramedics arrived. Police ignored the pleas of George Floyd and he died.

Nurses care for all patients, regardless of their gender, race, religion or other status. We expect the same from the police. Unfortunately, nurses continue to see the devastating effects of systematic racism and oppression targeting people of color in our communities. We demand justice for George Floyd and a stop to the unnecessary death of black men at the hands of those who should protect them.

As a nurse, or as a compassionate human, how has this horrific event affected you? We have seen protests (some peaceful and some that have erupted into riots), vandalism, looting, and more. What is going on in your community? What actions can nurses take?

Let us stand together and let our voices be heard. Post your comments below.

[toomuchbaloney]

On 6/30/2020 at 2:03 PM, nursemarion said:

Society is made up of individuals. There really is no difference. You must change individuals to change society.

Peaceful protest to state your concerns is one thing, Working on changing policy- again- policy. Awareness and education. You can change a company's policies through improving their awareness. I believe in fairness and equality in all things. Standing up, using your voice, I am OK with that. Finding problem areas and speaking up, that is great. It was pointed out that certain brand logos were offensive to POC- who knew this until it was brought out into the open? Bring it up, bring it out, light the darkness. We do not know what we do not know. But don't assume it is all of society. Don't assume their is some plot to keep anyone down. And don't think demanding a stop to racism will stop it.

Accusing the whole of the white race as it seems is being done, that is wrong. In QI the first thing we learn is you must define the problem accurately. Root cause analysis. Root it out and work on it.

As we can see from the fact that the majority of Americans are demanding change, that it is the institutions that are immovable, not individuals. The institutional racism persists when the majority persist in simply accepting or even defending the status quo.

[Wishinonastar, BSN]

Institutions do not in and of themselves do anything. It is the people that make up the institutions. The hiring manager who is biased and is allowed to be because of apathy on the part of administration. The company that creates the product logo year after year simply because it has carried forward, unaware that it offends some people. The police culture that turns a blind eye to a racist and brutal bully cop. The textbook makers who neglect to have equal racial representation- not out of malice, but because of inertia.

Use words to point out what is wrong. That is what needs to be done. As I said before, I do not see it. Show me. I live in the world every day but my world through my eyes. Show me through the eyes of someone who feels racism.

I see a lot of change happening, and it has been for some time. It is not the world it once was. But cultural change starts at home and that starts with understanding, not name calling. I have now been called a name, what am I to think? I have been voted off the island though I did nothing wrong. That is what slows progress.

Anger is not the answer. Raising children to hate is not the answer. Examine your own biases and start there.

[toomuchbaloney]

36 minutes ago, nursemarion said:

Institutions do not in and of themselves do anything. It is the people that make up the institutions. The hiring manager who is biased and is allowed to be because of apathy on the part of administration. The company that creates the product logo year after year simply because it has carried forward, unaware that it offends some people. The police culture that turns a blind eye to a racist and brutal bully cop. The textbook makers who neglect to have equal racial representation- not out of malice, but because of inertia.

Use words to point out what is wrong. That is what needs to be done. As I said before, I do not see it. Show me. I live in the world every day but my world through my eyes. Show me through the eyes of someone who feels racism.

I see a lot of change happening, and it has been for some time. It is not the world it once was. But cultural change starts at home and that starts with understanding, not name calling. I have now been called a name, what am I to think? I have been voted off the island though I did nothing wrong. That is what slows progress.

Anger is not the answer. Raising children to hate is not the answer. Examine your own biases and start there.

This country has a very long history of raising up white supremacists among our children. We sometimes put up statuary and monuments to remind people that some Americans don't consider those racist attitudes unacceptable or undesirable...the symbols and language of racism are just part of their "heritage".

Blacks have been called names for their entire existence on this continent. What are they to think?

[Wishinonastar, BSN]

12 hours ago, toomuchbaloney said:

This country has a very long history of raising up white supremacists among our children. We sometimes put up statuary and monuments to remind people that some Americans don't consider those racist attitudes unacceptable or undesirable...the symbols and language of racism are just part of their "heritage".

Blacks have been called names for their entire existence on this continent. What are they to think?

I want to hear personal experiences because generalizations just does not help. It is not socially acceptable to call anyone names. I have never heard anyone call a black a derogatory term. I am not saying it does not happen. But I have never heard it or seen it. I want to hear real experiences, not just - the everyone knows it happens so it happens.

[Rose_Queen, BSN, MSN, RN]

Hello all, this is a gentle reminder to post to the subject of the thread only, and refrain from personalizing responses/personal attacks/name-calling -- which are all violations of the Terms of Service, and only serve to derail the topic at hand.

[SafetyNurse1968, ADN, BSN, MSN, PhD]

On 6/29/2020 at 7:10 PM, Numenor said:

Lots of reasons for crimes. I am sure socioeconomic reasons drive some, but I am also pretty sure socioeconomic reasons do not drive purely someone to rape and murder.

I take a SPLC opinion article with secondary sources with a grain of salt.

I didn't know pointing obvious glaring holes in arguments and calling out obvious logical fallacies was considered snide. Good to know.

Regarding the statistics you've presented, what do you believe are some of the reasons that blacks commit more crimes than whites, besides socioeconomic reasons?

[Guest1144461]

7 hours ago, SafetyNurse1968 said:

Regarding the statistics you've presented, what do you believe are some of the reasons that blacks commit more crimes than whites, besides socioeconomic reasons?

Loaded question, but I think patronizing or offering up every excuse in the book is not the answer. In general this breeds a milieu which lacks accountability and does not enable to black community to take back control. At the end of the day it is NOT the police causing black communities to lag behind. Is there room for improvement with the force? Of course, but we can't ignore the elephant in the room.

I think a lot is cyclical with communities that do not have strong foundations (destabilized communities with gangs, poor schools, little opportunity etc etc). 72% single parent household is a HUGE contributor. These problems start at a very early age and it has been proven that simply throwing money at the problems do not help. The solution lies with a two pronged approach: grass root community action and govt contributions. Petty drug crimes and other non violent crimes need an avenue for rehabilitation before prison time is given. Gang units need to be bolstered with resources to not only eliminate the problem on the street through policing but also take on a community role for redirecting kids towards more constructive time investments. Social workers and case mangers should play a more involved role with the force.

Throwing guilt at gentrification or white flight are not acceptable excuses or things to even bother looking at. You can't force individuals to stay in a community or not move into a community in a free country.

Ignoring the statistics which are blatantly true (seen people do this multiple times on here) or calling them skewed or "racist" is NOT going to help the black communities at the end of the day.

[toomuchbaloney]

Who listened to any of the testimony in the Chauvin trial today? That young witness said she apologizes to George Floyd on sleepless nights for not doing more to help him.  

How tragic.  

Apparently Chauvin was trained to to brutally suffocate people for "resisting". That's his defense...training. 

[HiddencatBSN, BSN]

9 hours ago, toomuchbaloney said:

Who listened to any of the testimony in the Chauvin trial today? That young witness said she apologizes to George Floyd on sleepless nights for not doing more to help him.  

How tragic.  

Apparently Chauvin was trained to to brutally suffocate people for "resisting". That's his defense...training. 

Yeah, that defense just makes it worse. 

It’s heartbreaking, the witness testimony.

 

[Tenebrae, BSN, RN]

Someone on my facebook feed was banging on about how the cop who killed George Floyd wouldnt get a fair trial to all the media distortions and dramatics. 

I'm like "the cop obstructed George Floyds airway for eight minutes and 47 seconds"  media dramatics are not needed, the facts are appalling

[Tenebrae, BSN, RN]

10 hours ago, toomuchbaloney said:

 

Apparently Chauvin was trained to to brutally suffocate people for "resisting". That's his defense...training. 

As a pysch nurse, often we have to restrain people who are floridly psychotic/high on meth or synthetics and a harm to other patients/staff

In the 18 months I've worked on the ward, there has been many a psychotic/high patient needing to be restrained and secluded and not one of those patients was injured or ended up dead. 

If this was part of former officer Chauvins training, then he needs better training. 

[maryellen12]

Change is needed and maybe by showing kindness to each other  could be a good place to start.