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.
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.
Specializes in Community Health, Med/Surg, ICU Stepdown.
22 hours ago, toomuchbaloney said:
Unchallenged racism in forums like AN makes me uncomfortable. If those ideas and that language and thinking is not challenged then it assumes the veneer of acceptability or normalcy and that's how we get to and maintain systemic and institutionalized racism.
That's true! That's how I always get sucked back in. I haven't found any success changing people's viewpoints online, but I think it is worth it to try and to stand up. I have had success with in person discussions, but, like you, hearing nurses express racist ideals makes me so worried about how healthcare as a whole treats minorities, and therefore makes me feel compelled to respond. But I think your responses are so good and so for now I will just "like" them until I have energy to argue again LOL
That's not evidence of professional conduct or training.
To me, it speaks volumes about the current situation of the constant barrage of criticism and expectations of perfection, without community support. While his actions aren't professional by your standards, they are understandable by mine. Your comment of "shrugs" shows lack of empathy. Instead, offer a solution. I suspect that you'll throw that back on me, but I didn't reply to any post with "shrugs"...
Specializes in Nurse Leader specializing in Labor & Delivery.
12 hours ago, Workitinurfava said:
Do you live in the inner city? I don't currently but I have and if you experienced what I have you would understand what this man is talking about. I have also worked in the inner city. Trust me, what he is saying is all facts.
I live in the inner city. And what he said is true. But it doesn't negate the fact that police departments in the US, and in particular many urban areas, are built on a system that teaches systemic racism.
Heard a very interesting stat on MPR the other day (the Minneapolis NPR affiliate)...African American and East African people make up about 20% of the population in Minneapolis. But they comprise 78% of vehicle searches after traffic stops for equipment malfunction (I.e. broken tail light, headlight out, minor things like that).
Specializes in NICU, PICU, Transport, L&D, Hospice.
14 hours ago, Hoosier_RN said:
To me, it speaks volumes about the current situation of the constant barrage of criticism and expectations of perfection, without community support. While his actions aren't professional by your standards, they are understandable by mine. Your comment of "shrugs" shows lack of empathy. Instead, offer a solution. I suspect that you'll throw that back on me, but I didn't reply to any post with "shrugs"...
Sure.
Understandable. That's right. We just understand and make excuses for emotionally driven actions and words. We just accept overt anger from the leaders of police departments when they are challenged and in difficult situations. That is not how professionals behave when confronted with questions of accountability.
Not terribly long ago a police chief got angry and walked out of a press briefing after a police shooting incident. But we are supposed to believe that they don't let their emotions dictate their actions in other stressful situations?
My shrugging isn't lack of empathy, it's expectation that they should behave as professionals if that's what they want to be called. So far the evidence demonstrates that police do not have the training or education to be considered professionals. It shows.
I am not sure how some of you would expect LEO's to act with the constant blaming of officers as being racist or just plain wrong in police events BEFORE any facts/evidence have come out, and many have been proven wrong after the fact but still the media, politicians etc call them racist acts. Even nursing associations do this which helps no one and in fact is only making society more unsafe. It should not be rocket science to anyone at this point that the "news" does not always tell the truth and/or spins the truth, and seems more worried about selling papers etc than being honest.
....."You are tired of Black folks dying? So am I. You hate racism and police brutality? So do I. But you cannot paint 800,000 men and women who are of all races, faiths, sexual orientations and are also mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, preachers, coaches, community members and just human with such a broad and destructive brush."
I live in the inner city. And what he said is true. But it doesn't negate the fact that police departments in the US, and in particular many urban areas, are built on a system that teaches systemic racism.
Heard a very interesting stat on MPR the other day (the Minneapolis NPR affiliate)...African American and East African people make up about 20% of the population in Minneapolis. But they comprise 78% of vehicle searches after traffic stops for equipment malfunction (I.e. broken tail light, headlight out, minor things like that).
You have only proven my point more. He said 80 percent of crime and you are saying 78 percent of searches.
Raise the pay and minimum standard for police officers then train em for 2 years and we'll get better officers. Now who wants to pay for that? If we cut the police budget we'll get poorer officers and insurance costs and crime costs will go up, we pay either way. Cops aren't the problem All Americans are. We want more with less. Then we want to pass blame from republican and democrats it's ludicrous. We pay for what we get. Also both democrats and Republicans supported the drug war and militarizing the police. How about we don't break up American families for minor drug offenses and we make the community responsibile again? Yes George Floyd was murdered and Yes the teen in Ohio should've been shot since she had a knife and didn't stop. How about cops care about the community and teens fight with fists not knives? Liberals are wrong and Conservatives are wrong. We need a new centrists leadership that acknowledges the strengths of both sides instead of clamoring to their respective bases.
Specializes in NICU, PICU, Transport, L&D, Hospice.
7 minutes ago, Psychnursehopeful said:
Raise the pay and minimum standard for police officers then train em for 2 years and we'll get better officers. Now who wants to pay for that? If we cut the police budget we'll get poorer officers and insurance costs and crime costs will go up, we pay either way. Cops aren't the problem All Americans are. We want more with less. Then we want to pass blame from republican and democrats it's ludicrous. We pay for what we get. Also both democrats and Republicans supported the drug war and militarizing the police. How about we don't break up American families for minor drug offenses and we make the community responsibile again? Yes George Floyd was murdered and Yes the teen in Ohio should've been shot since she had a knife and didn't stop. How about cops care about the community and teens fight with fists not knives? Liberals are wrong and Conservatives are wrong. We need a new centrists leadership that acknowledges the strengths of both sides instead of clamoring to their respective bases.
Nah.
Police should be held accountable for their own training, and standards for education and practice, or lack of standards...just like other professionals.
LibraNurse27, BSN, RN
972 Posts
That's true! That's how I always get sucked back in. I haven't found any success changing people's viewpoints online, but I think it is worth it to try and to stand up. I have had success with in person discussions, but, like you, hearing nurses express racist ideals makes me so worried about how healthcare as a whole treats minorities, and therefore makes me feel compelled to respond. But I think your responses are so good and so for now I will just "like" them until I have energy to argue again LOL