As I think more about the current situation and the initial action that sparked it, I'm left bewildered, attempting to understand at a base level what these riots are over.

It seems that the framing of it is racism in America; news stations, sports websites, apolitical people, are all talking about how it can no longer be ignored.

On the surface the story is simple, police brutality. A white officer killed an unarmed black man by pinning him by his neck, pleas for help and not being able to breathe being ignored. An echo back to a previous death which sparked similar riots years ago "I can't breathe".

I'll mention that I am going to discount that George Floyd did not die of asphyxiation, but of a heart attack, after the initial incident.

The video, rightfully, sparked outrage and it seemed that we were all in agreement. A rare moment of unity, a police officer was extremely negligent and it resulted in a death. There was a swift response to fire/suspend the officers involved and open investigations into their conduct, both locally and federally.

Instead of taking this moment for what it was, people being held instantly responsible, a complaint that always seemed to plague these cases. The idea that white police officers were on some rampage killing poor defenseless black people and getting away with it, was finally being dispelled.

Instead of taking this moment in time, where we were all paying attention to set the example of how justice should be carried out, allowing the system to work. It all of a sudden became the same old story.

A white police officer killing a black man. Ignore that multiple levels of investigation are ongoing, ignore that there were instant repercussions to all involved. Ignore that the context of the situation was never explained. All that matters is the color of the people involved.

The only racism I can find here is in the eyes of those who are refusing to wait for the results of what they purport to be protesting for.