The country is burning over the tragic and unnecessary death of a man, but why?

According to court documents the victim, George Floyd, once held a gun to a woman’s abdomen threatening to kill her baby. Coupled with the rest of his violent history and drug issues, it is safe to assume that Floyd probably wasn’t a very likable guy to most of those who knew him.

Thus if you’re a non-family member crying over this man’s death today, you likely did not know him. This suggests that your reason for crying is selfish. You do not care about Floyd, you care about yourself. Whether you’re picturing yourself dying or someone you know dying, the point is clear, it’s not about Floyd. This isn’t necessarily bad, empathy is very human and at times an admirable trait, but in this instance it is selfish. Now this assertion may bring you pause, certainly there are people that are altruistically crying over this tragedy? The question i’d ask those 3 people would be: “why this death?” Twenty people die EVERY day in American inner cities. The answer points back to selfishness, selectively deciding to care THAT MUCH about this death over others demands an underlying motive or agenda.

At the point of understandable empathy, it would be natural for most humans to take a deep look at what occurred and reflect on what’s going on at both a macro and micro level. From a general perspective, if the data were to flesh out that there was a systemic issue in our country we could point to, people SHOULD be on the streets protesting. That would be an unconscionable thing to exist in the United States, the greatest arbiter of human rights in history. But it simply isn’t the case, statistics bear that out. So if you’re out there protesting God bless you, and God bless your right to peacefully do so. I would just suggest you spend a little time educating yourself on an issue you seemingly care so much about. In order to fix a problem, there needs to be one.

Here, in the line of duty an officer used excessive force and killed a man. The officer was fired, divorced, and charged with murder within three days of this incident. His fellow officers were charged (perhaps excessively) with accessory to the murder. Justice is being served. So to those of you demanding justice for Floyd poof there it is, in perhaps the most efficient manner I’ve ever seen. But is it truly about justice? No it’s about you.

It is worth noting that at the time of death Floyd, a man with hypertension, had a myriad of drugs in his system including fentanyl and methamphetamines. He tested positive for the insidious COVID 19. If only Floyd had been self quarantining instead of stealing and resisting arrest, he might still be alive today.

Perhaps most detestably, If you are crying in public over this man you did not know or posting on social media about how much you REALLY care about his death an “what it means,” your selfishness reeks from across the internet. The me-centric fad of standing upon your undeserved, social media propped soap box, while proclaiming how much “X tragedy” affected you has become an embarrassing American past-time. Influencers I say to you, “you have your reward.” To our “leaders” who kneel before a mob, “your time is up.” Your desire to signal your virtue for likes, for instant gratification, to push a product, to push your ideology, or to grasp power, all subvert any meaning and true grief those 3 altruistic people may have been feeling. It’s pathetic, it’s tacky, and worst of all it’s overt.

And if you’re rioting and looting fuck you.

So why is our country burning? Manufactured hate, tears of a crocodile variety, opportunistic destruction and theft, selfishness, and ineffective leadership.

That’s what’s bugging me.

Hey did you notice that I didn’t mention race?