Julia Kerr

Instagram is now a chore to scroll through. Goodbye to the hilarious memes and hello to the pointless black frames and accompanying #blacklivesmatter. Every man and his dog seems to be getting on board of this George Floyd train, it is traveling faster than COVID-19 (well so is a turtle but that’s for another article). What these ‘protestors’ fail to see is that looting and violence are not going to incite the change that they desire to see. It is hard for your average privileged, gluten-free, vegan, arts student, 25-year-old ‘protestor’ to understand what daily life is like for a police officer on the front line. Biases and gut feelings do not arise from nowhere, but from personal experiences. A friend of mine was assaulted by a black person at Redfern Station back in the 80s, whilst minding her own business. This was not a surprising occurrence. Did her life matter to them? No, it did not. As part of my job as a paralegal, I need to notice patterns with particular documents and landlords and respond accordingly. I am sure it is no different for many jobs, including that of a police officer. When somebody commits a crime, no matter how small, they are opening themselves up to the risk of punishment. Whilst it is not disputed that the punishment outweighed the crime in this counterfeit money scenario, Floyd elected to take this risk. He was ripping off the citizens of the country who had done so much to provide him with every opportunity possible. What is not told (or perhaps known) by the protestors, is Floyd’s violent criminal history. Racism is a cheap way to blame others for your own lack of drive and success. Bringing about change is about putting your head down, working hard and quietly creating a positive perception of your race. Only then will the stereotyping and profiling stop. Stop the violence, stop destroying the livelihoods of others (including other minorities, who are not important to you) and get a job! The truth is all lives matter, but some just have a higher net worth than others (it’s economics- harsh, but true).

Julia Kerr

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