The officers arrested for their role in George Floyd’s death have been charged with murder. Justice is served (assuming they are tried, convicted, and sentenced). The system is correcting itself and will continue to do so as long as we abide by the basic rules necessary to provoke a response which are:
STEP #1 – Video
Video record any incidents where people are being killed. To gain attention, these need to be propagated through social media and mainstream news outlets. If there’s no video recording, it’s unlikely anything can be done. If you have a recording, continue to Step #2.
STEP 2 – Influencers
Get the support of influencers like big name politicians, celebrities, clergy, and respected civil rights activists. Having support of the Pope and former U.S. Presidents is helpful.
STEP #3 – Protests
Organize protests in 100 U.S. Cities and around the world. The protests will be resisted by heavily armed police and military. Members of the media will be arrested limiting coverage of the events. You’ll need to endure pepper spray, being shot with pepper bullets, tear gas, and flash bang explosions. Outside agitators will try to spark rioting by looting, throwing objects at police, lighting fires, and damaging property. You’ll likely get arrested and you’ll be blamed by some news outlets for the rioting caused by the outside agitators. If you are back to Step #3 for a second time, as instructed in Step #4, you may need to take additional actions such as shutting down highways to get attention.
STEP #4 – Media Coverage
If you get sufficient media coverage to win public sentiment, please continue to Step #5. If not, return to Step #3.
STEP #5 – Support of Politicians and Police
Get the support of mayors, police chiefs, and members of law enforcement to put pressure on the police involved in Step #1.
STEP #6 – Disciplinary Paid Leave
The officers in Step #1 will be reprimanded and put on disciplinary paid leave, or fired.
STEP #7 – Prosecution
Eventually enough awareness and pressure will be created so that the officers involved in Step #1 will be prosecuted.
New Incidents
Each new incident will require that you start over at the beginning and go through all the above steps. Thanks for your cooperation.
Exceptions
If you were born into privilege, and don’t belong to a minority group, the above will most likely not be needed. It’s unlikely you’ll be arrested on vague charges and killed while in custody.
Further Reading
The George Floyd case and subsequent protests provide an example of the above steps. For more information read “News Coverage of the May-June 2020 Protests.”