TNT George Floyd Edition: A Turk in Minneapolis Opines

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Milliyet Newspaper, 2 June 2020)



"Everything right in America, if you are white in 
America."


In the aftermath of George Floyd's killing by police in Minneapolis
USA, the views of Turks living in that area have become a subject
of interest.  Academician Turan Birol, who lives in Minneapolis, told
Milliyet that he thought that the police had nothing substantial to hold
Floyd for and that "in other, previous incidents of police killings like
this the police always managed to get off on some pretext even if they
were in the wrong.  But in this case the police were flat-out wrong."

Birol stated that he considered the protests across America after
Floyd's death to be absolutely justified, given the racist attitudes
toward Blacks in every field.  With regard to the looting, Birol
said that "it's too early to calculate definitely, but there is talk of
groups coming from outside the city to loot and  of heavily-armed
'white supremicist' groups being involved in the incidents.  Attention
must be paid  to distinguish between what they (white supremacists)
have done and what the protestors have done."

With regard to police behavior, Birol opined that some policemen
are antagonistic not just against Blacks but against Turks and other
ethnic groups, as well.  He added, though, that he believed these
police attitudes are based on class distinctions like "poor and
immigrant", even more than on ethnicity.  Birol stated that "but
when the treatment of Blacks is compared to the treatment of
foreigners like me, it seems to me that the continuing oppression
against Blacks constitutes even more of an insult to them."

Birol also weighed in on whether or not he thinks that President
Donald Trump's remarks have had an effect on the rise of racism
in the USA.  In this regard, he said that "it is hard to determine
for sure whether racism increased with Trump's election and in the
period before that.  Nevertheless, it would not be wrong to say
that racist groups' voices have increased and their views are expressed
more vocally."



                                             R.I.P.