Over 100,000 Deaths and Over 40 Million Unemployed Due to COVID-19
Widening Wealth Gap, People of Color and the Poor Pushed to the Brink
[Asia Economy New York=Correspondents Baek Jong-min and Lee Hyun-woo] Racial discrimination protests in the United States have intensified as they continue into their sixth day. Curfews have been imposed in more than 40 cities, and the National Guard has been deployed in 23 states, worsening chaos across the country. On the surface, excessive police force and the resulting deaths of Black individuals are cited as the main causes of the protests, but the fundamental cause is pointed out to be the accumulated grievances from prolonged lockdowns due to COVID-19, massive unemployment, and racial conflicts erupting all at once.
According to foreign media including the Associated Press, on the 1st (local time), the racial discrimination protests triggered by the death of Floyd have plunged into an endless chaos. The protests have spread to 140 cities nationwide, with curfews imposed in at least 40 cities, and the National Guard deployed in Washington DC and 23 states. As protests intensified near the White House, the U.S. Department of Defense announced that it could deploy an additional 600 to 800 National Guard troops to defend Washington DC.
What began as peaceful protests against racial discrimination gradually escalated into violent demonstrations, with reports of damage across the U.S. In New York, more than 340 people were arrested, over 40 police vehicles were destroyed, and in Chicago, 240 people were arrested and six were shot, one of whom died. In Philadelphia, about ten people were arrested for looting, and four police vehicles were set on fire, among other damages. U.S. President Donald Trump's response only worsened the violence. He announced plans to designate violent protesters as a terrorist organization, and U.S. authorities continued to crack down harshly.
The autopsy results of Floyd on the same day further provoked the angry crowds. It was confirmed that he died from asphyxiation caused by neck compression by a white police officer. According to CNBC, Dr. Alesia Wilson and Dr. Michael Baden, who were commissioned by Floyd's family to perform the autopsy, stated that Floyd died from airway obstruction due to neck compression. Previously, the official autopsy by the Hennepin County Medical Examiner suggested that Floyd's cause of death was not asphyxiation by neck compression but coronary artery disease, hypertension, and drug use.
The protests are also pointed out to have more fundamental causes rooted in grievances accumulated in American society after the COVID-19 crisis. CNN analyzed that over 100,000 people have died in the U.S. alone due to COVID-19, and with over 40 million unemployed amid lockdown measures, fear and economic crisis have reached extremes, and Floyd's death triggered the eruption of all these grievances.
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) also analyzed that the high infection and mortality rates of COVID-19 among the poor and people of color in the U.S., combined with massive unemployment in these groups, created economic insecurity that sparked large-scale protests. Mark Zandi, Chief Economist at Moody's Analytics, explained, "The COVID-19 crisis has starkly revealed the wealth gap and racial discrimination in American society, and the depth of despair felt by the poor and people of color in the U.S. is reflected in these protests."
Barack Obama, the first Black president of the United States, also raised his voice calling for institutional reform. He emphasized that for the public anger expressed in these protests to lead to real institutional reform rather than violence, citizens must actively participate in voting. In a post on the internet, former President Obama stated, "Protesters deserve our respect and support, not condemnation," and added, "To channel anger into change, it is essential to actively vote to elect key officials such as the president, Congress, and the Department of Justice who will reform the police and judicial system."
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