by Lynn Mandaville
Stephen Stills was a guitarist for Buffalo Springfield when he wrote and recorded For What It’s Worth in December 1966. Although it was not written as an anti-war song (it’s origin was in the youth uprisings over curfew laws in Hollywood along the Sunset Strip in mid-1966) it became one of the anthems of student dissent in the ’60s over the Vietnam War.
The lyrics came flooding back to me in the last couple of days as I watched what was happening in protests over George Floyd’s murder. They seem to have a universality to them.
There’s something happening here.
What it is ain’t exactly clear.
There’s a man with a gun over there
Telling me I’ve got to beware.
I think it’s time we stop, children, what’s that sound?
Everybody look what’s going down.
Peaceful protests have broken out in all 50 states.
Protests in support of George Floyd are being held daily in major cities all over the world, from the UK to New Zealand, from Germany to nations in Africa.
The name George Floyd is on the lips of the Pope.
Protesters are being distinguished from thugs, rioters and looters.
Black protesters are shaming those who try to deface and vandalize buildings in their neighborhoods for diminishing the purpose of the protests.
Law enforcement personnel are taking a knee in support of the protesters. In Flint and Newark, NJ, police have taken off their helmets, laid down their batons, and marched with protesters.
Even in under the threat of the corona virus, cops and people young and old are embracing and holding hands at protest sites, and marching shoulder to shoulder down city streets, even in heat as high as 112 degrees in Phoenix, AZ.
Is it possible that the issue of civil rights for black Americans has finally hit critical mass?
Is it possible that by going viral and global, the murder of George Floyd will cause people around the world to actually find a way to come together and make some concrete strides toward true brother and sisterhood?
What a field day for the heat
A thousand people in the street
Singing songs and carrying signs…
In Phoenix today it was 112 degrees. By news time at 6 p,m,, hundreds of people had already marched throughout downtown without incident for more than six hours, and an end wasn’t in sight until the governor’s 8 p.m. curfew. People on street corners handed out to protesters bottles of cold water and slices of lukewarm pizza.
Today, Wednesday, June 4, was day eight of the protests.
Tomorrow a memorial will be held in Houston for George Floyd. Thousands are expected.
When 6-year-old Gianna, daughter of George Floyd, was questioned by media people this morning, she proclaimed that “Daddy has changed the world.”
From your sweet lips to God’s ear, Gianna. From your sweet lips to God’s ear.
This is such a sad story, heart breaking actually. The poor man was under the influence of Fentanyl, Methamphetamine and suffering from COVID-19. Then to have a officer compound the problem by kneeling on this mans neck. With having the virus and being under the influence of illegal drugs his breathing must have been already compromised. Then to have a bad cop kneel on this guys neck, this guy didn’t have a chance.. Bad deal, may Mr Floyd RIP.
“A full autopsy report on George Floyd, the man who died after being restrained by Minneapolis police last month, reveals that he was positive for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The 20-page report also indicates that Floyd had fentanyl and methamphetamine in his system at the time of his death, although the drugs are not listed as the cause.”