The smouldering issue of racism in North America was suddenly and tragically reignited when a white police officer choked an unarmed black man to death in front of a horrified crowd of onlookers. This incident sparked a firestorm of protests and violent riots that have spread across the country forcing many cities into lockdown and curfew.
But why does this keep happening in the US - supposedly the richest and most iconic nation?
And why did people take to the streets in Auckland - a city in a small country on the other side of the world?
The Policing Paradox
The distribution of wealth and opportunity is grossly misproportioned to the largest cities leaving the smaller more ethical minority tenanted communities with fewer prospects. And there is a direct correlation between fewer prospects and higher rates of crime. Although this problem is not unique to the US - the deep racial history and liberal gun laws are.
Given this tentative situation it would be assumed that the police force tasked with keeping the fabric of this society woven together would be proficiently and extensively trained. However the training curriculum undertaken by a police officer in the US is far shorter than in other similar, European countries.
This results in US police officers graduating from the academy well armed physically, but not mentally. With such a dangerous and undesirable job role the community is ultimately left with good officers trying to do their best, or in this case of the George Floyd incident, bad officers doing their worst.
The Muscle car mishap
It was the summer of 2016 when I had my first (and currently only) encounter with the US police force. I was travelling with two friends north along the Oregon coast when we found ourselves in a convoy of American muscle cars. Looking out the passenger windows we could see the streets lined with cheering spectators, car enthusiasts and portable barbecues. We had unknowingly joined a hot rodding parade.
We left the convoy down one of the only side-roads still accessible but all the hotels, hostels and campsites in the area were fully booked. The only unoccupied space we could find was a small car park outside of a church. With the next town hours away and dusk fast approaching we decided the best course of action would be to sleep here in our camper-vans and leave early in the morning before the church congregation arrived.
Just as we begun to settle in for the evening two police cars enter the car park. They pulled up at the far end, cars facing towards us. The car doors swung open but the officers did not approach us, instead they shielded themselves behind the open doors and begun to scan our makeshift campsite with their door-mounted spot lights.
"What are you doing?" one of the officers shouted across at us, a slight edginess in his voice. We explained our situation, no doubt our foreign European accents helped validate our claim. But the tension never really lifted. The officers agreed to our plan reaffirming the "leave early tomorrow" part and then drove away with some urgency, like they had another nineteen calls to answer.
One can only speculate how the interaction would have gone had the police officers found three black guys parked up in that church car park that night.
Silence is violence
New Zealand and the US are worlds apart. But both countries do share a similar history of colonial conquest by white Europeans and the suppression and exploitation of other ethnic groups. And whilst today Maori culture is iconic and widely celebrated, 50% of inmates currently incarcerated in New Zealand jails are Maori. A disproportionately high number considering they make up 15% of the total New Zealand population.
New Zealand police have been criticised for trialling an armed response team in a predominately Maori suburb of Auckland, an area with increasingly high gun crime, without adequately consulting Maori representatives. Whilst the police have stated that the armed response teams are a reaction to the Christchurch mosque shooting that shocked the nation, Maori activists are concerned that the New Zealand police may be sliding into adopting a more "American" approach in dealing with smaller communities.
Jacinda Ardern - New Zealand's very popular prime minister, known for her empathetic style of leadership also received some criticism at the rally for not publicly speaking out against the killing of George Floyd. This echoed what I understood to be the primary message of the march. That passively observing racial inequality globally or locally is not only inadequate but dangerous.
So what can you do? My personal opinion (I am only a travel writer and photographer) is that the best course of action is for all of us to make an effort to educate ourselves and become aware of these issues. And take action as and when we can, like writing in your travel blog and sharing it on your social media. Real change happens not when some individuals take massive action, but when a massive number of individuals take some action.
As always I try and remain politically moderate. This is what I have observed, felt and photographed.
