Historic Year?

The year 2020 has had some significant events and will most likely be remembered as a milestone year in many ways.

 

In addition to the Pandemic we had demonstrations related to police brutality that may change the way they operate going forward as regards interactions with Black Americans.  It may not change the culture but of course that remains to be seen.

 

What we have seen, at least according to the polls, a change in many white American attitudes about the extent of the problem.

 

It was pretty common to attribute the incidents to a small minority of the police and it wasn't systemic.  However the video of a Minneapolis police kneeling on the throat of a black man in cuffs while three others did nothing as he said he couldn't breathe and passed out and die.

 

It took awhile to file charges which led to the eruption of protests as well as looting and rioting. 

 

Normally this sort of violence would have resulted in outrage against the protestors and to some extent it did, but the failure of the administration to recognize the validity of the complaints led to an opposite reaction.  The violence subsided and the ongoing violence reversed with police being filmed causing issues.

 

Some of the original violence may have also been committed by provocateur's but regardless following actions by the current President where he gassed peaceful protestors to stage a photo op, the tide seemed to turn.

 

Opinion polls now reflect strong support for the right to protest and police reform.

 

This is also a Presidential election year with control of the Senate at stake. 

 

What happens in November is of course still to be determined but it could be an historic election as well.

 

A historic year?  It certainly seems so.