Why the Candace Owens Rant About George Floyd Is Dangerously Wrong
I'm weary to even give further attention to Candace Owens, but I can't let the logical fallacies go unchecked. So let's get into it. Nevermind the internalized racism. Nevermind the Trumpian puppeteering. Nevermind the falsehoods against the Black community. What we see in the Candace Owens video is nothing more than an unfortunate case of whataboutism.
First, the Black community is not unique because it is "the only community that caters to the bottom denominator of our society." It is unique because it is the only community that was stolen from one place and taken in shackles to another, forced to live with the aftermath for 400 years. "I can't say it enough, no, he did not deserve to die in that manner," she's careful to note. "But I also am not going to accept the narrative that this is the best the black community has to offer."
Owens then reads Floyd's rap sheet like a 16th-century executioner tallying offenses; an ad hominem response to Floyd as a person rather than Floyd as the movement. "First and foremost George Floyd, at the time of his arrest, was high on fentanyl and methamphetamine," another finger-pointing strategy. OK...*Waka Flocka face* African Americans and whites use drugs at similar rates, but the imprisonment rate of African Americans for drug charges is almost 6 times that of whites. This is not an excuse but a fact. Another fact? Floyd died in police custody after Derek Chauvin crushed his neck for 8 minutes without due process.
Owens also cites a 2007 robbery where Floyd held a gun to a pregnant woman's abdomen. Much ado about nothing, her morality argument suggests that Floyd deserved what was coming to him. "But why are we pretending that this criminal should be upheld as a citizen, as a martyr, or black America?" I'll tell you why: Because the second Floyd's death went viral, he lost not only his life but his image and, instead, his face now a hallmark of the countless unnamed, faceless Black deaths at the hands of public servants paid to "protect and serve." It's called symbolism, sweetie—look it up. T-shirts, murals, and graffiti act as small consolations to an illegal public lynching.
As of today, GoFundMe has deleted Owens' fundraising account, citing "a repeated pattern of inflammatory statements” spreading “hate, discrimination, intolerance, and falsehoods" after she raised more than $200,000 for an Alabama cafe whose owned called George Floyd a "thug."
TL;DR: it's a sign of good faith when Candace Owens tells you she doesn't support the movement so many of us are fighting for right now. And never stop saying his, her, their name.