What's wrong with saying

What's wrong with saying "all lives matter"? ABC10 anchor Chris Thomas explains.
Follow Chris at https://www.facebook.com/ChrisThomasNews/

There have been protests, demonstrations, and riots over George Floyd's death for the past week. Well, that's the assumption, at least. In the 90s, 15-year-old Latasha Harlins was shot in the back of the head when she turned her back to a fight that broke out in a store. The Korean grocer who shot her was given a suspended sentence, probation, and a fine. Shortly after, the four officers that brutally beat Rodney King were found not guilty!

These two events led to an explosion (the LA riots) of rage based on the recent examples that black lives don't matter. On February 23rd, 2020, Ahmaud Arbery was jogging when a pickup truck blocked his path. Two people were inside; one jumped out with a gun and shot Arbery. Oh, by the way, this was filmed by another participant in the attack. It was not until May 7th that the McMichaels were arrested. This arrest did not happen until public outrage spread across social media when the video was released on May 5th. Why the outrage? Well, the life of Ahmaud Arbery didn't matter enough to those in power to have the McMichaels arrested immediately for Arbery's death instead of waiting for more than two months.

By now, you've all seen the video of the officer pressing his knee on the neck of George Floyd. If you watched the video, you heard him begging for the opportunity to breathe. A request that sounds sadly similar to Eric Garner. For over five minutes, officer Derek Chauvin and the other officers ignored Floyd's requests to breathe.

These two events, like the two events in the 90s, have led to an explosion of outrage in the form of protests, demonstrations, and riots. Why? Because many Americans now understand why it is necessary to say, Black Lives Matter.

Follow Chris Thomas on:
Twitter https://twitter.com/ChrisABC10
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/ChrisThomasNews/

Subscribe at: https://goo.gl/vai8Eu
Find ABC10 online: https://www.abc10.com/
Sign up for our newsletter: https://www.abc10.com/email
Stream ABC10 on Roku: https://channelstore.roku.com/details/63398/abc10
Stream ABC10 on Amazon Fire: https://www.amazon.com/Gannett....-Broadcasting-ABC-10
Stream ABC10 on AppleTV: https://itunes.apple.com/us/ap....p/abc10-news-weather
Like ABC10 on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ABC10tv/
Like ABC10 on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/abc10tv
Follow ABC10 on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ABC10
App download Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gannett.local.library.news.kxtv&hl=en_US
App download iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/....abc10-news-weather-t