{"id":1326,"date":"2020-06-03T17:23:30","date_gmt":"2020-06-03T18:23:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/malvinartley.com\/blog.malvinartley.com\/?p=1326"},"modified":"2020-08-25T07:07:21","modified_gmt":"2020-08-25T08:07:21","slug":"the-george-floyd-riots-a-closer-look","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/malvinartley.com\/blog.malvinartley.com\/2020\/06\/03\/the-george-floyd-riots-a-closer-look\/","title":{"rendered":"The George Floyd riots: A closer look (Updated 4 June at end)"},"content":{"rendered":"

On the 25th<\/sup> of May this year in a suburb of Minneapolis, George Perry Floyd was murdered by a policeman during a routine callout. That is the public perception (see update at end for more details). He wasn\u2019t shot trying to flee. He apparently wasn\u2019t even resisting arrest. He was instead pinned to the ground by three police officers because he was afraid and claustrophobic, pinned to the point that he was suffocated and later died of a heart attack, according to the autopsy report. And yes, he was black. It was a strange thing to have happened, though, for several reasons. The arrest and pinning, with his loss of consciousness, was recorded for posterity on two cell phones and a security camera and soon went viral. The police seemed nonchalant. The nation exploded in protests and riots as a result. The world stood in solidarity with the protests. But why has this event caused such an outpouring when people die at the hands of police nearly every day in the United States? We\u2019ll look at why here.<\/span><\/p>\n

We are not going to look at all the causes of the use of excessive force by police here, nor of racial factors, though those matters are quite important. Instead, we will examine two main points: 1) Why George Floyd? What was so special about his death? And 2) What is the real underlying reason for all the violence we are seeing? The answers are quite revealing.<\/span><\/p>\n

To begin, we need to have certain figures in mind to gain some perspective on what has happened as a result of Floyd\u2019s death. The result may not point to what you might think. American police forces killed three people per day in 2019 on average, for a total of nearly 1,100 killings<\/span>.<\/a> Most of those killed were by gunshot, in one year. In comparison, there were a total of 55 fatal police shootings in England and Wales in a fourteen year period<\/em> to 2014. We might say that is a little bit disproportionate. Police in the US are almost never charged for the use of excessive force.<\/span><\/p>\n

Of the 1100 people killed during police actions, 24% were black, at only 13% of the population. That is nearly double the amount by race. That\u2019s nationwide. But it matters a great deal as to where one lives. You are far more likely to be killed by police in Oklahoma City than New York<\/a><\/span>, by a large margin \u2013 by a longshot, we might say. And violent crime is not a determinative factor. In comparison, almost 50 police officers were killed in the line of duty last year and 40+ died from accidental deaths in the same vein. Of those, 40 were white, 7 were black and one was Asian.<\/span><\/p>\n

One might expect a more even distribution of deaths by race, not to sound cold about such a high number of deaths. But even older lists<\/a> <\/span>show that the highest numbers of people killed by police are white, and half of those were armed. Race does play a factor in the use of excessive force (\u2018brutality\u2019), but it is not the sole factor. There is something more to it.<\/span><\/p>\n

Since 9\/11, many police departments in the US have been receive training in Israel<\/a><\/span>, specifically in \u2018counterterrorism techniques\u2019 and \u2018large crowd control\u2019. Why? Is domestic terrorism a large concern in the US? There has been a steady rise in the numbers of shootings by police since then<\/a><\/span>. But Floyd wasn\u2019t shot. Why does that matter? It matters because the tactic used by Chauvin in Floyd\u2019s death<\/a><\/span> is commonly used by Israeli security forces on Palestinians. Are we to be treated as the Palestinians are now? Floyd\u2019s death was a graphic and gut-wrenching thing to watch. It is hardly surprising people are out en masse<\/em> protesting. So now we get to a little astrology.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Gray Lady had this to say<\/span><\/a> about the ensuing protests about Floyd\u2019s death:<\/span><\/p>\n

Protests have erupted in at least 140 cities across the United States [all 50 states now] in the days after George Floyd, a black man, died in police custody<\/em>. Some of the demonstrations have turned violent, prompting the activation of the National Guard in at least 21 states.<\/span><\/p>\n

The following map illustrates it:<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cDied in police custody<\/a><\/span>\u201d\u2026Let\u2019s have a closer look at that. George Floyd was confronted after the police received a call about his allegedly attempting to buy a pack of cigarettes with a fake $20 bill. The police scanner audio stated that Floyd was drunk and not in control of himself. The officer who pinned his neck to the ground, Chauvin, had 17 complaints against him in past incidents. At 8:25 PM Floyd lost consciousness. Five minutes later, Chauvin took his knee off Floyd\u2019s neck. The knee to the neck is a move that is banned in most police departments. Minneapolis police policy clearly states that such a move is only warranted if a person is actively resisting arrest.<\/span><\/p>\n

There was no evidence that Floyd was resisting arrest, especially after losing consciousness. Floyd was pronounced dead at around 9:25 PM after cardiac arrest on the way to the hospital (the official story line) in the ambulance. Minneapolis authorities fired all four police officers who were at the scene of the arrest and charged Chauvin with manslaughter and murder.<\/span><\/p>\n

The timeline of the violence against Floyd (it was non-violent before then) runs, thus, from 8:20 to his death pronouncement at 9:25. Thereby, to establish a chart for the incident, it was fairly routine until just before 8:20, when Floyd was thereafter pinned to the ground by three of the officers and started to complain that he couldn\u2019t breathe. He lost consciousness shortly thereafter. The chart for the incident is below (bigger<\/a><\/span>):<\/span><\/p>\n

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A bit of background will help to explain the chart.<\/span><\/p>\n

George Floyd, like so many millions of others, was a casualty of the COVID-19 epidemic, in that he had lost his job due to the pandemic lockdowns. He had been a restaurant security guard for five years prior to losing his job. He was described as a \u2018gentle giant\u2019, \u2018a big teddy bear<\/a><\/span>\u2019, who liked to see people happy. He was 46 when he died. He was born in Fayetteville, NC on 14 Oct 1973<\/a><\/span> (no time of day, chart<\/a><\/span>).<\/span><\/p>\n

Without a time of birth it is more difficult to show death in a chart, but there is one direction that shows it pretty clearly, the direction Neptune=Sun\/Uranus: \u201cIn isolated cases disintegration of the body, death.\u201d That midpoint structure is one of the \u2018death combinations\u2019. It also shows unexpected events connected with water, in this case alcohol. At the same time, the \u2018death axis\u2019 (Mars\/Saturn midpoint) was directed to his Sun and square to the directed Neptune (chart<\/a><\/span>). That combination is a feature in his natal chart, described thus:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWeak vitality, an insufficient power to tackle resistance or any obstacles in one’s path-way of life. – Waning powers and weakening efforts, self-torment, the undermining of the vitality (through poison, gas or an epidemic<\/em>). – A mysterious death, a grievous and grave loss<\/em>.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

And when coupled with the Sun, which rules vitality anyway, the picture at the time of his death and the circumstances surrounding it are pretty clear:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWeak vitality, the inability to meet all demands or to master all situations<\/em>, the necessity to overcome illness. – The illness or the death of members of the male population<\/em>.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The officer, Derek Chauvin, who is charged with his murder, was born on 19 Mar 1976<\/a><\/span> in Minneapolis (chart<\/a><\/span>, no birth time). The 3rd<\/sup> degree murder charge carries a maximum penalty of 25 years, and is described as, \u201cMurder – 3rd Degree – Perpetrating Eminently Dangerous Act and Evincing Depraved Mind<\/em>\u201d Emphasis added. A full description of the events of the incident are given in the complaint lodged with the court (linked at birth date, previous).<\/span><\/p>\n

Given this background, the event chart shows confusion and\/or deception regarding the event, indicated by Neptune on the IC of the event chart. The violence of the event is shown by the Sun\/Mars square, with Mars conjunct Ceres, showing that this event marked some sort of a violent turning point, referring to a part of the Ceres myth<\/a><\/span> \u2013 \u2018wailing at the crossroads\u2019. It was a punishing event, too, involving enforcement, shown by the Mars\/Ceres opposition to Orcus.<\/span><\/p>\n

The event was splattered all across the media, having been recorded by a security camera and cell phones, shown by the 3rd<\/sup>\/9th<\/sup> house emphasis with the Mars\/Pluto opposition in that axis. The event aroused international interest, too (9th<\/sup> house). But there was something that was not correct or was misguided in terms of the police, shown by the Venus\/Neptune square in the chart, Venus ruling the 6th<\/sup> house (police and services in general).<\/span><\/p>\n

Questions are being asked, as to why the police maintained their positions, knowing they were being filmed, and especially after Floyd had lost consciousness. It seems rather odd and out of character. Further, there was no rush or effort to try to revive Floyd once he stopped responding. Chauvin\u2019s actions, or lack thereof, could be seen as acts of provocation, which would be consistent with the Sun\/Mars square. If so, what was he seeking to provoke?<\/span><\/p>\n

Venus is retrograde in the event chart too, and is out of bounds, as is Mercury, adding to the heightened scrutiny the event provoked, as well as the offense to people\u2019s ethics, which the combination of Mercury and Venus emphasizes. The two were in parallel aspect at the event, too.<\/span><\/p>\n

The fire department was called to the scene, normal in cases of cardiac arrest, but there was a miscommunication and they arrived after Floyd had already been taken to hospital by ambulance. Police on the scene could not find a pulse prior to the ambulance arriving (see court complaint), the implication being the police at the scene knew Floyd was dead already and were simply going through the motions. The public at the scene were outraged by what they witnessed, which leads to the event being set against the backdrop of current tensions in the US.<\/span><\/p>\n

The event chart set against the US chart shows the following (below, bigger<\/a><\/span>):<\/span><\/p>\n

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Floyd\u2019s death was a turning point for the US, too, with the US having just had a Ceres return with Mars in attendance. That was also in an approaching square to the US Horizon. The event Sun was approaching the US Uranus, in the 6th<\/sup> house (police, services and national Guard), also squared by the Mars\/Ceres in the event chart. It was a charged situation. Then, things start to get a little murky.<\/span><\/p>\n

The MC of the event chart is conjunct the US Neptune, with transiting Neptune opposite. In turn, the event (transiting) Neptune is square the US Mars, suggesting a nefarious or misguided use of force. Mars rules the 4th<\/sup>, 5th<\/sup> and 12th<\/sup> houses in the US chart. The 4th<\/sup> house rules the general populace and infrastructure, as well as opposition parties. The 12th<\/sup> house rules the secret services, secret enemies of the state, and large institutions. Just these two emphases together show the confusion and chaos that ensued in the US after the fact (along with the solar transit to the US Uranus) and it has enflamed passions all around. It also might suggest there was more to the incident than a simple callout and arrest. Speculation regarding the latter is useless at this point.<\/span><\/p>\n

There are a few points to note about something being \u2018off\u2019 about the violence:<\/span><\/p>\n