As if George Floyd or Breonna Taylor or Ahmaud Arbery don’t have names, Time magazine all but created some fictitious movement and called it a “Person of the Year” finalist in their respective places. The most befuddling thing about this announcement is that there is in fact a movement that the magazine could have used in its place and it just so happens to be the largest and most prolific in the history of these United States.
We’ve come to know it as Black Lives Matter and its organizers were not feeling the announcement either.
His name was George Floyd… pic.twitter.com/t1oKBJmcob
— Black Lives Matter🌹🏳️🌈 (@dan__totten) December 10, 2020
Since 1927, Time‘s editors have chosen a person they believe “greatly impacted the country and world during the calendar year.” In the case of 2020, the four finalists include the incumbent POTUS, President-elect Joe Biden, Dr. Anthony Fauci and Frontline Health Care Workers and… the Movement for Racial Justice.
If you are confused as to what the “Movement for Racial Justice” is, you are not alone. However, this is how Time breaks it down on its website:
“The tragic killing of George Floyd started a movement, not just in America but across the globe. In the midst of a worldwide pandemic, protesters took to the streets, demanding action to fight racial injustice at the hands of police and any entity that embodies systemic discrimination. There have been some positive outcomes since the movement started but it’s far from over.”
To the editors’ credit, they did mention George Floyd, but why not choose him as a finalist, especially since his unfortunate and irresponsible passing “started a movement?”
Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
