Monday on MSNBC, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) called the martyrdom of George Floyd an opportunity to “make America proud again.”
Pelosi said, “Isn’t it a beautiful sight to behold. The martyrdom of George Floyd has built such a response of peaceful demonstrators calling for the change they know our country needs. As we go forward, it’s a prayerful moment. It’s a transformative moment. We have a responsibility to take advantage of it.”
She continued, “We have a golden opportunity. This martyrdom has given us ability to rise to the occasion to remember others who sadly lost their lives to brutality and remember the other law enforcement there who take pride in their life and there to keep the Americans safe.”
She added, “We can tear down bad laws, but tear down the walls in people’s hearts. I think we’ve seen on the streets of America, across the country in large numbers, day in and day out, saying, really, young people are thinking differently. Everyone is learning from them that for America to live up to its promise of the greatness that we are, we want to make America proud again. So do those young people. So I believe this is an opportunity. We will miss the opportunity if we didn’t take advantage of it, and show a way, racial profiling, chokeholds, the doctrine of, all of the issues we deal with in the legislation will make a difference, a concrete difference, in how we respect people. So this is about respect — respect for individuals, but respect for our founders and what they had intended. For our men and women in uniform, what they’ve fought for and protected and respect for the aspirations of our children who are right now, the younger generation is out there in the streets. Other people, too, but nonetheless, led by the young people to say, this is the future that we want to be a part of. Let’s not think in old ways. Let’s think in very positive ways about how we go forward.”
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