Op-ed views and opinions expressed are solely those of the author.
Journalist Jason Whitlock ripped the new 700-pound bronze statue of George Floyd that was unveiled in Newark, New Jersey this week, prompting praise from Donald Trump Jr.
The statue was unveiled at a town hall ceremony and, in typical fashion for liberal Democrats, Mayor Ras Baraka joined filmmaker Leon Pickney, the statue’s commissioner, and sculptor Stanley Watts for the unveiling.
The statue sits on a park bench and is expected to remain in Newark for at least one year.
Whitlock, a Blaze TV host, had some choice words for the project:
Juneteenth national holiday and George Floyd statue in Newark. What a day to be alive. These 2 symbols of hope are just what we need. Who needs kids raised in nuclear families when we have holidays and statues? Holidays and statues are what create nuclear families!
— Jason Whitlock (@WhitlockJason) June 17, 2021
Whitlock makes a valid point amid his sarcasm– holidays and statues are not actionable change, among communities in need of real, not symbolic change. If every town in America has a George Floyd statue, there would still be problems rooted in the disintegration of the nuclear family among other social issues. Ironically, George Floyd’s death, as horrific as it was, was also a seismic spark for the growing defund the police movement — a movement that has reportedly led to an increase in crime and arguably hits hardest among those who live in depleted areas largely devoid of ‘nuclear families.’
President Trump’s son Don Jr. tweeted in support of Whitlock’s point:
Not where I thought you were going with that one 👍
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) June 17, 2021
Democrats continue to do what they’ve always done, make grand gestures that don’t equate to real change.
“George Floyd represents a lot more than himself at this juncture in history. Hopefully when people walk by it and they see it…hopefully it inspires them to become active in the struggles that are happening right here in Newark and right here in New Jersey,” Baraka exclaimed at the unveiling.
(Video: PIX11)
Pickney commissioned the statue because he wanted a way to honor Floyd’s “humanity” and hoped that it would remind people of why so many calls for change have been incited. “The statue was to cause them to remember why they marched during such a horrific pandemic and I didn’t want them to go back to a status quo,” he continued.
The filmmaker donated the statue to the City of Newark.
Watts, the artist, explained that he depicted Floyd in that way because the world “needed” the image of “a peaceful George”.
“The world needed him relaxed and chilling on a bench and that’s what we produced and we produced him larger than life because, after death, George will be remembered,” Watts added. “That’s what memorials are. To remember and never forget why we changed today and tomorrow and for the rest of our existence on this planet.”
The mayor hopes that the statue will remain permanently in Newark.
Floyd was killed in May of 2020 after former police officer Derek Chauvin forcefully put his knee on the back of Floyd’s neck for nearly 10 minutes during his arrest. This incited calls to defund the police and resurgence of the “Black Lives Matter” movement.
The unveiling ceremony also served to honor Juneteenth (June 19th), the day slavery was formally ended in the United States. New Jersey will observe Juneteenth on Friday as a state-wide holiday for the first time ever.
After a year of hyper-censored political correctness, perceived retaliation against those who refuse to get the vaccine, tearing down statues, removing religious holidays from children’s school calendars, lighting cities on fire, employing vigilante “justice”– and the list goes on–Americans have had it with being lectured by the liberal elite.
Many took to Twitter to voice their frustration:
They put a George Floyd statue downtown Newark 😓
Who asked for that???
— Macc McCray 💫 (@MaccMcCray) June 17, 2021
They put a George Floyd statue in Newark …them people gonna do everything but not kill us
— Payroll Giovanni’s Accountant (@onemangang973) June 17, 2021
They put up a George Floyd statue in Newark and I’m super confused by that.
— Glock Rivers (@QuadirLaFlare) June 17, 2021
Who would have thought the nuclear family would have been considered such a threat in 2021…
— Greg Simmons (@GregSimmons) June 17, 2021
*150 years later*
“Newark statue of George Floyd torn down by protesters following controvery”— ApeAge (@Dongkey_kong) June 17, 2021
I must have missed the part where Floyd was anywhere near Newark at any point of his life.
— Clownman (@DWN060Clownman) June 17, 2021
DONATE TO BIZPAC REVIEW
Please help us! If you are fed up with letting radical big tech execs, phony fact-checkers, tyrannical liberals and a lying mainstream media have unprecedented power over your news please consider making a donation to BPR to help us fight them. Now is the time. Truth has never been more critical!
Kay Apfel is a writer for BizPac Review. A news junkie turned conservative politico, Kay currently resides in Washington, DC.
- Christian nurse was ‘treated like a criminal,’ harassed by hospital for years over cross necklace, wins suit - January 10, 2022
- ‘No, Sandy, I don’t want to sleep with you!’ Tucker, Candace have fun with AOC’s ’10-margarita’ Miami rant - January 4, 2022
- ‘It’s now official’: Gov. Newsom goes online to boast that California is a universal vote by mail state - January 2, 2022
Comment
We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.
