George Floyd Poll Shows Police Actions Strike More Fear Than Violent Protests

A new poll revealed that American voters are more worried about the police actions that led to the death of African-American George Floyd than they are of the violent protests that have ensued because of the incident.

Varying perspectives

According to Mass Live, the poll that the Wall Street Journal and NBC News have conducted shows 59% of all voters found the actions taken by police in the arrest of Floyd are more troubling than the violence that they see surging across the nation.

Floyd's death on May 25 after a white police officer, Derek Chauvin, knelt on his neck for nearly ten minutes had led to the surge of protests calling out racial injustice. Several cities across the US have been filled with crowds demanding racial equality.

The poll counts 54% of white voters, 65% of Latinos and 78% of African-Americans revealed that the police actions in the death of Floyd are more worrisome. Only slightly above the quarter mark of Americans said that they were more worried about the protests.

Democrats and independents also showed a disparity of the concerns as they have divided by political parties. Only 29% of Republicans, however, said that Floyd's death is more concerning to them than the protests that have run rampant across the nation.

The poll showed the difference of how people view different crises as 74% of Democrats have noted that the coronavirus pandemic will take a year or longer to be controlled and have life go back to normal. Within Trump's supporters, however, 32% said that the coronavirus pandemic is already under control.

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In a poll by the Wall Street Journal, nearly half of Republicans showed more concern about the violent protests than the death of Floyd, while 81% of Democrats were more worried about the gruesome tragedy.

The poll that NBC News conducted was done before Friday's jobs reports that showed an economy starting to pick itself up with 2.5 million jobs last month. Among the 1,000 voters that were surveyed, 80% stated they felt the country was "out of control" and 15% said it was "under control."

Effects of differing viewpoints

Pollsters stated that the effect of a vast majority of voters say they feel the country is out of control on political matters is unclear. Democrat Jeff Horwitt said that America in 2020 is "out of control" and is one of the few things that Americans can see eye-to-eye on and the one statement that is universally agreed upon given the current circumstances and unrest.

George Floyd's death in police custody sparked outrage among citizens that are affected by racial inequality. Crowds filled the streets demanding for justice and reform of the policing systems amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The four officers involved in Floyd's death have been fired and charged with second- and third-degree murders. Derek Chauvin, the officer who knelt of Floyd's neck, will step foot in court for the first time on Monday.

The peaceful protests across the nation have also been met with condemnation as some protesters took advantage of the situation to pillage and loot several stores and establishments in the middle of the confusion. Genuine protesters fear that these actions will lead police officers to believe that their cause is unjust.