Sir — With the lockdown being rolled back in many parts of India, people would soon be expected to resume their daily commute to office and to work regular hours. While many officer-goers may find it disturbing at first, this would actually benefit them. A proper work-life balance is essential for the mental health of the employee as much as for his or her productivity. Reports even show that the sleep patterns of around 67 per cent Indians have been disrupted because of working from home. Once the employees are back to their normal schedule, this anomaly, too, should be fixed.

Shamik Gupta,

Calcutta

Unjust act

Sir — Massive protests have erupted in cities across the United States of America following the death of George Floyd in Minnesota, after a police officer knelt on his neck for more than eight minutes while he was handcuffed and his face pushed to the ground (“Minneapolis protests over black man’s death”, May 29). The officer, Derek Chauvin, was responding to a call about an alleged counterfeit bill used at a store. He refused to relent even though Floyd cried out for help saying that he could not breathe. Chauvin was fired from his job the next day, along with three others.

This deliberate act of suffocating Floyd to death was captured on a mobile phone by an onlooker and soon it became viral on social media. Outraged at this incident, people took to the streets in masses, and things soon took an ugly turn. The protests were marred by incidents of looting, inciting a violent response from the police.

It is true that racial discrimination is still prevalent all over the world. Racism has contaminated the idea of solidarity in the US, making it difficult for white people from the underprivileged sections of society to empathize with their compatriots from other races, even though they are threatened by the same social problems.

This incident is especially shocking, given the American ethos of being liberal towards African-Americans or people from diverse races. It is likely that the officer’s actions were racially motivated — many white Americans still believe in their racial supremacy. The US government is often found to denounce instances of discrimination in other countries, but its own response to Floyd’s death has been rather tepid. Is the US regressing into the dark days when African-Americans were enslaved? This is indeed an affront to Abraham Lincoln.

T.K. Nandanan,

Kochi

Sir — The action of the white policeman which led to the death of George Floyd was brutal and dastardly. This incident is a blot not only on the US, where racism still seems to persist to an alarming degree in spite of its being a first-world country, but on humanity at large. The vulgar display of authority and arrogance on the part of the police was baffling. The violation of human rights — Floyd was begging for a breath of air in his last moments — must be condemned in the harshest terms.

This incident has sparked widespread protests in the US. But the law-enforcing authorities should handle the matter with care. The police officer should be given exemplary punishment. The US should not stand by as a mute spectator to racial discrimination or a culture of violence taking over the nation.

N.R. Ramachandran,

Chennai

Sir — The brutal death of George Floyd is yet another example of the blind spot that the US administration harbours towards racism, a malady that has plagued the country since its inception. There are several instances of police brutality against African-Americans as proof of this attitude. The overt lack of respect for the black community, who deserve to be treated with dignity, led to the merciless action of the policeman.

The death of George Floyd has sent shock-waves across the US, pushing into oblivion the high death toll caused by Covid-19. Even so, it is amply clear that viruses do not differentiate between people on the basis of race as much as people themselves do. Although racial equality is guaranteed under the law, this incident shows that racism still exists at the social level in the US.

Ranganathan Sivakumar,

Chennai

Sir — It is appreciable that many Indians have vocally condemned the death of George Floyd caused by police brutality. But we should be equally loud when such transgressions occur in our own country.

Aparajita Daw,

North 24 Parganas