IRISH COMEDIAN Dara Ó Briain has provided the perfect example of how privilege works by comparing his own experience of using a counterfeit note with that of George Floyd.
Mr. Floyd, a 46-year-old African American, was arrested in Minneapolis last week, after being accused of using a counterfeit bill at a local supermarket.
During the arrest, a police officer knelt on Mr. Floyd’s neck for a total of nine minutes, during which time he lost consciousness.
He was taken to a hospital but died within an hour of the incident, which was caught on camera.
Mr. Floyd’s death has sparked widespread protests across more than 30 cities across the US.
In Dublin, demonstrators marched on the capitals US Embassy in a show of solidarity with the Black Lives Matter protests.
Eager to highlight the privilege he enjoys compared to the late Mr. Floyd, Ó Briain shared an anecdote on social media that summed up the key differences.
“Just found out that George Floyd was originally stopped by the police because he handed over a counterfeit note in a shop,” the Mock the Week host tweeted.
“I did that once! They handed me back the note as a souvenir, and later I told the story on stage in a comedy routine. That’s some privilege right there.”
Just found out that George Floyd was originally stopped by the police because he handed over a counterfeit note in a shop. I did that once! They handed me back the note as a souvenir, and later I told the story on stage in a comedy routine. That’s some privilege right there.
— Dara Ó Briain (@daraobriain) June 3, 2020
The message subsequently went viral, sparking a raft of similar responses from others eager to shine a light on the disparity.
The pick of the bunch came from Sorcha McNally, a Clinical research coordinator from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, who shared a similar story.
“As a junior nurse back in the early 90s we found a bunch of dodgey 10rs under a mattress in our London flat we spent them up and down the Tottenham high road until we got caught in Irish pub and got a right bollocking,” she wrote.
“Still #whiteprivilege tho #BlackLivesMatter"
According to Ó Briain the story featured in a series of preview shows he performed in 2017 before being shunted off his set for other, better, material.
Nope, it only got as far as a few previews in 2017, and then got shunted for other, better, stories. The event did happen though (in Paris in March 2016), as it happened to lots of people, judging by my replies.
— Dara Ó Briain (@daraobriain) June 3, 2020
The Irish comedian says it happened at a shop in Paris back in March 2016, adding “it happened to lots of people, judging by my replies.”
