A group of Grand Theft Auto Online players held a virtual memorial to honor George Floyd this week amid the unrest currently gripping the United States.
Floyd, An African American male, was killed by a white police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota, late last month. The lawman knelt on his neck for well over eight minutes and for more than two minutes after he became unresponsive.
The incident has sparked several protests across the country and the Black Lives Matter movement has taken center stage, even with the COVID-19 pandemic still a major threat. Several video game companies, as well as console manufacturers such as Sony, have posted tributes for Floyd while condemning racism and inequality.
Sony also pushed its PlayStation 5 reveal event back a week - it airs on Thursday - and pledged $1 million in support of black communities across America. The launch of the fourth season of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Warzone was postponed by Activision, with the publisher also pledging to help in the fight against racism. The latest of a number of egregious acts of police brutality against black American citizens also prompted Rockstar Games to take both GTA Online and Red Dead Online down for two hours as a tribute to the slain North Carolina native.
While all of these very commendable gestures are being presented, a number of GTA Online players met up online to host a virtual memorial for Floyd. This was arranged by OTRgamerTV, a YouTube channel with a modest following of just over 10K. The channel had a group of players meet up in the game to honor Floyd and lend support to the Black Lives Matter movement.
Over 60 users joined the memorial, all dressed in black, and drove through Los Santos. They stopped at certain locations to march in unison. Both viewers and participants contributed to the Gianna Floyd Fund.
Incidentally, the gamers set fire to a Los Antos precinct in protest of police brutality. In such an instance, no property or lives were lost but, of course, it’s not advised to take part in such acts in real life.
Meanwhile, charges have been filed against Derek Chauvin, the disgraced officer who had his knee on Floyd’s neck. Chauvin was charged with second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter while the three other officers who were present have also been charged for aiding and abetting second-degree murder and aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter.
Floyd was buried next to his mother in the Houston Memorial Gardens on Tuesday.
Source: OTRgamerTV
