Foto Viral Pria Bertato Indonesia Ikut Rusuh Demo George Floyd, Ini Klarifikasi Pelaku

PHILADELPHIA, KOMPAS.com - Salah satu foto unjuk rasa menentang kematian George Floyd di Amerika Serikat viral lantaran menunjukkan seorang pria bertato peta Indonesia hendak memecahkan kaca bangunan.

Foto demonstran ini tidak hanya ramai dibicarakan di Indonesia, tetapi juga menjadi headline media internasional, yakni The Inquirer.

Lokasi kejadian ini dikabarkan di Philadelphia, dengan pria bernama Rainey A Backues itu memegang sebuah benda untuk memecahkan kaca bank Wells Fargo.

Baca juga: Viral, Video Sheriff Ini Bergabung dengan Demonstran Kematian George Floyd

Senin (1/6/2020) pagi WIB, Rainey memberikan klarifikasi terkait foto dirinya tersebut di Instagram.

"Anda mungkin mengenali saya dari beberapa foto yang beredar di media sosial dalam beberapa jam terakhir."

"Jika Anda mengenal saya secara pribadi, Anda akan tahu bahwa apa yang terlihat di sana sangat berbeda dengan saya."

Baca juga: Demo Kematian George Floyd, Trump Akan Masukkan Kelompok Antifa sebagai Teroris

Rainey melanjutkan, ia biasanya mengawali hari dengan bersepeda setiap pagi. Lalu, saat itu ia melalui Center City dan ikut melakukan demonstrasi.

"Awalnya saya ingin mendokumentasikan di Instagram Story tentang apa yang saya lihat untuk mereka yang berada di rumah."

"Tetapi, setelah malam berlalu, diri saya mulai merasakan kemarahan pada pembunuhan George Floyd dan perasaan ketidakadilan polisi nasional dari kerusuhan yang merebak."

"Bahkan hari ini, saya masih merasakan sakit hati akibat ketidakadilan rasial yang sering diarahkan ke orang kulit berwarna, termasuk saya sendiri. Perasaan ini sangat mendalam."

 

 

 

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You might recognize me from several photos making the rounds on social media in the last several hours. If you know me personally, you will know that that what is represented there is quite unlike me. I initially began my day by going out for a daily bike ride, and I went through Center City, ending up at the protests. This helps explain why I was not covering my identity in the photos. At first, I simply wanted to document on my Instagram story what I was seeing for those who were at home. But, as the evening went on, I began to feel a combined anger from the murder of George Floyd and a feeling of energy in the face of national police injustice from the rioting welling up inside of me. Even today, I still feel the passion of hurt brought about by the racial injustice that is frequently directed towards people of color, myself included. This emotion runs deep. However, I now regret that my justified anger and impulse to not stay silent too quickly turned into movements to destroy property. Demonstrating is not the same thing as destruction. Thus, I would now like to apologize to the BLM movement as well as to the protestors who are legitimately exhibiting their disagreement with the present injustices we all have witnessed. Since one of my tattoos shows the islands of Indonesia (I am a naturalized US citizen, but I was born on the island of Java), I would also like to apologize to the Indonesian community in Philadelphia. Finally, to clarify, I must make it clear that, though I foolishly posted selfies holding sneakers up to my ear on my Instagram story, I did not loot them nor did I take any home with me. The streets were littered with clothing and shoes and I thought it would emphasize the amount of looting that was happening if I posed with them in this way. I now regret posting those photos. Once again, I apologize to all the communities that I have negatively affected and embarrassed. I am willing to take full responsibility for my actions. I have learned a great deal from this incident.

A post shared by Rainey A. Backues (@rainsfordthegreat) on May 31, 2020 at 2:53pm PDT

Dalam unggahannya, Rainey yang memiliki tato kepulauan Indonesia di lengan kanannya juga mengungkapkan penyesalannya.

Ia menyesal lantaran meluapkan amarah dengan menghancurkan properti. "Berunjuk rasa bukan hal yang sama dengan merusak," tulisnya.

"Karena itu, sekarang saya ingin meminta maaf kepada gerakan BLM (Black Lives Matter) dan juga kepada para demonstran yang jelas menunjukkan pertentangan mereka terhadap ketidakadilan yang kita lihat sekarang."

Baca juga: Kematian George Floyd Disebut Pembunuhan Berencana

Kemudian, mengenai tatonya yang bergambar pulau-pulau Indonesia, Rainey mengaku, dia adalah warga negara AS yang dinaturalisasi. Dia sendiri lahir di Pulau Jawa.

"Saya juga ingin meminta maaf kepada masyarakat Indonesia di Philadelphia," lanjutnya di caption.