Reasons why Floydies NFTs spark debates about human rights and equality Once NFT collections of George Floyd
caricatures in contrasting attire and settings emerged, the digital assets sparked contentious debates regarding human rights and equality on Twitter.
As you are most likely aware, George Floyd was an African American who died in May 2020. A police officer wrongly murdered the father of five in Minneapolis, Minnesota, by standing on his throat for nine minutes. Now, the cop faces 22 years in jail.
The tragic event began the most prominent racial justice process since the Civil Rights Movement, Black Lives Matter (BLM). Not only did the organization affect the US, but it went beyond the nation, raising awareness of racism worldwide.
So, what’s the deal with minting NFTs of the victim?
What are Floydies?
NFTs showcasing George Floyd began circling the space around December 7—a week after the police officer who killed Floyd pleaded not guilty—by anon curators.
The curator took to Twitter to promote the first collection of Floydies, publishing images of Floydies and a link to the NFTs on OpenSea. In the first three weeks, the post had more than 3,000 likes and around 4000 retweets.
The collection of Floydies NFTs initially stated on OpenSea: “Owning a Floydie is a great way to express yourself and your beliefs! Floydies are a unique and progressive way to celebrate the monumental life of George Floyd”.
Nevertheless, many viewers voiced their concerns on Twitter regarding the NFTs, which soon led to NFT marketplace taking the drop of digital assets down.
Although, some viewers are to believe Floydies is a “commemoration” of the life of George Floyd.
Regardless, the original collection was not very successful before being deleted. The highest-priced NFT went for around 0.05 ETH ($97.39), but most sold for 0.007 ETH ($13.72).
About Replicas of Floydies
Despite OpenSea taking down the many dubbed versions, other collections followed and are here to stay: “George Floyd on the Moon Shining”, “George Floyd Defender of Ukraine”, “George Floyd Explore the Sea” and more.
The highest bid for a George Floyd NFT was $12k, although offers sold for significantly less.
Although we are still unsure why, Floydies became the “in-thing”, with other marketplaces, like Scatter Art, soon selling them.
Although, the marketplace shortly took down a collection of Floyd-related NFTs due to copyright issues:
This time, the removal wasn’t associated with racism and human rights concerns.
Debates Regarding Floydies NFTs
One of the most prominent and most outstanding issues of NFTs of George Floyd boils down to the fact that, unlike many other NFT collections, none of the proceeds have gone towards a good cause.
Curators can easily donate the proceeds from NFTs to worthy causes, like Floyd’s family, Black Lives Matter, and the George Floyd Memorial Foundation.
Following this, people are taking to Twitter to accuse the creators of using George Floyd’s death for financial gain:
Another primary concern regarding the digital assets is the imagery the digital assets show. The NFTs represent cheap and nasty designs dressed as an angel, astronaut, minion, standing in front of a trans flag, and more. Some NFTs even show him dressed as his killer—a police officer.
Check out these Floydie NFTs, for example:
Nonetheless, there are many NFT buyers, like this one, who don’t see the issue with Floydie NFTs:
Many NFT buyers take to Twitter to show off their NFT collections, posting them on their feeds or changing their profile pictures to profile picture NFTs (PFP NFTs).
The Need for ‘SEEINJUSTICE’
Following the many dubbed versions of Floydies, George Floyd’s brother, Terrance Floyd, made a much more elegant NFT collection.
The collection of 9,000 NFTs, “SEENINJUSTICE”, features sculptures of George Floyd and Brenna Taylor, who was also wrongly shot by American police in 2020.
Unlike the collections mentioned above, this NFT collection raises money for the charities The Breonna Taylor Foundation and We Are Floyd Org.
To Summarize
Many NFT collections wrongly represent George Floyd. If Floydies NFTs were to raise money for Floyd’s family and represented more admirable images of the victim, the digital assets are likely to be perceived well.
But, instead, Floydies NFTs appear to be nothing but a cash grab over a dead person and straight-up mockery.
Luckily, George Floyd’s brother has stepped in—creating NFTs to raise money for charities that charmingly represent his brother.
Click here if you are interested in owning a miniature George Floyd for the right reasons.
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