THIS IS WHAT AMERICAN EXCEPTIONALISM HAS ALWAYS BEEN ABOUT:

Around the world, protests against racist police brutality in the United States have arisen. But the protests aren't limited to American cases; they're also highlighting cases of police brutality in other countries, with protesters demanding new investigations or at least renewed attention to people of color who were killed or mistreated due to systemic racism.

In France, 20,000 people protested last week, some wearing masks that said "I can't breathe" -- Floyd's last words. They also referred to the 2016 death in French police custody of Adama Traoré, whose last words were also "I can't breathe." "Today, when we fight for George Floyd, we fight for Adama Traoré too," Traoré's sister Assa told the crowd. Reform will be a challenge in France as elsewhere: French politicians recently introduced a bill to make filming a police officer punishable with fines.

In South Africa, protesters have linked the Floyd case to the death of Collins Khosa, a 40-year-old Black man who was killed on Good Friday by soldiers, allegedly for public drinking despite lockdown rules. His family has since managed to win a court victory holding the officials accountable. An investigation into the case is ongoing.

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