I Can’t Breathe……
I have avoided this post for as long as I can. I’ve avoided it because I simply did not know what to say. The horror is so fresh, so complete, that it literally takes OUR collective breath away. At least, I hope it does. It is one thing to read about the death of another human being at the hands of those who are sworn to serve and protect. It is quite another to actually witness it, over the course of several minutes, as he pleads for his life, as he lies face down on the pavement, handcuffed, with a knee pressed firmly and unrelentingly, against his neck. Pleads for breath, and calls out to his mother, as other law enforcement personnel stand by and do nothing. It will do no good to ask how this could happen in America, in 2020. It DID happen, and it will happen again and again and again, if nothing changes. Just in the last month alone, we have Breonna Taylor, shot eight times in her own apartment by Louisville police officers on March 13, 2020, Ahmaud Arbery, killed February 23, 2020, by two men who followed him in a truck as he jogged in Brunswick, Georgia. And now the public execution of George Floyd on May 25, 2020, in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
What do all these killings have in common? All three victims were black. All three victims were killed by white men, two of them by white police officers. Don’t try to tell me this isn’t about race. It’s always about race. I could list more examples, many more examples, but why bother? If the lynching of George Floyd doesn’t drive home the point that something needs to be done, nothing will. And here is where I run out of steam. I don’t know what that something is. I don’t know what will teach people who are already grown, with their character fully developed, that humans can’t treat other humans like this, that color is only skin deep, that we all bleed, and breathe, the same way.
What I do know is that those of us who are in no danger of ever experiencing anything approaching what countless blacks have experienced, need to become as outraged about this as they are. We have to become outraged enough over the systemic racism that pervades our institutions and culture to actually stand with our black community and do something about it. And that includes the police. Police in every city owe it to themselves and the people they are supposed to protect, to get out there and know their community, to walk the streets their constituents walk, understand what they deal with every day, and be a part of the community they are protecting. Make the police live where they serve, so they feel a sense of pride of place with those they are sworn to protect. Recruit more minorities and actively interact with the neighborhoods from which the minority recruits come. We cannot take care of this problem if we do not get close to it. Change will not happen from afar, from the top down. It has to start in the streets from which the outrage springs. It has to be from the bottom up. Whatever climate that allowed Derek Chauvin to feel empowered to kill someone in front of many witnesses, must be snuffed out. The fact that three other police officers stood by and did nothing to help shows that the Minneapolis police department is rife with racism and rogue cops. Clean it up, and recognize that Minneapolis is probably not much different than most of our other cities or we would not be able to count so many similar deaths across our country. Admit that we are seriously flawed and start having the hard conversations, with our friends, neighbors, co-workers, and fellow citizens. Do something proactive before it is your city and your neighbor featured on the nightly news as the death du jour.
That’s it. That’s all I’ve got. I welcome feedback, from any of you so inclined. Let’s all catch our breath, and vow never again. Not in my neighborhood.
Amen and AMEN!! Well said. I have no words to express the horror, sorrow and anger. NO words to express or explain my silent part in this.
I stand with you to VOW never again will I stand by and act as if this does not affect me. I am white, privileged, and ignorant to the feelings of my fellow men and women of color. God, open MY eyes to see, MY ears to hear and MY heart to help.
Denise, thank you so much for taking the time to read my post and to reply. I am still trying to figure out this blog thing and didn’t realize I had comments until today. Duh. I will do better in the future. These are strange and troubling times we are living in and all we can do is to personally vow to do better, exactly as you said. Love you, sweet friend.
Beautifully said! There is no doubt that we are in a crisis in this country. It is a moral crisis, and we need political leaders, faith leaders, education leaders, and community leaders to bring us together as a nation to begin to chip away at the racism that pervades every sector of our nation. Our constitution says that we are all created equal, but a country that enslaved its brothers and sisters and continues to perpetuate this enslavement today needs to examine and, if necessary, revamp every major institution. If one of us is denied his Inalienable rights , than we are all in bondage. The protests today symbolizes the inner turmoil and frustration that Americans with a conscience are feeling and have been feeling for a long time. Many of us are mourning for the ideals that we believed made us different than many other nations in the world. We need to end partisan politics and remember that our government leaders are servants of the people, just like our medical community, teachers, and police and firefighters. We, the people, need to demand change and take an active role in rescuing our nation!
Thank you so much for your thoughtful reply. I am still figuring out this blog thing and so I didn’t realize I had comments until today. Thank you for taking the time to read my post and to reply. I will do better in the future, I promise!!
Well written Pat. I’m outraged as well, but don’t quite know what I can do to help. I’ve spent a lot of time and energy in the last 10 years helping people of color in Haiti and Central America, but really haven’t engaged locally. I feel the need to figure out how I can help, especially now.
Hi Jim–I am still figuring out this whole blog thing and didn’t realize I had comments to respond to until today. Duh. Thank you for your thoughtful response and for taking the time to read my post. I hope to do more blogging in the very near future (not all topics will be so serious) but you have actually walked the walk, with all your volunteer work in Haiti, etc. I have so admired your FB posts on what your team has done for the people of Haiti and the other countries you have visited. You have a good heart, Jim, and you’ve made a difference in the lives of so many.
Trevor Noah gave a really good interview in People.com. He reminded us the other catalyst to this protest was Amy Cooper who called 911 on a Black man who had asked her to leash her dog which is the law. Amy a white woman, knew to threaten a black man with calling the police even when she was the law breaking citizen. She knew how to instill fear into a black man, therefore admitting and acknowledging the bias in law enforcement. Here is what Trevor said.
“Amy Cooper was for many people, I think, the catalyst,” he said. “Here you have this woman who — we’ve all seen the video now — blatantly knew how to use the power of her whiteness to threaten the life of another man and his blackness. What we saw with her was a really, really powerful explicit example of an understanding of racism in a structural way.”
Amy Cooper knew how to most threaten a black man -call the police. What a powerful affirmation of what the black community already knew.
We need police reform. I am not in favor of militarization of our community police force. A military force is uniquely different in their training to engage the “enemy”. We need community oversight and mandatory body cameras that cannot be turned off. Cameras need to download to a contracted server that can’t be erased. Get rid of unionized police force that protect their own and where the bad cops can’t be fired. Police loyalty to the badge needs to mean loyalty to the community they serve and the law and not to protect their own.
This is an extremely complex and uncomfortable subject matter and as Americans we need to have more conversations like this out in the open. Admit there is a real problem and make a change. We can no longer be silent. America cannot be a great Nation until the most vulnerable are lifted up. Equal rights and justice for all. I hope the younger generation of all races that I see in the streets all over the country, can finally make the change. Keep speaking out. White silence is violence.
Linda, thank you for such a thoughtful reply. I am still figuring out this blog and just saw your comment today. What you have said about Amy Cooper is spot on and I wish now I had included a reference to her in my original post. What she did was abominable, and as you said, representative of just what people have come to expect from the police–it’s actually pretty frightening. I cannot imagine being a black mother of boys in this environment. As usual, you get right to the heart of the matter. I love that about you.
Excellent description of the horror and a call to action. Thanks
Your word are so wonderfully written. We need to love one another.
My heart hurts. Words are hard to find when one feels so overwhelmed with sadness and emotion… somehow you managed beautifully to say what needed to be said. Thank you for your well-expressed thoughts on this subject, Pat.
Jen, thank you for taking the time to read and to comment. I’m still learning this whole blog thing, so I didn’t see your comment until today. I really appreciate your feedback, and your reading the blog. I plan on writing more in the near future, and I promise to respond more quickly to comments, now that I know they are here! Love you!
There are no words.
Actually there are millions of words, and you have gifted us with them in a way that resonates through all of us, that are like you. but we just don’t know where to start. EXCEPT…starts with ME.
Carole, thank you so much for all your thoughtful comments, and most of all for taking your time to read my ramblings!! I am still figuring out this blog and I just discovered that I even had people commenting. Duh. Anyway, I hope to have more posts in the near future and I promise to stay on top of comments better, now that I know where they are, lol! Love you!!