Mostly, I’m tired of People being ugly to each other. I’m tired of all the pain I feel and hear in the world every day. There’s too much of it. —– John Coffey, The Green Mile
With the rebrand of my business a few years ago, I’ve made a deliberate attempt to try to avoid posting anything that could potentially hurt the business to my personal pages. I’ve refrained from talking about politics, religion and a number of other “hot button” topics. Those conversations have remained in private messages with some or on the walls of others where they may or may not be discovered by current or potential clients.
I’ve been especially silent over the last few months, with COVID-19 dominating the headlines.
It literally HURTS to remain silent, ESPECIALLY with what’s gone down virtually in my back yard. I need to establish context for posterity… On Monday night, 25 May 2020, in Minneapolis, MN, George Floyd became yet another statistic in encounters of Black men with the police. As he complained about being unable to breathe, as one of the officers KNEELED ON THE BACK OF HIS NECK while two others held him down, his existence on this plane ended. And for what…? Apparently, a counterfeit bill that he attempted to use at a local establishment. At least, that’s the current narrative.
That’s not the only incident that sits heavy on my chest as I type these words. It’s the one that’s getting the most news when I look at my Facebook feed; when having conversations with some of My People. There was an incident in New York over the weekend where a Caucasian woman called 911 with the lie that she was being ATTACKED by a Black man who simply asked her to reattach a leash to her dog in an area where dogs are SUPPOSED to be constantly leashed. She threatened to call 911 then executed that threat. When the dispatcher on the call seemed not to be taking her as seriously as she believed she SHOULD have been, she feigned hysterics, screaming that she and her dog were being assaulted by “an African-American man.” The outrage over what she did IN LIGHT OF BEING CAUGHT IN THE ACT, seems to be real. But, in both instances, I SERIOUSLY wonder if there’d even be any outrage if these incidents weren’t recorded then put out into the world for all to see and hear.
From here on in, some will tune out. This post will be entirely too long for some. Who has time for that? For others, things are about to get VERY uncomfortable because of my passion and my tone for the subjects at hand. I’m going to speak against the narratives that they CHOOSE to believe, challenge THEIR experiences. The Discomfort in the room is where the opportunity for TRUE growth LIVES. Once WE learn that, MAYBE, we’ll actually become what we wrongfully proclaim ourselves to be as a species… MAYBE.
If I said that I’m not upset… Or angry… I’M PISSED OFF… Well, that wouldn’t really do how I feel in light of all of this, and so many other incidents that happen all too often, justice. Being pissed off is just a symptom of the pain that I feel when I see what’s going on in the world around me. I’m disappointed in People. I’m disgusted with how we mistreat each other. I’m outraged that so many of us are content with just sweeping it all under a rug and ignoring it because it’s not real, since it’s not happening to me or someone that I care about.
A neighborhood in Minneapolis burned last night. At least one other life was lost in the aftermath last night. Businesses were destroyed last night.
I can’t speak for anyone else, but I know that a mantra that often runs through my mind is Those who don’t learn their history are doomed to repeat it. How many times do we have to do this song and dance when it comes to police brutality? How many more George Floyds must there be? How many times will Black men be killed in these altercations; how many more times will everyone that ISN’T Black express that they stand with us and are outraged; how many more times will THIS CYCLE ESSENTIALLY RINSE AND REPEAT before “WE” FINALLY LEARN THE LESSONS?!
My son, of mixed-heritage is watching. And HE is ANGRY. He is nearly 21. In MY mind, HE could have been George Floyd. I have 3 brothers… THEY could have been George Floyd. Uncles, cousins, nephews, colleagues… THEY could have been George Floyd. I COULD HAVE BEEN GEORGE FLOYD.
But it doesn’t stop there. I also have a daughter of mixed-heritage; I don’t have as much proof that she’s watching as I do that my son is. Among the saddest of truths is that SHE could have been George Floyd. My sisters, my aunts, my female cousins, my female colleagues. Again, ANY OF US COULD HAVE BEEN GEORGE FLOYD.
Dramatic? When you live like we do, it’s not dramatic at all. IT’S. JUST. REALITY.
There is SO MUCH to unpack here. Things that SHOULD be said that are left unsaid. Things that need to be addressed that, if we’re being COMPLETELY honest with ourselves, are DELIBERATELY being ignored BECAUSE they’re uncomfortable.
Those who CAN do something REFUSE to do so. They REFUSE to listen. They REFUSE to believe that THEIR experiences ARE NOT THE ONLY EXPERIENCES. Let’s face it… MANY of them don’t want people that look like me to even exist… They’re content in their willful ignorance.
This isn’t a Blue vs. Red “thing.” This isn’t a Conservative vs. Liberal “thing.” This isn’t a (fill in the denomination) vs. (pick another denomination) “thing.” This is a HUMAN ISSUE. This is a REAL, VALID HUMANITY ISSUE.
And we seem to be struggling with the concept of what it is to be parts of Humanity.
NOBODY likes the idea of being called Racist or Prejudiced… LEAST OF ALL, THE RACISTS AND THE PREJUDICED. NOBODY likes to have the spotlight pointed on their flaws… After all, Life is moving along just fine as is, right? People don’t want to be forced to REALLY look themselves in the eye in the mirror and admit to what they already know: that we’re not as virtuous as we try to convince ourselves we are.
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