Stand up for what's right

The events of 2020 thus far have left no life untouched. Regardless of your political ideology, age, location or demographic, you have been impacted. Many have died or lost loved ones to Covid19. Then came George Floyd's murder at the hands of four Minneapolis police officers while he and others around him begged for his life for over eight minutes. The unjustified killings of minorities in their communities is not new. It's been happening to minorities in this country from the very beginning of colonization over 500 years ago. First the native Americans, then African slaves and it continues for both as well as Latino citizens to this day. What has changed is the advent of internet connected smartphone cameras in everyone's hands. They are allowing the privileged who don't live in those neighborhoods to see the ugly face of racism in graphic and unflinching detail. I have a front seat to some of this living on the streets and working with marginalized communities like I do. I see their initial fear and distrust of me and give them all the time and space they need to make up their minds about me.  I am not saying that I have a clue what it is like to live under the oppression and fear of systemic racism that permeates the fabric of our country. But, I sincerely endeavor to understand it more as I recognize the incredible privilege my skin color affords me in our society. And that privilege makes me sick to my soul.

Imagine if we could all respond to the disease of racism the way we have to the Covid19 pandemic! With rare exception, we all recognized the lethality of the threat and quickly adapted to mitigate it. Governments stepped up and marshalled the resources to battle it, though they could have acted more quickly. The US has been historically slow to respond to a crisis unless it impacts corporate profits and interests. In any case, when the evidence was undeniable, we shut down everything in order to deal with it. Every level of our society recognized the danger and responded. Racism is so much more destructive and lethal than any coronavirus! We need that same level of sincere urgency in all levels of government to address systemic racism. I have faith 2020 is a huge turning point in the battle for racial equality and justice in the US. I believe the vast majority of whites are good people who simply haven't educated themselves regarding racism and it's constant impact on the minority citizens of this country. It's my hope that the cries of the protestors and the videos of police brutality that are surfacing will finally awaken the sleeping good souls. That they will listen and begin educating themselves. Because as always, education is the key to effecting real and lasting change.

I have many friends who are law enforcement officers. I even considered becoming a cop myself about 20 years ago. I went through a citizen's police academy and did a lot of ride alongs to get a feel for police work. They have an incredibly challenging job! Their lives are on the line every day and things can go completely sideways in a heartbeat on the simplest of calls. They have to make split second assessments and decisions under incredibly stressful circumstances. But, no matter what resistance to arrest is encountered, there is no justification for the kind of treatment that killed George Floyd after being cuffed and subdued. Those officers are straight up murderers. I do not believe any of the officers I know would ever treat a suspect like that. Another recent example is the NYPD squad that pushed a 75 year old protestor back so hard that he stumbled and fell flat on his back on the concrete. One of their squad tried to stop and aid the man laying there motionless with blood pooling around his head and he was grabbed by the arm and forced forward. It made me ill to see that officer deny his humanity and comply with command, leaving the old man dying on the ground. For the rest of his life that officer will regret not tending to that man whom his squad had critically injured. There is definitely a cancer of presumed immunity from accountability and a tolerance for violence within some of our police departments and the only people that can purge the system is the officers themselves. No police brotherhood or department should ever tolerate an officer that has lost their humanity or will to challenge command in the case of injustice unfolding before them. Such officers need to be forever ejected from law enforcement, not just passed on to another police force in a different city.

2020 is giving us unbelievable opportunities for evolutionary cultural change in so many ways! Let's put the cancer of racism at the top of our agenda. I am seizing this opportunity with all my heart to educate myself and be part of the solution. I hope you will too.