Look What You Made Me Do

I just watched, with my teenage daughter, a video of a protest in Buffalo. Police officers and protesters. Two officers have been suspended for pushing down a 75-year-old man. Hard. They did this and kept on moving. One officer started to check on the man, when another stopped him, urging him to keep walking. The only difference between this incident and many of the others we are trying to process, is that this man was white. And he didn’t die. The force with which so many police officers seem to act (and get away with) is devastating. It so just seems so normal to them. And while the officer who killed George Floyd has now been charged with second-degree murder (after MUCH unrest over the initial lesser charge), then what?

No one discounts the pressure police officers are under at times. However, if the underlying currents of racism, ignorance, and cynicism dictate much of their behaviour, the inevitable harm this will cause is a no-brainer. Ill-trained, and seemingly unenlightened, police officers are out on the streets, and “in charge”. They are helping to restrain an unarmed, handcuffed man, while he struggles to breathe. They are busting into the wrong apartment complex to gun down an innocent woman. They are shooting her 8 times, after her boyfriend pulls fire, in self-defence, because they burst in late into the night, without announcing themselves. Note that the actual suspect was already in custody, and they were at the wrong address. They are father and son, chasing down an unarmed black man, in their pick up truck, while he is out jogging, and shooting him three times when he struggles to defend himself with his hands. This “look what you made me do” mentality is maddening. I didn't have a choice. It was their own fault.

No it wasn't, and yes, you do.

Sadly, these stories go on and on. Some get videotaped, some don’t. And black lives don't seem to matter. The system that creates haves and have nots is the same system giving carte blanche to those in power to act how they see fit in the line of duty — because it protects some. And it is at the cost of those black lives. Granted, not all cops are bad. But not all are black people are killed either. So how many is enough? The ones with power, the ones with privilege, the ones unaffected, must participate. This system is in our roots, deep down and ingrained in the fabric, in the creation and development of our institutions. Those in power need retooling, retribution, and to believe they cannot act with impunity. This starts from the ground up. And yes, we may feel lost in the “but how?” If we continue to do the work — in our lives, in our homes, and with our families and loved ones — that’s a start. Taking a knee during the national anthem has proved to just not be enough. Keep having those conversations, keep sharing, and keep fighting for change. You may notice some around you are quiet. They are "not getting involved". Or don't want to talk to their kids, because "it's too much". Their parents are "too old to understand now". That ridiculous luxury is what partially got us here. Stop it now. Where one is oppressed, so is another.

Keep at it, the posting, the protesting, the talking, the learning, and unlearning...whatever that looks like for you, it’s a good look. 👊🏽

‘United we stand, divided we fall’. 🌎

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