I don't even know where to begin, except that this business as usual murder of another innocent black human being is getting tiring. As a black woman and attorney, seeing the May 25th, 2020 modern day LYNCHING of George Floyd was traumatizing. I'm sick of hearing how another bumbling idiot with a bad attitude, lacking melanin, with a badge managed to be so frightened of the skin color of another citizen, that they somehow can justify killing someone for any old stupid ass reason. (Advanced warning, if you don't want to hear cursing, go elsewhere....I will be cussing today - but will try to keep it to a minimum)
Being black in america is truly a health crisis. We are murdered in our sleep, we are murdered when walking, jogging, shopping, eating ice cream on our couches, driving, going on job interviews, and for pretty much existing. This needs to stop, and it needs to STOP NOW! Who cares about heart disease, or COVID-19 when we are more likely to survive those issues, just to be murdered for being BLACK!
Now, i took my time before writing this. Yesterday was George Floyd's funeral...I wanted to reflect on the whole situation before I put in my two cents. However, after calming down and letting reality simmer on my brain instead of falling victim to my own anger, and sadness surrounding this situation, there are a few things I think needs to change before we finally begin to see the end of these senseless HATE CRIMES AGAINST BLACK PEOPLE....YES, THESE ACTS EQUATE TO HATE CRIMES AND NOTHING LESS.....AND THE PENALTY FOR THESE CRIMES SHOULD BE DEATH.
With that being said, there are a lot of changes as a society we need to make before we can start finally seeing the change we need. See below for some basic suggestions:
1) I want to see our government be more representative of the constituents it represents. Congress, the senate, the state legislatures should NOT be filled to the brim with old dusty butt white people who were alive during the civil rights era....If they were alive during the civil rights movement, or soon after....they may not be the most representative of working class citizens of today. YOU MEAN TO TELL ME THERE ARE NO BLACK PEOPLE QUALIFIED TO BE APPOINTED TO THESE HIGH RANKING AND LIFE IMPACTING JOBS......BULLSHIT!!!!!!!!!
2) I want to see more BLACK PEOPLE on the BOARD OF DIRECTORS at major companies both in the public and private sector. AGAIN, YOU MEAN TO TELL ME THERE ARE NO BLACK PEOPLE QUALIFIED TO HOLD EVEN AN HONORABLE PERCENTAGE OF THESE POSITIONS? AGAIN, BULLSHIT!!!!
3) I don't want to see another police association, unit, board, force or any other police entity with a 99.9% WHITE PERSON rate of membership/employment on them. AGAIN, YOU ARE TELLING ME THAT IS NO PEOPLE OF COLOR LOOKING FOR JOBS WHO WOULD QUALIFY TO HOLD ANY MAJOR POSITION ON THE POLICING OF OUR NATION.....BULLSHIT!
4) I need lastly for people who identify as WHITE....TO GO FIND SOME CULTURE....LIKE RIGHT NOW. WHITE ISN'T A CULTURE. BEING WHITE IS NOTHING TO CELEBRATE. Being Italian, Polish, German, Portuguese, Irish are all beautiful cultures. These cultures comes with amazing food, dance, language, and even awesome beer and liquor. Claiming to just be white is basically just acknowledging that the best of your history is when your ancestor MAY (because not all white people were even able to own slaves, just the wealthy and well off) have owned slaves.
......SO if you proudest achievement is having white skin, clinging to the possibility that your ancestor may have owned a slave, not believing in systemic racism,eating unseasoned food and believing that black people are somehow inferior animals whose life isn't worth as much as yours...then you probably should find ways to identify as something else other than white....because I hate to break it to you.....if these are your beliefs....YOU ARE LOSING AT LIFE!!!!!! Identifying as only WHITE is something to be ashamed of....black people identify as black because we were ripped away from our culture, our tribes, our families hundreds of years ago.....WHAT IS YOUR EXCUSE FOR BEING WHITE? You came from somewhere, you need to get in touch with wherever you came from, since black Americans don't have that privilege. Short of Native Americans, African Americans will always be truer Americans than those who identify as white. There is tons of evidence that black people were here even before the implementation of slavery...there is so much to unpack....but basically my message is the same....if you identify as a white person, and you lack culture....find some and be proud of something else besides your skin or privilege or inherent fears of people who are different from you!
5) Criminalize these "Amy Cooper" level police calls....put these clowns in jail.....PERIOD!
6) Lastly, we all need to work together to make all people of color feel as free to speak about their experiences.
......This country elected donald trump (supposedly) because he isn't politically correct. Dear universities, school systems, employers, businesses....I BET YOU A MILLION DOLLARS THAT NONE OF YOUR BLACK EMPLOYEES AND BLACK STUDENTS ARE TELLING YOU THE REAL TRUTH ABOUT THEIR EXPERIENCES WITH THE LEADERSHIP AT YOUR INSTITUTIONS. IJS. I Dare you to make it an open forum without repercussions. You won't like what you hear, but it would be a huge step towards making changes this society so desperately needs.
With all that being said....I pray that George Floyd Rests In Peace. I pray that his mom is holding her son in her arms. I pray for relief for his family. However, more than anything, I pray for retribution against the 4 officers that caused his demise. I hope they truly suffer the consequences of their actions. I hope their families suffer as well, not because i'm mad...but because I believe through suffering it may be possible for the kids of these officers to understand the pain Floyd's kids are going through, and I hope the officer's kids grow up to know better than their raggedy excuses for fathers. There is an opportunity for their kids to experience the pain Floyd's kids are going through, there is an opportunity to break the cycle of hate...but the black community cannot do it alone.
Rest in peace George! I'm sorry this happened to you. However, your death will not be in vain.