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| https://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2020/05/28/george-floyd-minneapolis-protests-jimenez-dnt-newday-vpx.cnn |
I am interrupting the plans I had for the blog to support my instruction to write about what is happening in our country because of racism.
In other words, I interrupt my regularly scheduled programming, and I can stay silent no longer.
This entry is just going to hit a few highlights and be a sketch of a longer post into which I want to put more thought.
But something must be done. We all need to take a hard look at ourselves. And by "we all" I mean white people.
It's actually Friday morning 5/29/20 as I start to write this blog entry. So I have been silent on this blog about the recent stories in the news cycle about racist murders: Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia by white citizens and then the execution of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
Not to mention all the incidents over the years: Eric Garner (New York City, Philando Castille (Minnesota), Michael Brown Jr (St. Louis, Missouri), and so many more, which is why we have the BLACK LIVES MATTER movement.
People are angry. Every murder of an innocent black man is one too many. Sure, I could add "any" man here, regardless of color, but that's just a red herring. It's men of color, mostly African-Americans, who keep being killed in disproportionate numbers.
And so people are angry. WE should be angry. If you are not angry about this, then something is wrong with you.
Protestors burned down a police precinct in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Police officers arrested CNN reporters doing their jobs.
Minnesota police arrest CNN reporter and camera crew as they report from protests in Minneapolis https://t.co/oZdqBti776 pic.twitter.com/3QbeTjD5ed— CNN (@CNN) May 29, 2020
And what does the "president" do? Does he show leadership? Empathy? The voice of reason? Dignity? No, of course not. We cannot expect that from him. It's really difficult to express these opinions I am sharing without profanity and invective. So, the "president" writes this:
....These THUGS are dishonoring the memory of George Floyd, and I won’t let that happen. Just spoke to Governor Tim Walz and told him that the Military is with him all the way. Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts. Thank you!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 29, 2020
And just in case the message gets taken down:
The mayor of St. Paul, Minnesota just said that Trump has shown that he is "incapable of leading this country through difficult times." The Mayor of Minneapolis also condemned the "president" for not showing strength and compassion and not understanding the strength and resilience of the citizens of Minneapolis.
And now, there is no arrest and no criminal charges for the officers who executed an unarmed black man while he begged for his mother, begged to breathe, begged to be allowed off the ground. Instead there is the arrest of a CNN crew, starting with a reporter with brown skin.
And there is no censure of this man who claims to be "president" when he endorses violence and hatred as he has done OVER AND OVER. Remember when he called white supremacists in a rally in Charlottesville "very fine people"? (Though he said lots of other things it seems his real feelings leak through around what he thinks he's supposed to say.)
https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2019/07/18/donald-trump-racist-rally-227408
https://www.politifact.com/article/2019/apr/26/context-trumps-very-fine-people-both-sides-remarks/
We have a problem in this country, and the problem is us.
And by us, I mean white people and our white privilege and our self-righteousness and our passivity.
Many of us have felt the need to say "I am not racist but..." at some time in our lives.
Others have said "I don't see color," which is one of the single stupidest things I have ever heard. Are you color blind? Of course, you SEE color.
There are those of us trying to be better, those of us who support equality, those of us who have fought for equality, but even those of us who have fought and rallied and cried and written and spoken out, even us, we have contributed to this racist pandemic that still has roots in this country.
We're still seeing riots torch neighborhoods 52 years after the now dubbed "civil rights riots" of 1968.
Why? Because things have not changed, not enough.
And "being the change" -- what Gandhi said -- is not enough. We have to make the change. We have to fight for the change. We have to not only shut up, stymie, stop the racism all around us, but we have to root it out of ourselves, too. Because those who cry the loudest about "I am no racist" have had some of those feelings, have grappled in the shadowy places of the soul, have felt the fears, have had the judgments while enjoying white privilege that means we will not be lynched, we will no the feared, we do not face the same horrible and unjust circumstances that people of color face EVERY DAY OF THEIR LIVES.
We probably cannot do enough. The problem is too big and too deeply rooted in the cultural DNA. But we can try, we need to try, and we need to start with ourselves.
Those are my thoughts right this moment.
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| https://www.marketwatch.com/story/minnesota-gov-walz-apologizes-for-arrest-of-cnn-reporter-and-team-while-covering-minneapolis-protests-2020-05-29 |
https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-05-28/george-floyd-central-park-familiar-terror-they-inspire
Column: George Floyd, Central Park and the familiar terror they inspire
LZ GRANDERSONEXCERPT:
I was 12 when an officer placed his gun to the back of my head while his knee rested in the center of my back. I had been sent to the store to buy a gallon of milk. I came home with trauma. As the officer placed me in handcuffs, he said I looked like a burglary suspect he was searching for.
For those of you who are tired of reading about racism, I’m tired of black and brown bodies being killed by it. I’m tired of watching some white people be more upset by those who are protesting racism as opposed to the racism itself. https://t.co/5xQYkEf3kV— LZ Granderson (@LZGranderson) May 29, 2020
And then there's this... and it calls into question so much of the destruction and escalation in Minnesota.
and - https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/minneapolis-protest-riot-umbrella-man-george-floyd-a9539741.html
I have so much more to say about all of this, but I need time to think.
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- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 2005.29 - 10:10
- Days ago = 1791 days ago
- New note - On 1807.06, I ceased daily transmission of my Hey Mom feature after three years of daily conversations. I plan to continue Hey Mom posts at least twice per week but will continue to post the days since ("Days Ago") count on my blog each day. The blog entry numbering in the title has changed to reflect total Sense of Doubt posts since I began the blog on 0705.04, which include Hey Mom posts, Daily Bowie posts, and Sense of Doubt posts. Hey Mom posts will still be numbered sequentially. New Hey Mom posts will use the same format as all the other Hey Mom posts; all other posts will feature this format seen here.
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