Photo by Josh Hild on Unsplash
I’m writing this on Saturday, May 30th 2020. I can’t think of anything else except George Floyd. I am once again haunted by the death of a black person killed with no justification. Killed by 4 cops. And now cities across the nation are burning.
I want to start by saying that I believe that most police officers are good. I know quite a few personally. And yes, they all feel threatened on a daily basis and fear that one day they won’t make it home. But they do the job anyway. To keep us safe. ALL of us. Then there are the bad cops. Cops who are evil and deadly.
We watched the video footages. We saw George was not fighting back or being unreasonable. Why did these cops think they needed to knee George in the neck until he died? Why wasn’t he just put in a cop car and taken to the station to sort out a fake $20.00 bill? Why? Just like everyone else, I want to know WHY?
That video was hard to watch but I made myself watch it over and over. I was looking to see why the other 3 cops didn’t stop this. WTF was all I could say.
What I’ve learned is this: The cop who killed George was also working with him as security in a night club for years. They knew each other, yet that cop killed him. I’ve learned that the news is trying to say George had health issues and that’s probably why he died. WTF? George was trying to better his life. He shouldn’t have had to die this way. And as a white woman, I am struggling with all of this. If this isn’t bothering every white person in America, then some of you lack a freaking soul.
I don’t have the answers. I am trying to watch and listen. And as a blogger with a following, I felt I needed to address this. Yesterday I watched a FB live from Nicole Walters aka @MonetizeThyself. She is an entrepreneur, mom, wife and kick-ass business woman. She is someone I follow to learn from and she’s funny as hell. Yesterday she broke down and told everyone how she was feeling as a black woman. I cried as I watched. This is not how America in 2020 should be. Will it ever change? Even now?
Then the protests began. I’m not one who protests. It’s not my thing. I write. My heart aches for all those protesting for George Floyd. But I want to tell you this, those people burning and looting? They were not protesters. They were scum who took advantage of the death of George Floyd. They took advantage to set fires and take selfies with SMILES on their faces. They loaded up shopping carts with TVs and electronics and laughed and danced as they left the stores on fire. They even went after the cops that were trying to keep everyone safe. Yes, they still have a job to do. And I watched as a group of black men linked arms and kept a lone cop safe from the angry crowds. They kept HIM safe. He was white.
I have also seen TikTocs of cops coming out against the bad cops. They are actually being bullied by other cops. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? My two cents here is this: Good cops are going to have to stand up to the bad cops. Call them out and get them gone. We don’t need evil in our police forces.
I know cops fear for their lives on the daily. It only takes a second to make the wrong call. We all get that. We want all of them to make it home each day to their families. Some will not. They all know this. But we have laws. EVERYONE needs to abide by them. NO ONE is above them.
UPDATE 5-31-2020:
Yesterday I did attend the Raleigh NC protest for a bit. We left early due to not being comfortable in crowds during Covid19. However, I will tell you it started out calm and peaceful. You could feel the vibe from the crowd. There were black and white people in agreement and solidarity.
Later that night the fires and chaos erupted. Not just here but everywhere. There are those that say violence is not the answer and I will say that a lot of black owned businesses where looted and set a fire. There are those that say we need to remember the Boston Tea Party and that if violence and looting is the only way to get the message out then so be it.
I am going to be honest. The rioters are not the protestors. The rioters were clearly just hungry to do damage and loot. They laughed and danced again and took selfies while smiling. I feel the rioters are only making the raciest more raciest. Making the evil very happy.
So what will it take? I have not much of a clue today. But, I think we all need to make some attitude adjustments. We all need to take responsibilities for our actions or lack there of.
I can’t tell you I know how a black person feels. I know nothing of those fears they have. But I can listen. I can watch and I can write.
Peace & Love. RIP George Floyd.
