I don’t know what to say.
I know I should say something and denounce in the strongest terms the outright murder of George Floyd, but outside of that, I don’t know what to say.
I want to give every person of color a hug right now and just apologize profusely.
I want to apologize for the fact that I have no clue what they go through on a daily basis. Whenever I drive through a nicer neighborhood, people aren’t grabbing their phones to record me or call the cops on me because they think I don’t belong there. When I walk into a store, there aren’t associates tailing me just in case. If a cop asks me a question, I’m not concerned that he will suddenly arrest me with a poor excuse and then subdue me by putting his knee on my neck, slowly murdering me.
But my fellow humans who are people of color do have to worry about that. The anger I feel right now about what has happened to George Floyd is something that they are all too familiar with because they live with it every day. White privilege is real and I experience it every single day.
If I had to experience that every single day, along with the fear of racism that is so prevalent in our nation, I would probably take to the streets of Minneapolis too.
I mean, what other option is there?
Peaceful protests have been done for decades, most recently with Colin Kaepernick kneeling during the pledge of allegiance. Do you know what people who look like me said? It was wrong and offensive and awful.
Do you know what’s really wrong and offensive and awful? Killing an innocent black man.
People who look like me are so quick to point out that the protest and riots in Minneapolis are wrong, and many of them have said the exact phrase, “Two wrongs don’t make a right!”
I could be wrong because I’m not a person of color, but I don’t think this is about making something right. And I don’t think there’s only two wrongs here. I think the longest list of wrongs has been committed by people who look like me. Racism has been deeply embedded into America literally since it’s inception.
People who look like me like to take the phrase “Black Lives Matter” and quickly point out that “All Lives Matter.”
Clearly they don’t. Just ask George Floyd.
Or Michael Brown.
Or Freddie Gray.
Or Sylville Smith, Keith Lamont Scott, Kendra James, Sean Bell, Eric Garner, Alton Sterling, Breonna Taylor…
…do you need me to keep going?
You can’t actually ask them, of course. They were murdered because they were of a different race, and that struck fear into the hearts of people who look like me. And I am ashamed of that.
Do we really have to wonder why there are protests and riots in Minneapolis right now? Do famous white people really have to tweet “I just don’t understand how this makes sense” anymore? Come on. Systematic and constant and obvious racism is why. And I am so ashamed of that.
I don’t know what else to say. I’m angry, sad, ashamed, and ready to do whatever it takes for black lives to actually matter in this nation.
I hope you are too.
The Space In Between 