Wednesday, May 27, 2020

Heavy

My heart is so heavy today. I'm ashamed of this country and heartbroken for the friends and families of George Floyd, and all the other George Floyds out there whose stories will never be told because no one was there to film what happened to them.

I can't stand to think of this man begging for air, begging for his life, while his neck was crushed under a white police officer's knee. This whole country should hang its head in shame. We should all be in the streets protesting. What was it, a week ago?..that a man was openly lynched in the street for the crime of jogging while black. That same day, a white woman threatened (and then made good on her threat) to call the police on a black man who was birdwatching because he offended her by telling her to put her dog on a leash. She falsely claimed that he was threatening her. She could easily have gotten that man killed and I don't think for a moment that she wasn't absolutely aware of that fact. Even though the encounter was caught on film, and the man was doing absolutely nothing wrong, it still could have ended that way. WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE?!! How  are we still like this in America in the year 2020? When will it end?

That's really all I have to say today, except that I'm ashamed to be an American citizen right now. I'm ashamed to be a privileged white person who will never know the terror of living here while black. I'm ashamed of my own silence in the face of the things that have gone on. Somehow, we all have a responsibility to make this right, and I have no idea how anyone can even start.

Here is all you need to know about the state of this country in 2020:

Image may contain: one or more people and suit, text that says 'U.S. DemSoc So let me get this straight: Black Lives Matter protestors are tear gassed for protesting the murder of George Floyd, but MAGA protesters are left alone for bringing AR-15 inside state capitols? -Robert Reich'

28 comments:

  1. me too, girl. guess we need to film more, to speak out more, to call out the h8 more, and TO VOTE FOR DECENCY on 11/3/20!

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    1. A new occupant of the White House would help a whole lot.

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  2. I'm to the point where the old me inside is almost dead.

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  3. I constantly feel like I should approach every person of color I see and apologize. I'm ashamed too. From my very bones and blood.

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    1. I know you understand my feelings. Thank you Mary.

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  4. Everyday is a giant step backwards. I have a dear friend who has said that she never wants children because if he were a boy, his life would always be in jeopardy. She fears for her college educated, successful brother all the time.

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    1. That's just so sad. I worry for my black and brown friends and wish I could somehow make the world safer for them and their children.

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  5. I am horrified and ashamed. I found this article a place to at least start. https://medium.com/equality-includes-you/what-white-people-can-do-for-racial-justice-f2d18b0e0234

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  6. Jennifer, the whole world has been shocked by this story. This morning they played a tape on the radio of him begging for his life.... it made me feel sick. Poor man.

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    1. I can't fathom the cruelty of doing this to another human being who isn't posing any sort of threat. That poor man was handcuffed on the ground and couldn't have resisted arrest if he had wanted to. I just don't understand.

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  7. Seen on tv down here also.
    Frightening!

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    1. I'm so embarrassed to be a citizen of this country.

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  8. Jennifer, I have no words other than to say Amen! to your words! You have spoken perfectly what I have not been able to say. And these things KEEP HAPPENING! We should have progressed far beyond this a long, long time ago. Of course it does not help that so many people now feel encouraged to act like this from our president. In the last four years we took our previous one step forward and stepped about 50 steps backwards.

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    1. Yes, the racists and despicable members of our society have been emboldened over the last four years. This presidency is SO MUCH WORSE than I feared at the beginning, and I was pretty afraid even then.

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  9. I can't believe that this is still going on.

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    1. And getting worse. Not a single damn word from 45 denouncing these murders and the racism behind them. Not one.

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  10. Yes we do bad things then Russian bots use the actions from a terrible few to incite division among us and we do not even realize it.

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    1. And the fools blindly follow the trolls and Russian bots......and revel in their own evil.

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  11. Good on you Jennifer, for speaking up. You've stated before that you are loath to comment politically but when the time comes, you always write for societal change. This is really important x

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    1. I try not to talk politics for the simple reason that it permeates so much of my inner life and causes me so much stress that I'd rather use my blog to focus on other stuff. Most of the time. But I couldn't NOT say something yesterday because I felt it all just boiling over inside of me.

      Thanks Sarah. I'm always glad to see you here.

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  12. What the fuck is wrong with people -- EXACTLY. I feel like I ask myself that question a thousand times a day!

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  13. Well said. I agree with Steve, What the fuck is wrong with people.? and how can anyone in their right mind support Trump. This is so incredibly awful. It's like we've gone backward 50 years since Trump took office. It's got to change.

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