What Trickles Down…
The itsy-bitsy
spider
Went up the waterspout
Down came the rain and
Washed the spider out
Out came the sun
And dried up all the rain
Now the itsy-bitsy spider
Went up the spout again
Went up the waterspout
Down came the rain and
Washed the spider out
Out came the sun
And dried up all the rain
Now the itsy-bitsy spider
Went up the spout again
For those of you that haven’t noticed the protests, riots,
looting, pandemonium and general insanity that’s been flooding the streets and all
the newsfeeds, on Monday, May 25th, an African American by the name
of George Floyd was arrested outside of a deli in downtown Minneapolis,
Minnesota. According to sources, an employee of the deli that Floyd has visited
dispatched the police and had called for his arrest. What followed was Floyd
being restrained, handcuffed and forced to the ground, chest down, where an
officer was seen (and recorded) pressing his knee on Floyd’s neck for over 8
minutes, while Floyd repeatedly screamed that he couldn’t breathe. The officer
was seen putting his entire bodyweight on Floyd’s neck, while his fellow
officers stood by and did nothing. As a result, Floyd lost consciousness and
eventually died.
While this was a truly horrific scene, that’s not what boils
my blood. What truly horrifies me was the video footage taken by bystanders,
showing the officer kneeling on Floyd’s neck, with his hand in his pocket.
I repeat……WITH…HIS…HAND…IN…HIS…POCKET!
Now, I’m not a law enforcement officer nor am I particularly
skilled in any form of physical combat, but applying a potentially lethal move
on a prone individual with a flagrant disregard for their safety (doing it with
one hand in you pocket qualifies as “disregard”……just so you know) is not only
morally reprehensible, but cruel and unnecessary. I mean, what was the
arresting officer thinking? Handcuffing him and forcing him to the ground wasn’t
enough? Pinning his knee to the suspect’s neck wasn’t enough? He had to add insult
to injury by sticking his hand in your pocket while doing it? Was he trying to
show the world how seamless and effortless it was for him to do that? Was he
gonna take a victory lap afterwards?
*inhale…. *exhale…
The itsy-bitsy
spider
Went up the waterspout
Down came the rain and
Washed the spider out
Went up the waterspout
Down came the rain and
Washed the spider out
From Rodney King to Trayvon Martin and the countless other African
Americans who have been killed, crippled and brutalized, this has, and
continues to be, an all too common story that we hear. While I can’t speak to
the characters of these individuals, I stand firmly by my belief in one
immutable fact; regardless of their (alleged) crimes, none of these individuals
deserved to be killed, crippled and/or brutalized.
Down came the rain
and
Washed the spider out
Washed the spider out
Yet, these stories continue to playout in the United States
(and lord knows where else). Why? Why does this continue to happen?
Because what trickles down to the bottom starts from the
top.
At this point, I’m sure a few of you reading this are about
to write some scathing rebuttal, questioning my knowledge of the current
climate and even going so far as to issue “challenges” (if you’re being
polite). So, for those of you who are starting to feel some urge to react to
this, all I ask is that you read this to the very end and just hear me out. I
want to make several points.
1 1. The fact that these incidences occur as often as
they do suggest an unexpected level of leeway that is simply disproportional. Translation,
if beat cops can inflict this level of punishment on people, it’s simply
because they have been allowed to act in such a way, without impunity. They act
this way because they’re taught, or led to believe, that they can. “…. what
trickles down to the bottom starts from the top…”. Why else would an officer,
in this case an officer with a record for needless aggression, still be allowed
to carry a badge?
2 2. I’m not here to attack law-enforcement. To the
men and women around the world, who put on the uniform everyday to protect and
serve their respective communities (especially during the current COVID-19
pandemic), I salute you all. You provide a valuable and necessary service and
you all deserve our respect. However, with your power comes a responsibility to
exercise caution and restrain. While I accept that accidents happen, nothing as
blatant as this should be tolerated. How are we, as a people, expected to put
our trust and faith in you, if we’re forced to endure the possibility that you might
end our lives?
3. As a race, people and sub-culture, African Americans (and Africans at large) are not the enemy. We’re not here to threaten you, or take your jobs, or commit some unthinkable atrocity, or spread disease (yes, that accusation was thrown at me once upon a time). Like many of you, we’re just here, plain and simple. For whatever reason, we are all living on the same rock. That’s something that won’t change (despite the efforts of an alarmingly growing sub-group). Failure to co-exist will ultimately lead to mutual destruction.
3. As a race, people and sub-culture, African Americans (and Africans at large) are not the enemy. We’re not here to threaten you, or take your jobs, or commit some unthinkable atrocity, or spread disease (yes, that accusation was thrown at me once upon a time). Like many of you, we’re just here, plain and simple. For whatever reason, we are all living on the same rock. That’s something that won’t change (despite the efforts of an alarmingly growing sub-group). Failure to co-exist will ultimately lead to mutual destruction.
I’m not speaking just as an African, or as a black man, or
as a person who has had to deal with racism and racial discrimination (in all
its many “colorful” forms). I’m here as a human being. I’m here as somebody who
would want to raise a child in a world where they wouldn’t have to be afraid of
the people entrusted to guard their safety and the order of their community. I’m
here as a man who does not want to be judged just because his skin tone resembles
a warm Starbucks beverage, or his name requires the average non-African an
extra 5 seconds to learn how to pronounce. Most of all, I’m here as a guy that’s
tired. Tired of all this needless violence, of all this pointless destruction,
of all this avoidable drama.
Regardless of whatever the powers that be will say, regardless
of however departmental, state and /or federal politics will spin this, a
simple fact remains; there is RIGHT and there is WRONG. This is WRONG, PERIOD.
At the end of the day, I feel inescapably cynical. Maybe
nothing will change. But, nothing will if we allow this to continue happening
and not call for the guilty to be held accountable. Most of all, nothing will
change if we continue to reinforce this “us against them” narrative. We all
live on the same rock, folks. We can either keep fighting or we can try to find
some way to co-exist.
Regardless, I know one thing for sure: I’m not the only one
that’s tired of all this.
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