Let's talk about George Floyd

As I have watched the events unfold over this past week, I have been torn by anguish and confusion. As a result, I have refrained from posting anything until I could process my thoughts and speak with some semblance of clarity.

 

If you have not read my post “Let’s talk about truth”, I ask that you take a moment to read it before continuing this one because I explain my outlook on life and feel like it is important to keep that in mind as you read what I have to say.

 

Here is the link: https://philiponlife.blogspot.com/2020/04/lets-talk-about-truth.html

 

Whether or not you read it, I ask that you have patience with me as I continue learning and seeking to contribute to the best of my abilities. I do not assume to have answers. I have ideas, and I have questions. Let’s begin.

 

I am a white male. I grew up moving all over North and South America and have felt both judged and admired because of my race. What I have never felt is threatened. I cannot begin to imagine the pain, fear, and rage of being abused, discriminated against, and murdered because of the color of my skin. However, I do not need to be able to imagine it to condemn it and fight against it.

 

This raises the question though, how do you fight racism? How do you stop people from being racist and abusing their power? I believe there are two answers, one is long term and the other is short term. The long term answer starts in the home. It is how we raise our children and it is how we talk to our friends and family. It is a process and a journey.

 

The short term is how we respond to racism when we see it. Sometimes evil cannot be won by conversation, but must simply be suppressed. There is no conversation to be had when power is being abused. It must be stopped.

 

The protests we are seeing are not only a result of George Floyd’s murder by a police officer, but the countless other murders of black people, both recorded and not. We will never see a day when this doesn’t happen, just like we will never see a day when murder itself is completely stopped. Crime and hatred will always be a part of society, the question is how to minimize it. Protesting against racism as a whole will have little to no impact. Protesting against the lack of consequences for racism will.

 

I believe one answer is to start working our way up the chain of command and holding accountable those who are passively or actively defending these criminals. If a superior does not conduct the proper investigation and execute justice, that superior should be replaced. If the people responsible for replacing that superior do not perform, then they should be replaced.  We need people in positions of authority who will take this topic as seriously as those being murdered. Anything less is complicity.

 

This goes far beyond police brutality, though. This issue of inequality in the justice system applies to every crime in which a person of one race receives a different sentence than another. We cannot simply stop at demanding that police officers be held accountable. This extends to an entire judicial system that slaps the wrist of a white rapist but sentences a black man to years of prison for having drugs in his car. This whole concept of discretionary sentencing is beyond ludicrous to me. We can’t have equality when judges are allowed such a massive spectrum of punishment to choose from.

 

I encourage you all to protest with specificity. What do you want to change? I personally feel that saying Black Lives Matter, while true, is too general. I’m not saying to not say it. I’m saying to say more. Let your cry for change end with “because Black Lives Matter”. Stating a fact does not bring reform, nor does just demanding change. We need to be clear about what we want to change and how to change it.

 

I hope that we can find unity in goals, not just anger. I hope we can find a common vision that we can strive for together. I hope that we never lose hope for a better future.

 

Thank you for reading.