I wish I could celebrate...
...the guilty-on-all-charges verdict in the matter of Derek Chauvin.
But I can't.
Because George Floyd is still dead.
And Daunte Wright is still dead.
And Breonna Taylor is still dead.
And Atatantiana Jefferson is still dead.
And Botham Jean is still dead.
And Philando Castile is still dead.
And Freddy Gray is still dead.
And Tamir Rice is still dead.
And Michael Brown is still dead.
Those are the ones that come to my mind quickly and easily.. There are so many more. Dead. Dead. Dead, dead dead, still dead, dead forever (modulo one's religious beliefs), lives chopped off, famillies destroyed, friends devastated.
And the systemic racism that enables it is still in place.
We can't make racism go away. But there are some things we can do.
1. Pass the George Floyd.
2. Take military-grade weaponry out of the hands of police.
3. Transfer some percentage, to be decided by people much smarter than me, of police funding to funding for non-violent intervention specialists.
4. Call racism by its name wherever and whenever you see it.
5. Hold authority figures - not just police, but ministers, your boss, any authority figure - to the fire when they show signs of racism, sexism, ageism, ableism, genderism, and so on and on and on.
The first two will take an act of faith and willion the behalf of Congress, and the third ultimately might. Write your Senators and Congressfolk. Bury them in letters, calls, emails, telegrams, smoke signals, anything you can think of to get their attention on the fact that we, the voters, demand these things and their jobs are on the hook.
The third one - I honestly don't know where that should take place. Local governments would be ideal. State governments would be the second choice. But in both cases, the towns and states where it's most badly needed are exactly the jurisdictions that will be most resistant to implementing it: so it may take another act of Congress. Others know more than me about the practicalities of such a thing.
But number 4 and number 5 will require your own iron courage, your own will, your own faith in and hope for and love.of this country and its people.
Is this as urgent, ultimately, as responding to climate change? Maybe not. But it's mighty close.
Get to work.
But I can't.
Because George Floyd is still dead.
And Daunte Wright is still dead.
And Breonna Taylor is still dead.
And Atatantiana Jefferson is still dead.
And Botham Jean is still dead.
And Philando Castile is still dead.
And Freddy Gray is still dead.
And Tamir Rice is still dead.
And Michael Brown is still dead.
Those are the ones that come to my mind quickly and easily.. There are so many more. Dead. Dead. Dead, dead dead, still dead, dead forever (modulo one's religious beliefs), lives chopped off, famillies destroyed, friends devastated.
And the systemic racism that enables it is still in place.
We can't make racism go away. But there are some things we can do.
1. Pass the George Floyd.
2. Take military-grade weaponry out of the hands of police.
3. Transfer some percentage, to be decided by people much smarter than me, of police funding to funding for non-violent intervention specialists.
4. Call racism by its name wherever and whenever you see it.
5. Hold authority figures - not just police, but ministers, your boss, any authority figure - to the fire when they show signs of racism, sexism, ageism, ableism, genderism, and so on and on and on.
The first two will take an act of faith and willion the behalf of Congress, and the third ultimately might. Write your Senators and Congressfolk. Bury them in letters, calls, emails, telegrams, smoke signals, anything you can think of to get their attention on the fact that we, the voters, demand these things and their jobs are on the hook.
The third one - I honestly don't know where that should take place. Local governments would be ideal. State governments would be the second choice. But in both cases, the towns and states where it's most badly needed are exactly the jurisdictions that will be most resistant to implementing it: so it may take another act of Congress. Others know more than me about the practicalities of such a thing.
But number 4 and number 5 will require your own iron courage, your own will, your own faith in and hope for and love.of this country and its people.
Is this as urgent, ultimately, as responding to climate change? Maybe not. But it's mighty close.
Get to work.