Don't Punish Me With Brutality

This country is in an upheaval!!!!!!

Actually, that's an UNDERSTATEMENT!

We're divided by RACE!

RELIGION!

GENDER IDENTITY!

SOCIOECONOMICS!

And the list goes on and on!

What I know for sure is that unarmed citizens are dying at the hands of law enforcement!!!!

And the MAIN reason we know what we know is because someone filmed the interactions on their cell phone cameras.

Without the filmed footage, American citizens wouldn't be the wiser about many of the senseless deaths.

At this point, I'm sooooo exhausted by the endless stories of unjustified brutality.

It HAS to STOP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The death of George Floyd has ignited a barrage of changes in the workplace and how we view some of the revered statues/monuments throughout the country.

Protesters have made it known they even want Mount Rushmore to be dismantled. South Dakota's governor is adamant about that NOT happening on HIS watch!!!

I don't wanna sound all Polly Anna(ish), but I just want EVERYBODY on this planet to be treated with COMPASSION. That's all.

In order for that to happen, though, we MUST, MUST, MUST hold our fellow man accountable for his words and actions.

It isn't enough to NOT be a racist.

We MUST be staunchly ANTI-RACIST!

I'm gonna make DAMN SURE I'm at the polls this NOVEMBER!!!!!!

This country NEEDS CHANGE in our highest political office AND offices!

So, VOTE!! VOTE!!! VOTE!! VOTE!!!!!!

If Marvin Gaye was alive today, I'd know PRECISELY what he'd say!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Question Of The Day

The protests in response to the videotaped murder of George Floyd by police officers in Minneapolis have attracted looters and arsonists.

Nobody I know personally condones looting and burning down buildings. 

Absolutely NOBODY!

HOWEVER...

It is my humble opinion that WITHOUT the horrible destruction that has taken place, the POWERS-THAT-BE wouldn't truly pay attention to black peoples' pleas for EQUALITY.

For too many decades to count, people who look like me have been BEGGING, PROTESTING and DYING to be seen and treated EQUALLY in this country. And here it is 2020 and we're STILL FIGHTING for that treatment!

Except NOW, the disenfranchised consciously decided not to destroy their own neighborhoods to get their point across. They've moved on to those of their oppressors. 

For whatever reason, most people don't seem to be too terribly moved by actions that they don't believe affects them. But when sh*t lands on your own doorstep, you immediately do something about it. 

You CLEAN it up!

And that's PRECISELY what the protesters want white Americans to do: CLEAN up the INEQUALITY!

I've been asked by a few black friends if any of my white friends have shared their feelings on the nation's civil unrest. I answered honestly---just a few. As for the others, I suspect either the conversation makes them feel too uncomfortable to broach with me...

OR...

They simply don't believe that there's any real inequality.

What I know for sure is that white men and women of my generation and above undoubtedly have no desire to alter the incredible livelihoods they enjoy and have been afforded because of systemic racism. And, honestly, I can clearly see why. But luckily for this nation, their offspring, and their offspring, don't feel the same way about non-white people. The young people see us for whom we are: HUMAN BEINGS who are WORTHY of EQUAL TREATMENT and OPPORTUNITIES.

I applaud MISS HAYLEY C. CLARK for recording this exchange. Whether it's authentic or a reenactment, it's STILL POWERFUL!

After the protests end and this coronavirus madness subsides too, I HOPE and PRAY that people will challenge themselves to treat EVERYBODY they encounter PRECISELY the way THEY want to be treated.

In my humble opinion, that's the ONLY way we can live together harmoniously.

It's a damn shame that it takes burning and looting businesses to have your voice heard.

But sometimes...I reckon you gotta do what you gotta do!