Can’t Breathe

“I can’t breathe.”

In what world do you hear those words and not do something about it? It’s a desperate plea for life…for a breath. Obviously, the police officers that killed George Floyd heard it and didn’t do anything about it. But as I sit here watching coverage of another day of demonstrations in New York and around the country, I remember those same words from Eric Garner in 2014. I heard it then. Have I done anything about it? Have you done anything about it? The reality is that a lot of people have been choking from the weight of racist systems and economic inequality on their necks. Are we standing around watching?

We live in a time where you can’t effectively describe anything because, thanks to our electoral gaffe, everything now is the “greatest” or “worst” ever. How do you adequately describe a global pandemic that claimed more lives in the U.S. than anyplace else? How do you adequately describe being the richest country on earth with a quarter of our population unemployed? How do you adequately describe the most catastrophic economic implosion since the Great Depression? How do you adequately describe that we have a bunch of cops watching one of their own kill George Floyd over a counterfeit twenty 30 years after Rodney King? All good? Great again, perhaps?

Stock market’s doing just fine though…

I really hope this civil disobedience makes a difference and leads to some progress. No one is advocating for looting and violence, but give me a break…do you think anyone of wealth and means was jumping through a busted window at Foot Locker last night? I guarantee you no one of wealth and means has ever had Derek Chauvin’s knee on the back of their neck either. The attempts to try and make this about crime are just vile…people can’t fucking breathe! And it doesn’t need to be a left-right thing. Conservatives constantly preach for liberty. Liberals constantly preach for justice. Both are in the fucking pledge. If you criticized the way Colin Kapernick tried to raise awareness, I expect you’ll be supportive of those marching for liberty and justice for ALL now, right? No? Then sit this one out...and take your breath.