Wednesday, June 3, 2020

I Cant Breathe



Children playing in a park
Twilight skies and moonlight mist
Tough little guy never had a chance
I can’t breathe
Suffocating, always hating
Things aren’t the way they are supposed to be.
Waiting, waiting, waiting for the other shoe to drop.
Feared by many, loved by some
He’s getting away, does he have a gun?
I can’t breathe
Lucy, Lucy against the law
Can’t fight 5 cops, you have to fall
Making money because there is no work
A life was taken on the walk
I can't breathe
Always waiting out of sight
Locked down, knocked down, rollover on the ground
Taking a knee is blasphemy
Especially on someones neck
I can't breathe.


I can't say that I know how it feels to be a person of color in this country today, to have to live with the fear of injustice that they have to deal with on a daily basis.  I think that we take for granted that everything is fair when in reality it's not.  

Watching this last video of the death of George Floyd, knowing I was watching someone die, when it was completely unnecessary, almost made me throw up.  Yes, I did cry. Will this be the last video of a person of color being killed?  I really hope so.  I don't think I can watch another one.

I can not group all police in with the one in this video, there are bad people in every profession, bad lawyers, bad surgeons, bad doctors, bad corp exec (Enron, remember that?) I think many, many police were just as outraged with watching that video.  Many came out against it in the days that followed.  I think we all need to remember that police are people too, they are doing a job and they are told what to do just like anyone else.  And yes, we need them and always will.

The real people that need to be held accountable are our politicians that have let this kind of behavior go unpunished.  I'm not talking about the federal government, this is all state and town.  Your local legislators are the ones that allow bad cops to get 18 citations for undue force and remain on the job. You know everyone makes mistakes but when you have to be constantly "spoken to" about your behavior, maybe they should just fire you?  Most local police departments answer to the Mayor of your town.

This is why it's so very important to VOTE. Don't just show up for the presidential election every 4 years, vote every year.  There are elections every year and you should show up and be counted.  Mostly these elections on a yearly basis are for your local and state leaders.  These are the people that affect your daily life.  Ask them questions, reach out to them, find out where they stand on the issues that are most important to you!  If you really want to be heard...Stand up and VOTE!

Anyway, I hope the United States finds peace soon. Maybe there is a reason why all these trials have been happening in the year 2020?  I'm probably wrong...but its something to think about. 😁