There's been a lot happening in the last couple of months. Hell, in the last eight days. We've been under quarantine dealing with COVID-19, the worst pandemic since the 1918 Flu, which has killed over 100,000 Americans. On top of that, every night for the last eight nights in a row, people have taken to the streets, risking the spread of COVID-19, to protest the brutal murder captured on video of George Floyd, a nonviolent black man. We've all seen the brutal murder video on social media or news media outlets. It's hard to watch. An officer was seen with his knee pinned on George Floyd's neck. There were people there who witnessed the murder, and it was filmed by a 17-year old girl. George Floyd died eight minutes later, his last words being, "I can't breathe." He called out to his mother in his dying words. The national outcry for his murder has been resounding over a week later still.
There was a lot of rioting and looting reported and seen on video. However, what the media isn't reporting nearly as much is the peaceful protests that are going on in the midst of the chaos. This is sort of like the 1960s but there's one major difference.
There weren't this many different and varied people all protesting the same thing in the 1960s. That is new. This will lead to many young people becoming 'awakened', tuned in to the systemic issue of police brutality against black men in America. This will lead them to other issues that are important to them, specifically them, their families, and their communities, making them more educated and more effective in voting and voting measures.
This is the way we can change America. Yes, peaceful protests are good. And yes, some of it will be bloody, as were the protests of the 1960s. But, we can't let the media use us, the protestors as an angry mob. We must galvanize our forces, register more voters, and vote in the right people that will help our cause, whatever that might be. In this case, fixing the problem of police brutality against black men, it's going to be a long fight that could take decades.
Police departments are local entities, not national. So to stop this problem, one would have to go to the heart of every single local police department and vote for the right police leaders, and all that could take a very, long, time. But the people demand justice, now! Right? It's not quite so easy. You can quell the chaos, but you cannot stop the wheels of justice. This is where time works for you. That's where all those protesters come in.
Personally, I've been accosted by cops many times. I'm a black man. Luckily, I was never harmed or arrested. But many times as a teenager in Wisconsin, the cops would ask to see what was in my backpack and check it. They were racist cops but I got lucky. They could've been looking for a violent offender one of those times and things could've escalated in some way. I could've been George Floyd. Any black man could. That's the problem. That's why we're enraged.
As if that wasn't dark enough, there's a small chance that despite all this, the protests won't change much, and more black deaths at the hands of white police officers will take place? What will be the response then? Well, who knows, right? This goes to show that one justice for one death isn't enough and that we must go beyond, into voting measures that will counter this. Am I hopeful? Yes. Optimistic? Yes. But thinking about how bad the protests have been, how the issue has hundreds of years of white racism and hatred, there's a feeling I get that these protests won't be enough, as powerful as they are. Your protest voice is strong, but your voting voice is much stronger. That's my opinion. I thank and value all the protesters. I just wish there weren't so many looters and rioters. Not to mention the businesses burning down their buildings for insurance money. But that's another story the media isn't telling.
Next, it's all one story, it's all apart of one single story, which is ours right now; 2020, winter lockdown, beginning of summer quarantine, COVID-19, George Floyd's death, past 100,000 cases, the second wave has hit, Trump orders military to attack protesters for a photo op at church, Trump Administration stops anything to do with the containment of coronavirus. Although it is morbid to put all of this together, I think it's really important to see it all as one big picture, rather than say, just the protests, racism, police brutality, or just COVID.
When you see it for what it really is, you have to ask yourself one question; What is the turning point for Republicans? At what point will they stop, will they let this President step down or be removed out of office before they give him unyielding powers? Is there never a time where they will say no to this President, will they ever relinquish power, will they ever realize that they're fueling this frenzy, this angry mob, and to what purpose? I'm no conspiracy theorist but it doesn't take a genius to know that the Republicans will do anything it takes to keep control and to keep Trump in power. They've proven that time and again. And anyone who disagrees with Trump gets fired and replaced by a croony who does agree with everything he says. It's no wonder democracy is dying in darkness. We have a Nero rather than a President of the United States.
This is why your vote matters more than ever. That, and taking part in your community, helping them in whatever ways you can. You can protest if you want, but voting is even better. If you do both, then you are a Godsend. Don't forget that great things happen out of catastrophe. We will achieve great things together as Americans in the coming days, months, and years. This lodestar democracy has seen better days but with your help, and more importantly, your vote, America can live up to its name, and we can live in a better, more nuanced America, where the peoples' voice is heard as well as felt.
