Heard a story on NPR this morning about how Police and others, supposedly security people, show up to protest without proper identification as to who they are. Really" Shouldn't we know the difference between the good and the bad guys. In the days of the "Wild West" at least the good guys wore white hats and the bad guys wore black. Not so these days, it seems. So how do we tell the good from the bad?.... the peace keepers from the terrorists? the legit protesters from the agitators?I'm not sure where we go with this. I only know we need another way.
In the wake of George Floyd's brutal death and that of so many others, protests have been organized across the world as a demonstration of humanity's stance against the acceptance of such behavior by authority figures,... the police. And the police haven't helped their cause by using rubber bullets, tear gas , pepper spray to control crowds, who, in most instances are peaceful.. Although there has been wide spread suspicion that outside agitation has been at play in those instances where there has been looting and rioting, there hasn't been a huge effort on the part of police to separate the good from the bad either.
So at the protests there are high suspicions that Police, when they can be identified, are present to agitate and threaten crowds. And indeed, theirs is a threatening presence. Whispers of "What are these guys up to?" or Why are they in the crowd taking pictures? "have been heard. And the truth is, we don't really know. IO think I heard that at one point when brief discussions did happen, the protestors were told, We're just here to keep an eye on things. Ok, ..but who's here to keep an eye on you.
The question of the day: How do we identify each other?
I'm a father, a husband, have a mortgage or rent an apartment, have a brother, or a sister, a mother and a father. I have a job. I happen to be a policeman. Its a job, good pay.. I can send my children to school, pay my mortgage and feed the family. But I'm very afraid. Afraid that my when I go to work in the morning, when I come home at night, I have no idea, what traumas will follow me through my front door. At the end of day, I have no idea if, the next time my family sees me, it will be in a morgue. So I live my life in constant fear. There are real bad guys our there. My job has given me a gun as a tool of my trade. Have they taught me how to tell the good guys from the bad? How do I know which one you are? Who,.. exactly are you?
Well, I'm a father, a husband, have a mortgage or rent an apartment, have a brother, or a sister, a mother and a father. I have a job. I'm not a policeman. I do not carry a gun as a tool of my trade. In large part though, my trade, my job, is to be African American in my city. Yes, I send my children to school every day. I pay my mortgage and feed my family. But I'm very afraid. Afraid that my when I go to work to be an African American in my city in the morning, when I come home at night, I have no idea, what traumas will follow me through my front door. At the end of day, I have no idea if, the next time my family sees me, it will be in a morgue. So I live my life in constant fear.
Oh, and a few other things. I live in fear that if I don't act a certain way on my job, I may be accused of being an angry, black man. Or, if I don't speak a certain way I may be considered less intelligent that my co-workers. As I walk down the street, does that white woman approaching from the opposite direction feel threatened by my presence. Or maybe I didn't get that promotion, because I am Black instead of not being qualified for the position Still uncertainties maybe. But solid questions born of generational trauma. These add to my fear, but that's who I am. Does that answer you question?
Well yeah,.. but to tell you the truth, I don't see much difference here, except when you get to the part about being considered to be angry, less intelligent, threatening or not getting a promotion you apply for. Those are big differences.
That's the conversation we need to have.
Who am I? Who are you? Can we even form an allegiance concerning the "bad guys" and maybe have a conversation with them too? Who are they, really? What has it been like to be them?
We are on a small and insignificant planet, rotating around a small and insignificant star, traveling through the cosmos. And we don't yet know how to identify each other. I find that absurd and know that we really do need to discover who's who. Who are these people I'm traveling through space with?
How about we talk with each other, and really, really listen to each other. But we've tried that before, you say... But we try, try again, until it works, until people of good will look at each other and speak of their commitment to justice, of their dedication to benevolence and fellowship. And know it will take time, And know that "The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice".
I believe that it bends toward so many things such as kindness, toward friendship, toward beauty, and that in this, the Universe bends toward knowing who WE,... really are.
