Friday, May 29, 2020

I Can't Breathe

The world is going to hell in a handbasket. I watched in horror as a group of Minneapolis police officers murdered a man. I am sure I saw what everyone else saw. The officer nonchalantly knelt on a man's neck as the men begged for his life. I saw him go limp and the officer maintained his pressure on the man's neck. The man was black. The man was someone's child, a member of a family, as well as a member of a community. The fact that he is black should not matter …. but it does. His alleged crime was not a violent one and he was already in handcuffs.

The officers remain free, no charges have been filed against them. I am not black, but this outrages me. Imagine how all the black young men feel. They live in fear because they would seem not to matter to people in charge. Their protest turning violent should come as no surprise. They have tried peaceful protests and that would appear to be fruitless. I am not condoning the arson and looting. They are only hurting their cause. I do understand it.

I find myself shouting at my TV. All they need to do is arrest the men responsible for the senseless death of a man. Just arrest the men, put them behind bars and then begin the investigation. Just like they would do with any other man seen by many witnesses committing a murder, police status be damned.

So much media coverage and talk that seems to try to confuse the situation. I can no longer watch. I have plenty to do here anyway. I have a few reservations this weekend and of course, they are showing up before check-in time. Before I even open the store, much to my everlasting annoyance.

I was planting an oak tree when I saw the rig pull in. I headed to the store. HeWho was trying to take care of it for me, but I know better than to let that happen, as I already have a plan for placing rigs in my head. I enter the store just in time to prevent him from putting this rig in a spot that is already reserved. Call me a drama queen, but I can't help myself from saying, "I'm sorry, I thought I had more time, is it noon already?"

To his credit, the man did comply with my mask wearing rule, although he voiced his opinion that my rule is stupid. HeWho opines that the families of 100,000 people might not agree with him. "That's not that many." says the man who failed to listen when I told him that anytime afternoon was the time to check-in. I bit my tongue as this buffoon tried to project his opinion of a conspiracy being perpetrated by all the hospitals. I did not ask him how many deaths are acceptable to him. I am so tired and the long day stretches ahead of me.

The news just announced the arrest of the kneeling officer. Too little, too late? Only time will tell. The other three officers were complicit, as well. They should be arrested, too.

8 comments:

Debby said...

It was horrible to watch that video. I can understand their rage -

ellen abbott said...

they are so emboldened by Trump's racism and hate that they think they can get away with and in truth, they have been getting away with it forever. so yes, they've arrested him and charged him with murder and now they need to arrest the others for accessory or aiding and abetting. did you see the video of the white guy all dressed in black with a respirator that his everything but his eyes using a hammer to smash windows that started the destruction. a white guy. a guy who came, smashed windows, and then scurried off...not a protester. and I read that the fire at the police station is questionable since they evacuated it 20 minutes before the fire broke out.

and unbelievable that people think the hospitals are involved in a conspiracy to conflate the numbers. 100,000 isn't that many? what the fuck is wrong with people.

Linda O'Connell said...

I am also heartsick. We are so screwed and so divided. That cop has a history of alleged abuses. Going to get real now. He's been arrested.

And then you have punkin head shouting, if they loot, shoot. UGH I want to move to your campground and watch the grass grow. Might be able to tell a few jerks off for you, too.

dkzody said...

So much craziness. Where has that conspiracy idea come from, that hospitals are making up deaths? And that the virus is really a hoax and doesn't exist...I wish we could send all these people to an island and just let them live amongst themselves, not among us compassionate caring people who value our health.

Sandra said...

I agree. Thank you for posting.

Joanne Noragon said...

I suddenly find myself surrounded by, for want of a better word, Republicans, who also find 100K a not bad number. I'm going to bed. I'm too tired to deal.

River said...

I will never understand why a person's skin colour makes any difference to anything. People are people and that officer should have been arrested that same day. So much that happens in your country just horrifies the heck out of me.
Including those who think the virus is a conspiracy.

RunNRose said...

As to what River said, it horrifies me, too. I saw exactly what you saw, Kathy. And feel exactly the same way. Gov, Cuomo certainly told it like it is. Same old story over and over again. So many times since Rodney King. And nothing changes. I could never understand how my happening to be born white could possibly make me better, or more important, than someone who happened to be born black. I mean, it isn't as if I did anything to earn a prize of white skin. I was feeling pretty good when I saw quite a few white people out there protesting. Then, the mayor of St. Paul said that many who were arrested were not from the area. So you have the question of white supremacist groups. You know, some of those that tRump said were "good people". I feel a certain involvement in the racial issue because for 8 years I taught in the projects of West Dallas. Second and third graders. About 95% African American; the other 5% Hispanic. I remember so many of their little faces, and how dear they all were to me.