"I cannot breathe"
I don’t watch the news. Instead I watch Philip DeFranco on Youtube whose content revolves around current events. George Floyd was the center of his recent video. As I watched and listened to a man beg for his life my stomach soured. I can't not talk about it.
I’m having such a hard time writing this. I don’t know what to say. I don’t know how to say it.
But I lay awake last night thinking about it. I have this thought that I can’t touch on this because I’m not a person of color because I haven't experienced racism. But I am a person. Just like George.
The original police statement said that he was resisting arrest, offering that as a reason for excessive force. But when a video went viral on Facebook we got a glimpse of the truth.
And that’s what makes this whole case another level of terrifying.
What would George’s death had been like if the bystander’s video hadn’t offered reality?
His family would have been left thinking their brother, their cousin, their friend had fought against law enforcement. Instead they know how he begged them for air. Instead we all know that he wanted to breathe.
What is this lie that your skin color defines value? And why, why the hell are we believing it?
Where do we get off deciding that one person is more valuable than another, and why is that lie centered around white skin?
I’ve heard it said that the ground at the foot of the cross is level. No one is higher, no one is lower, no one is more or less. We look differently to reflect the creativity and beauty of God. And we ought to embrace that, not put our knee on it’s neck.
George Floyd was murdered. Men made a choice. They chose pride, ignorance, and power over life.
I’ll be damned if I ever do the same.
