Am I a racist?
Most people will defend themselves that they are not racist. There is a serious problem of racism in some communities, we may not see it every day but we have to admit it is there in the shadows.
With the recent police murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, and I’ll call it murder because that’s what it needs to be identified as; murder.
Imagine going to a store, you have money to buy things, but the store clerk is following you around as if you’ve already committed a crime.
Imagine what that does to your psyche if this happens to you every time in every store and every day of your life. Imagine what that feels like when you walk into a gas station and the attendant immediately is suspicious you are going to rob them just because of the colour of your skin, the clothes you wear, the shape of your eyes, what you’re wearing on your head, your gender or how you identify?
If we cannot admit we have these thoughts, biases or experiences then how can we create change?
Keep the conversation going.
The police are friends?
Well, not to everyone. Most officers are good people and would never cross that line to violently abuse anyone in their custody. Yet it only takes a few and the silence of bystanders to destroy that trust.
Now imagine your entire community lives under that veil, the shadow of fear every day, year after year. Generation after generation watching innocent people being targeted, assaulted and murdered by the police who are meant to protect society.
As a retired RCMP police officer I found this deeply disturbing, with excessive use of force and absolutely no regard for the safety and pleas of George Floyd. As a police officer, our job is to serve and protect all of society. We cannot pick and choose who we protect and we cannot abuse the law. The rule of law must apply to everyone including the police officers. There has to be accountability.
I completely understand the nation-wide, global-wide protests on the historical inequality of poverty and racism-based violence by those in positions of power and authority.
Last week’s murder of George Floyd was the final straw igniting the firestorm that we are witnessing. The voices of the murdered, abused are speaking up to say enough is enough. This is everyone’s responsibility to speak up for those who are marginalized, who are vulnerable, who are poor, who are victims.
Martin Luther King, “In the end, we will not remember the words of our enemies but the silence of our friends.”