"Minneapolis is burning." That is what the tweet said, with multiple photos showing the devastation in Minneapolis. Actually, let me rephrase that a bit.
That is what several tweets said, most accompanied by photos and videos of businesses, some big, some small, that were vandalized on Wednesday night. That isn't where the story began, but of course, you know that.
Hell, the story didn't even start on Monday when the cops killed George Floyd.
The easy answer would be to blame our past and the people that founded this country on a system that dehumanized people. However, passing that blame lets us off the hook. We deserve to be on the hook. We are here now. We can't pass the blame anymore. We need to take the blame. We need to a part of the solution. When I say we, I mean the people that look like me. The privileged white people.
It is sad we have to continue to deal with unwarranted death at the hands of the police and nothing seems to change. At least in any meaningful way.
It is sad people feel the need to come to the defense of cops immediately after a situation like this.
It is sad people still have to protest to have their voices heard.
It is sad people show up to a protest just to start violence.
It is sad police have to use tear gas and rubber bullets at a protest that is calling for equal rights and justice.
It is sad people turn to riot because they feel they have no other way to have their voices heard.
It is sad a housing development that could have meant a good home for people is gone.
It is sad people loot out of opportunity
It is sad people have had their businesses destroyed, possibly forever.
It is sad people may not have a job anymore because their workplace is gone.
It is sad people blame the media for covering the riots.
It is sad people will use riots as a terrible excuse to not push for justice or stop following the real story.
It is sad it has taken me so long to be comfortable to voice my own frustration.
It is sad I have not done more.
Tonight is going to bring more sadness.
The coming days will bring more sadness.
The sadness won't end after the cops are charged.
The sadness won't end when (hopefully) the cops go to jail forever. I saw this quote and thought it was appropriate. "If you have a critique for the resistance, for our resistance, then you better have an established record of critique of our oppression. If you have no interest, if you have no interest in equal rights for black people then do not make suggestions to those who do. Sit down." -Jesse Williams I can't change much of the sadness mentioned above but there a couple fall directly on my shoulders and it is about time I do more. I hope my friends and family help me keep that promise and call me out if I slip. They don't owe me that and it won't be their fault if I fail. That, like it always has been, is on me. It is time for me to be a better ally. But, and this is a big, but, I want to make this clear, don't you dare feel sad for me. This is about George Floyd and the rest of the oppressed out there. I am not oppressed. I don't have to live in fear. I don't have to feel scared for my life if I get pulled over. I will never know what that is like.
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