Nothing can change the fact that George Floyd is still very dead, dead on the street with a Police Officer’s knee pressed against his throat, but from that moment where the living stood and watched the dying, they did not fail him, they testified in every sense of the word. I cannot stress enough that it was 17 year old girl who did not waiver and did not move and took the film that shook the world and yesterday the verdict shook those who waited to the core. And there were two sides to this Jury, those who believed in Chauvin’s innocence and those who watched that image and could think anything but the contrary. Mr. Floyd’s last words were Mama, and with that he fell into a place where one hopes he is with her in the place one goes when one passes from the earth. I don’t believe in heaven and hell but I do believe that we are a collective of souls that create the universe of energy that makes all of us whole.
With that verdict on all three counts, I will admit surprised me as I was sure the murder one would not take, but then again who doesn’t love surprises! And let the appeals begin and undoubtedly all will be challenged but that one will be the one most likely tossed. I don’t think Chauvin “intended” to murder Mr. Floyd but that day, that moment in time, it was just that – murder.
To die at the hand of cop, be that from a “taser”, a gun, a projectile, a baton, a push, a neck, an arm, a beat down or just by one’s own hand as you are so exhausted you choose to simply give up we know that Police in this country are not here to protect and serve anyone but their own. The Blue Wall cracked somewhat during this trial but as anyone who has traveled down these roads in America our infrastructure is one hot mess and our roads have been well traveled and will need a lot of stimulus in which to repair and rebuild. Police reform is one that will take more than a bulldozer. And how do we know this? Well we are at 3 deaths a day since Mr. Floyd died. We have numerous other stories of Police misconduct that did not end in death such as the Military Officer in Virginia who was not blinded by the light but by the pepper spray over a fucking license plate. We have the “Karen” a 73 year old woman whose arm was broken over a $14 dollar incident at a Walmart and held in a cell for 6 hours before taken to the hospital. We have the Rochester 9 year old pepper sprayed and cuffed; a 5 year old cuffed and berated by Police for being well 5; Or the zip ties to restrain a 6 year old. Was she at the Capitol March?
And only moments prior to the verdict an Ohio teen was killed by Police.
I read this story today and his story is like many:
A security guard saw that Stephen Vest was injured. The dark-haired 30-year-old’s left arm appeared to be bleeding as he walked out of the park just before 8pm on a warm night last October.
“What’s wrong? What happened? What can I do to help?” the guard asked Vest from his car.
Stephen Vest was in distress. In the next 10 minutes, he would allegedly pull out a knife and try to stab the guard. Vest was Tased and jumped on the back of a motorbike stopped at a traffic light. He would ask a truck driver to kill him, and pursue men through a pet store.
Just outside the store, local police were waiting. They too attempted to Tase Vest. And then they fired their guns at him 11 times.
So, once again the story ends as they all do, a person in distress DEAD. How is it that a man survived the Paradise wild fires only to end up dead by the Police as again what were they going to do? Well kill him.
We have no way of generating the change needed across the country to stop the tide of Police violence towards Americans who once they are in the eye range or should I say target range of those assigned to protect and serve, there will be little of that going on. This is been ongoing for DECADES. There are no bad apples, there is a bad tree and that needs to be cut down. Sorry but Mr. Rogers Officer Friendly was a fictitious character. And he is likely if not dead is well retired from the force. I want to point out the word force and I want to remind myself that many of the insurrectionist/seditionists were members of our Military and Police/Sheriff departments? Proud Boys? Really are your Mothers proud? Just call yourself what you are Angry White Boys. And do I hate White Men? Well kinda sorta yeah. But their fuck buddies, the White Sisters are not anything I am too keen on either. I must have been dropped on my head as a baby. But in all honesty, I like and dislike people on the color of their soul. And that is like the color of their skin but I see it and that is not the same as that what is within is something more fluid and more than the sum of their extrinsic parts. You can see that if you choose and if you choose not you don’t. And that is how Police sees you, sees me, sees us. They make the call the minute they see you. And based on any number of factors that have little to do with you, they, the Police, make the call to kill, beat, handcuff, taser or let you walk away. In one minute they hold the power of your life in their hands. They are God. They are Justice and they Exterminator. They will make that call and they can walk away and wipe their hands of it all. And yesterday on 4/20 of all days, as you needed to get high, the drug that has brought pain into the Black/Brown community as it is illegal and yet like a glass of Chardonnay to the white folk, the light was shined in the other direction. And this time Derek Chauvin had 12 sets of eyes on him and in about 24 hours those eyes took the time to debate and decide his fate. Imagine had he given that same amount of time to George Floyd.
Off the Rack Publishing 