Moving forward
Our country just experienced a remarkable and somewhat jarring two week period. I don't think I need to replay all of the events in great detail, but the broad strokes are that the United States and a number of other countries are having the kind of open and thought provoking conversations about race and inequality that should have happened long ago.
What started with the death of an arrested suspect at the hands of police officers in a major metropolitan city has evolved in such a short time into a stirring movement that has encompassed a broad cross-section of people of all ages, genders, ethnicities and backgrounds. There are discussions at the city, state and federal levels of government about new laws and regulations preserving the rights of citizens and limiting the authority of police departments and other enforcement bodies.
The protests that began with the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis were marked with anger, pain and outrage, and were colored by concurrent displays of violence and destruction of property, mostly retail establishments, and were followed soon thereafter by looting. While it appears that there were people outside of the main group of protestors who were responsible for the more violent acts, it remains in question who they are, what organizations they're associated with, and what their ultimate agendas might be or have been.
I say "have been" because over the past few days, the level of violence and destructive behavior seems to have receded considerably. In Washington, numerous members of Congress could be seen either visiting with protestors or actively marching with them. It's encouraging that most of those Congressional members are not currently campaigning for reelection, so their motives would appear to be purely solidarity with the main aims of the protests.
These most recent days we've seen a lot of signs and talk of "defunding" police departments, but few people have gone to the extent of defining what that would actually mean. Some cities have vowed to reallocate existing funding that was originally directed to their respective police departments to community and social programs. I think that some specificity would help everyone to better understand this and come to agreement on the best approaches, as each city of size has somewhat different challenges in resolving the relationships that currently exist between their police departments and these cities' citizens of color.
We've also seen more discussion from famous folks who are openly stating that they didn't understand what African-Americans experience regularly but will be more open to listening and accepting what they're hearing. That's a good sign, and one that many of us, myself included, can follow in everyday life. We who are not minorities cannot directly relate to what it's like to drive or walk or shop or live while black or brown or red or yellow. But those who can relate have been telling us what it's like, and we all need to start listening. A lot.
I hope that this is a significant turning point in our country's ongoing evolution. My fear is that we've regressed in the past three-plus years, but it's not too late to resume some of the progress we may have been making. We all play a part in this, and even if it's simply to vote when our opportunity comes, we need to participate as much as we are able.
What started with the death of an arrested suspect at the hands of police officers in a major metropolitan city has evolved in such a short time into a stirring movement that has encompassed a broad cross-section of people of all ages, genders, ethnicities and backgrounds. There are discussions at the city, state and federal levels of government about new laws and regulations preserving the rights of citizens and limiting the authority of police departments and other enforcement bodies.
The protests that began with the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis were marked with anger, pain and outrage, and were colored by concurrent displays of violence and destruction of property, mostly retail establishments, and were followed soon thereafter by looting. While it appears that there were people outside of the main group of protestors who were responsible for the more violent acts, it remains in question who they are, what organizations they're associated with, and what their ultimate agendas might be or have been.
I say "have been" because over the past few days, the level of violence and destructive behavior seems to have receded considerably. In Washington, numerous members of Congress could be seen either visiting with protestors or actively marching with them. It's encouraging that most of those Congressional members are not currently campaigning for reelection, so their motives would appear to be purely solidarity with the main aims of the protests.
These most recent days we've seen a lot of signs and talk of "defunding" police departments, but few people have gone to the extent of defining what that would actually mean. Some cities have vowed to reallocate existing funding that was originally directed to their respective police departments to community and social programs. I think that some specificity would help everyone to better understand this and come to agreement on the best approaches, as each city of size has somewhat different challenges in resolving the relationships that currently exist between their police departments and these cities' citizens of color.
We've also seen more discussion from famous folks who are openly stating that they didn't understand what African-Americans experience regularly but will be more open to listening and accepting what they're hearing. That's a good sign, and one that many of us, myself included, can follow in everyday life. We who are not minorities cannot directly relate to what it's like to drive or walk or shop or live while black or brown or red or yellow. But those who can relate have been telling us what it's like, and we all need to start listening. A lot.
I hope that this is a significant turning point in our country's ongoing evolution. My fear is that we've regressed in the past three-plus years, but it's not too late to resume some of the progress we may have been making. We all play a part in this, and even if it's simply to vote when our opportunity comes, we need to participate as much as we are able.
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