Silence is Complicit

I need to preface this by saying this is insanely difficult to write, so please accept my apologies if it isn’t as coherent as I usually write.  I just don’t know how to put this into words in an articulate manner.

I was 14 years old on April 29, 1992.  Honestly I don’t recall what I was doing.  Knowing 14 year old me, I was probably looking forward to leaving school and going home to play Super Mario Bros 3.  I wasn’t a kid who watched or paid much attention to the news, but I was casually paying attention to Los Angeles, California and the drama playing out in a courtroom.  In early March, a video began circulating throughout the country of five officers from LAPD surrounding someone and mercilessly beating him in the middle of street during a traffic stop.  Being young and naïve, I wondered what the driver had done to deserve it.  I knew what I watched seemed brutal and excessive, but police are here to protect and serve so there had to be a reason for it, right?

The next month and a half rolled by with arrests and charges for the officers.  The driver, Rodney King, had every piece of dirty laundry aired out to the public.  He was on parole and fleeing from the cops so he must have deserved it, seemed to be the thought from the defenders of the officers.  Conversely, the African American community had rallied behind King.  While openly admitting that he didn’t have a choir boys’ record, he was still a human being that did not deserve to be assaulted.  He did not deserve to have 11 skull fractures, permanent brain damage, broken bones and teeth, kidney failure and a lifetime of emotional trauma.  Even at 14 years old, I could see something much larger was at play.  I just didn’t know what.

Aftermath of the LA riot

The afternoon of April 29^th the verdicts were read in the trial of the officers.  Moved out of LA to the suburb of Simi Valley, they were acquitted of the charges of assault and excessive force.  Hit with batons 56 times…not guilty.  Even my young mind couldn’t wrap my head around that.  I always believed police were there to protect and serve but five on one with that many strikes seemed like a lot.  Within hours, LA was ablaze.  Fires, looting, riots, assault.  The community in LA did not sit back.  They let their displeasure known.  For five days, the tension was palpable and eventually subsided, with hopes that the leaders would work towards easing tensions that were clearly drawn down racial lines.

I didn’t think I would every see anything like that again.  Over the last 28 years I have witnessed other situations that have ended in death, but nothing seemed to spark national outrage the way that King and LAPD did.  We’d see news reports that would cause us to sit up and take notice that there’s still tensions between law enforcement and African American communities, but they seemed to simmer down quickly.  We’d talk about it briefly and then things just seems to fade away.  From my perspective, I would think that there was more to the stories so maybe the initial response didn’t accurately portray the situation.  Honestly, that may have just been my way to use the “bad apples” argument.  There’s good and bad in every collection of people.  The bad were being weeded out so we’ll get to a point where law enforcement and every community can live harmoniously.  It was a utopian mindset.  Everything is going to work itself out and we’ll all be on the same page.  Such a naïve way to think.

See, I’ve never had a bad interaction with law enforcement.  I’ve been pulled over.  The interactions were good.  Move on.  When I was managing a movie theater, I was almost robbed.  Unbeknownst to me, the police would monitor me every night to make sure I was safe, knowing how much money would be flowing through the business.  They stopped anything from happening.  You develop a soft spot for them when they spare you from getting pistol whipped.  I have friends in law enforcement and I can’t imagine what they encounter on a daily basis.  Bluntly put, I’m not brave enough to do what they do and I have the utmost respect for them doing it.  However, they’re the good ones.  We all know there’s some bad ones.

George Floyd

The latest incident was George Floyd in Minneapolis.  Suspected of using a counterfeit $20 bill, a store clerk contacted police, who appeared on the scene.  Four officers pulled up and handcuffed Floyd.  After 8 minutes and 46 seconds, face down with an officer’s knee pressing into his neck, Floyd had died.  I watched the full video, as well as the security footage and alternate angles.  It was one of the most heart wrenching things I have ever seen.  I regret watching it because his pleas for help, calling out for his deceased mother, were ignored.  He repeatedly said, “I can’t breathe”, something we heard a few years ago in New York with Eric Garner.  Floyd said that 15 times during the incident.  He passed out and never regained consciousness.  While lying there, limp and motionless, the officer maintained his knee on Floyd’s neck, essentially choking him to death.  Once the ambulance arrived, the officers got up and without any care, threw Floyd’s lifeless body onto a stretcher.  Just another day in the office, apparently.  The video quickly found its way online and the news sources everywhere.  I assumed justice would be swift on this one; 4 officers arrested for the murder of George Floyd.  Boy, was I wrong.

It took three days of protests, peaceful and violent, to get an arrest.  When that arrest came, it was only one officer and the charges seemed less than they should have been.  The other officers, who had all been fired, were still free.  Outrage and frustration had boiled over nationwide.  It was another few days before the others were arrested.

So much happened in the days after the murder.  The world has since devolved into chaos.  Looting.  Assaults.  Tear gas into innocent crowds.  More assaults.  People wanted answers, they wanted justice, they wanted equality and they wanted to know why this keeps happening, seemingly to the same group of people.  They repeatedly got no answers.  Instead, they were met with brutal force.  Instead of having a compassionate ear, they were attacked and threatened.  Where was our leadership?  Hell, where’s our “leader”?  That’s right.  He’s hanging out in a bunker, like a coward.  He’s tweeting like a 12 year old with threats of violence and military presence on the American people he is supposed to work for, not against.  That’s no way to lead.  Leadership would have been to immediately speak out against the murder of George Floyd.  Leadership would have been going to Minneapolis to meet with the state leaders and public.  Show people that you care.  That didn’t happen.

I hate talking politics because it is such a divisive topic, but I’m not even sure what I say next is political.  It’s more about decency, humanity and equality.  The current president has no sympathy for you if you are not white.  I don’t even think it’s a question at this point.  Look at his response to Charlottesville, VA.  Look at his response to Lansing, MI.  These were people, carrying weapons with them, who were not met with the type of force we’ve seen this week.  The people of Lansing, yelling and berating the police vociferously, were not met with riot gear, tear gas and physical assaults.  They were allowed to voice their opinions and allowed to go home without issue.  The president called the racist protesters in Charlottesville “very fine people”.  The protestors in Michigan were “very good people”.  When Black Lives Matter protestors started in Minneapolis the response was “thugs” and “when the looting starts, the shooting starts”, a phrase coined by Miami police chief Walter Headley in 1967 after proudly proclaiming “We don't mind being accused of police brutality. They haven't seen anything yet.”  This is the type of “leadership” we have in the White House.  Riots and looting occurred as law enforcement increased their violence.  Violence begets violence and that was on full display.

Protesters attacked in Charlottesville

I’m astonished every day when I talk to the wonderful, smart people I have in my life that support him.  We’re in the most volatile time I have been part of, whether race relations or the fumbling of a pandemic, and his lack of leadership is glaring.  Yet, he still has his supporters.  I know my words won’t change their minds, nor will their words change mine.  I’ve seen an enabling of racism where a white athlete’s opinion is happily accepted (Drew Brees) and an African American athlete told to “Shut up and dribble” (LeBron James).  It just seems to me that racism is becoming more accepted and out of the shadows, which is the absolute wrong way for this country to go.  When you have a president that is perceived to be racist and supportive of those who also share that mindset, it empowers that ignorance.  I could go on and on, but I know those who agree with me will nod along while those who disagree won’t change their stance.  It’s why I hate politics.  Everyone digs into their opinion and refuses to look from a different angle.

Black Lives Matter.  It’s really that simple.  In saying that, no one is saying that other lives don’t matter; white, Asian, Mexican, police, on and on.  Yes, all lives matter but they can’t all matter until Black Lives Matter too.  Yes, there have been law enforcement crimes against other races.  Where’s your passion for that?  Why aren’t you protesting for fair police treatment?  If you feel like a white guy has been wronged by the police, where’s your voice for that?  Is it that you don’t really care about that, as it doesn’t affect your little bubble?  No wait.  I’ve got it.  You’d rather spend your time and energy continuing to oppress, belittle and treat others with inequality.  Do me a favor.  Go watch the end of the George Floyd video when those officers unceremoniously toss his dead body around like it is garbage and then tell me that they thought his life mattered.  They couldn’t have cared less about this man, his friends, his family, his 6 year old daughter.  He was just another victim, murdered because he was accused of using a fake $20 bill.  Say it with me.  Black. Lives. Matter.

Look, I have friends in law enforcement.  Based on posts in Facebook, I also have friends who are anti-law enforcement.  To quote a Tweet I saw recently, I think this sums it up perfectly:

“I respect the police, their jobs and their courage, but they’re leaders. Leaders are held to a higher standard. When those standards aren’t met there are bigger consequences. Put those offenders in jail forever to HELP prevent this from happening again.”

I have friends on every end of the spectrum so I made the conscious decision, many years ago, to stay silent on politics and situations such as this.  As I examine the world right now, I realize that my silence makes me complicit in this.  I didn’t understand that my privilege allowed me the choice to stay silent.  I can choose to interject an opinion or say something, but I can easily sit back and not acknowledge the inequalities that millions live with every day.  I thought that living how I do, with no prejudice in my heart and teaching my son that we don’t judge people by how they look, was good enough.  I felt that those efforts were enough to help this and the next generation change the world to be a better place.  I was wrong.  There’s a battle out there for equality and, until we raise our voices, this will continue.  It’s time for everyone to stand up and speak out for our fellow human being; irrelevant of color, background, sexual orientation, religious affiliation.

DMPD with some night hoops

As with most things, the attention is usually paid on the negative and not on the positives.  The overall protests have been peaceful, filled with good-hearted people trying to impact change.  This isn’t just civilians, but police as well.  So many moments of kneeling, walking arm in arm, handshakes and crying together.  The police have the hardest job in the world.  It’s not just enforcing the law, but sometimes just pulling up to a park for a quick pick-up basketball game on a slow night (happened in Des Moines a couple years ago).  They’re there to keep us safe.  However, there has to be accountability and repercussions when they do wrong…much like every day citizens.  We need transparency.  We need to know what’s happening in these situations where an officer has crossed the line.  And, damn it, it should never take days to arrest an officer or officers who clearly murdered a man with no care for his life.  We need everyone to be treated with respect.  Period.

The Rock

Do yourself a favor and listen to this.  (You didn’t think we’d get through one of my blogs without referencing The Rock, did you?)  He’s not coming from a political place.  He’s coming from a place of love and compassion.  He’s gently calling out someone he’s known for many years.  Let his words sink in.

It's been almost eight years since Rodney King passed away and, sadly, as a society we haven’t learned anything from the lessons of his unfortunate situation.  George Floyd.  Eric Garner.  Tamir Rice.  Philando Castile.  Michael Brown.  Breonna Taylor.  The list goes on and on.  “Can we all get along?”  That was what Rodney King was pleading for.  Unfortunately, with the lack of leadership we currently have, we still have a long road to go.