Thankfully most of the demonstrations across the U.S. today were peaceful. There was one in San Ramon also where people marched from our local Safeway (Gale Ranch) to City Hall near Bishop Ranch.
But the wound is deep. The anguish and heartbreak will not go away. Anyone who has seen the videos cannot remain not being horrified and scared.
George Floyd has unwittingly become the catalyst for change that is imminent. He has become a symbol of a person who was set up for failure. Whatever he did or said could not have saved him. I was reminded of Tom Robinson from “To Kill a Mockingbird”. Mayella comes on to him, but he gets accused of rape. Atticus proves that Tom could not have hit her on her right cheek since his left hand was injured. But the jury convicts Tom and sentences him for execution. The hopelessness of knowing that once you’re caught in the crosshairs of one or more prejudiced people, there is no escape. This once incident made people sit back and think about thousands of small instances where bigotry and prejudice won.
Is there a solution? Doesn’t this happen everywhere in the world? In many ways, big and small, humans are hurting each other and it feels sad. Aren’t all the 7+ billion people in the world part of the same species who are similar 99.9% to each other? But the U.S. is expected to be above other countries. It is a beacon of hope for the whole world, a country that was founded on the principle of equality, a status that others aspire to get to. But the image stands broken.
”We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.”
~ The Declaration of Independence