Enough is enough.

I’m feeling a lot of emotions right now, & I have been for quite some time. I know that due to these emotions, & my place of privilege, & my own unfortunate ignorance to many social/political issues, that I am not always going to say the right thing every time I speak or type, but I do not want that to stop me from trying.

Right now, America is at war. There is no way to sugarcoat this fact. Local & federal government bodies are attacking the people they have sworn to protect. Peaceful demonstrations & protests against police brutality & the blatant racism in the justice system have turned violent due to interference from the police, the military, our own elected officials, & other external bad actors. Police officers—who feel emboldened by a system that has always worked disproportionately in their favor & a president who incites violence with nearly every speech & tweet under the guise of so-called “law & order”—are tear-gassing protestors, driving vehicles through crowds, opening fire with rubber bullets & paint canisters on protestors & journalists & non-disruptive citizens on their own property, arresting journalists who clearly identify themselves as members of the press on live television, macing children, & pushing elderly citizens (who are walking with canes) to the ground. And these are just the violent acts we have seen caught on video.

They do all of this while disabling their body cameras & covering their badge numbers, and just as those four officers did when they murdered George Floyd in the middle of the street, they do all this while knowingly being recorded. They have historically gotten away with these acts at a much smaller scale, & now, in the midst of a public health & economic crisis, they continue to act out in violence, knowing that the system is still on their side.

Our country is on fire. Some people blame this fire on the people who are being burned the most. Our president calls these victims “thugs.”

Our country was built on protest. It was also built on the backs of black Americans, & now, in 2020, the weight of our country still bears down on them. White Americans storm the streets, armed with guns, to protest their inability to receive a haircut in the middle of a public health crisis. Black Americans, along with other minority groups, storm the streets, armed with milk in preparation for the inevitable tear gas, to protest their inability to safely walk home at night, jog in the day, feel safe in their own homes, wear hoodies & hats, carry Skittles, & countless other activities that I can do safely as a white American all while not being stopped, arrested, or murdered. The public health crisis of COVID-19 & the corrupt societal failure that is police brutality both disproportionately affect, harm, & kill black Americans.

Our country has the resources to arm every cop like a soldier, but it seemingly doesn’t have the resources to equip every doctor like a doctor. It has the ability to depend on a predominantly black workforce of essential workers during a health pandemic, but it seemingly doesn’t have the ability to make necessary healthcare services equally available to them.

I cannot speak for a community of which I am not a member, but I can always choose to speak with them. I urge others to do the same. Educate yourselves & listen, but do not place the burden of educating yourselves onto black Americans. They have long spoken about their struggles, issues, & concerns. Now they are busy, as they have been so often in the past, fighting for their lives, so please arm yourselves with knowledge so that you can join them in that fight.

I see members of my own LGBTQIA+ community who are angry or confused about protesting, rioting, & looting. Today marks the first day of Pride Month, which is celebrated every year in commemoration of the Stonewall Riots. A police raid at the Stonewall Inn in Manhattan prompted a series of spontaneous, often violent protests against the police brutality experienced by LGBTQIA+ people. These riots were a catalyst for the rights we now enjoy, & continue to fight for, today. While there are undeniably many meaningful differences between the Stonewall Riots & what we are experiencing today, the end goals are the same: equality, peace, & freedom from discrimination & violence from the police & other government agencies & systems. Protesting police brutality is this year’s Pride.

Property & merchandise can be restored, rebuilt, or replaced. Human lives cannot.

Protesters chant “No justice, no peace.” Our president tweets “When the looting starts, the shooting starts.” I have easily chosen to stand with those who advocate for justice & peace. I urge you to do the same.

For information on how to support protestors, even from your own home, or how to safely & smartly protest in person, please visit this link: https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co.