We Breathe Differently

We live in a world of inequality.

Where my boyfriend and I live together, yet our lives are completely different.

You see, we could both walk into a store, and the owners' eyes will follow my boyfriend the entire time; not knowing that I'm probably more likely to steal. Maybe it's because I know if I get caught, I'll get a slap on the wrist, not a gun to my head or a knee to my neck.

He can't breathe in this world.

Nothing is fair.

You see, we could both be pulled over, but the actions we take will be different. I will reach for my license and registration. The police won't even watch my hands. He'll keep his palms faced upward on the wheel until he is directed otherwise. A hand lightly resting on the holster of their gun.

I can breathe in this world.

Nothing is fair.

You see, I notice the sky and how it looks differently on any given day. He notices the neighbors staring at the abnormality of an interracial couple. I notice the dog at the end of a leash, pulling its owner with excitement. He notices the people purposely crossing the street to avoid walking by him. I notice the way people smile back at me when I greet them. He notices the way someone avoids eye contact with him.

It doesn't matter which of us is kinder. It doesn't matter which of us has done more right or wrong.

We live in a world of inequality.

One where he walks out of the house, unaware of whether he will make it home to us at the end of the day.

One where a white man rapes a woman behind a dumpster, and is free. Yet a black man is gunned down by strangers simply because he does not look the same.

The people of the United States are more divided than ever, when we are supposed to be "land of the free/home of the brave".

Where is the freedom? Where is the peace?

We all should be able to look into a mirror and say:

"I am safe." "My skin color matters." "I matter."

"I can breathe."