Stand Up

I do not know how to start this article... I have so many things on my mind about this topic and I just cannot fathom the thought of everything that is happening. It is not something that is just happening now, it has been happening for a long time. What is the difference?... Well, social media. Thanks to social media we are now aware of what is going on around us, good or bad, this does not mean that the thing we are seeing now just started happening. The difference is that we can see it now.

I am not going to sit here and tell you that I have seen the video of George Floyd being murdered by a police officer, because I would be lying. I have not seen the video...I cannot play more that the first 30 seconds. I cannot begin to describe the anger I feel when I see that no body is doing anything about it, they are literally watching a man being murdered and they do not seem to care. They do not care because of the color of his skin...this man was allegedly accused of using a counterfeit $20.00 bill. There was no need to use the amount of force that was used to arrest this man. George Floyd might have used a counterfeit bill that day but he did not deserve to die. The police officer did not have to hold him on the floor and kneel on his neck...there was no need for it. When you can hear a man, a person, saying that they are not able to breathe that should be enough to get you to stop whatever it is that you are doing. This man did not deserve to die.

George Floyd is now a symbol, a symbol of the fact that racism is alive and well not just in the United States of America but around the world.

While everyone, most people, is getting up and trying to help by spreading awareness of the fact that racism needs to stop. There is still people saying that the "Black Lives Matter" movement is not fair and that "All Lives Matter". To this I just have one thing to say...Yes, all lives matter, but when was the last time you were followed in a department store by an employee for no reason?, When was the last time that you were scared that something you did was going to be perceived differently because of the color of your skin? When was the last time that you thought "Would it all be better if my skin color was lighter?"...The answer is provably never. Being white is an automatic blessing while being dark skinned or black is almost a curse for some.

Racism has no place in the world, yes, all lives matter but black lives are being taken simply for the fact that they are black. The color of our skin should not define who we are, the color of our skin does not define our race, or our capabilities. We need to be able to see everyone as one. We are all human, we are all the same and skin color does not change that. We need to be aware that right now we need to spread the message that being black does not mean "danger", being black should be the same as being white. Privilege means we have a choice, a choice to stand up and understand the fact that we will never be able to understand and support them in order to be able to get rid of this idea that "white is better"...no, white is not better. But the human race is better, we have the capability of being kind to one and other and seeing the good before deciding to see the "bad".

BLACK LIVES MATTER and I stand with you.