I CAN'T BREATHE

Last week, America witnessed another horrific murder of an African-American man at the hands of the police. George Floyd was the man's name, and he was murdered in cold blood by Minneapolis police officers. Fortunately - or rather horrifically - someone recorded the killing, and this slow, drawn-out murder has been played millions of times in the past week.

This killing was different from other killings of African-Americans, which have become much too commonplace. What made it different was the outpouring of disgust, outrage, and protest by people of all races - not just African-Americans.

To watch the protests each night is to watch the melting pot that makes this country great. People of all races and creeds - nearly all young - have taken over the streets in cities across the country. As of tonight, there had been a protest in every state in the nation, despite the fact that this killing occurred in Minneapolis.

What accounts for this sea change? I think it is because white Americans were finally able to watch in slow motion as a black man was assassinated with impunity by a man whose job was to keep the peace, not break the peace, I think it is because the coronavirus pandemic has taught us not just that we are all contagious but also that we are all connected. African-American have been the disproportionate victims of the virus, just as they have been the predominant victims of oppression in this country. At some point, enough becomes enough, and we are at that moment.

I hope that we see fundamental structural change in our policing, our understanding of one another, and most of all our politics. Now is the time to raise of voices and to be heard. Let this be the beginning of a national reckoning with our tainted past of racial injustice, and let this please spell the end of the current presidency.