George Floyd

GEORGE FLOYD

Say his name. George Floyd.

What are you doing right now? For myself, I just got done watching an episode of Penny Dreadful: City of Angels with my wife. And you know what, it was nice not having to think about the current situation our country is in.

The coronavirus is still running rampant, tropical storm activity is starting to pick up, and now we’re dealing with an epidemic of police violence.

But you know the sad thing about that? I do not have to live in that life. My family is pretty well insulated from it all. If we want to take a few moments and be completely oblivious to what is going on around us, we can just stay home and turn on another TV show. That is white privilege.

I won the genetic lottery. I’m a blonde haired, blue eyed male. I grew up in a pretty stable household, went to good public schools, and have a loving and supportive family. Not once have I ever had to worry about whether I would be safe walking down the street.

My childhood house was in a developing neighborhood. You know what my friends and I did? We went through all of the houses as they were under construction. We played with all the materials, did stuff we probably shouldn’t have, and just had fun. Not once did anyone approach us or bat an eye. That is white privilege.

And as someone who has grown up in South Carolina, the norm around here is that you need to view people a certain way. And if you truly view people as equals, you’re the outcast. While that’s generally annoying, it’s not something I’ll ever have to worry about losing my life over.

Black Lives Matter. Have you thought about what that statement stands for? On the surface, most people say something like “Yeah, but all lives matter. We’re all equals.”

No, we’re not.

We all know that systemic racism has been ingrained into this country’s history. But some people believe that we’ve moved past all of that. Yet, we see time and time again where black people are subjected to horrific things.

The point of Black Live Matter is that there can not be true equality until black lives are truly observed and treated as equals. It is simply not right to denigrate the BLM movement. People are fighting for their lives here in the United States. People are fighting for their right to attend church without being massacred.

We need to work as one to end systemic racism once and for all. I know that is such an easy thing to say, but if enough people stand up and fight, things will change. People everywhere are starting to wake up. Not in the sense of being a “woke Karen”. No. I mean instead of just donning pink hats in the suburbs, people are taking it to the cities’ streets.

And on that note, please do not say anything about how the looting or destruction of property takes anything away from this revolution. A material object can be replaced. You know what can’t? GEORGE FLOYD.

SAY HIS NAME.