A White Man’s View on the George Floyd Killing: Rage
A couple of weeks ago I was going to write an article about the Ahmaud Arbery murder in Georgia. I was disgusted by the video, the delay in the arrest, and the murder of an unarmed innocent man. I didn’t. I’m not sure why? Maybe it was I didn’t want to come across as exploiting the situation. Chasing the headline. Or some other dark reason buried deep in my psyche like it wasn’t my place to comment.
Now not even a month later, I watched another unarmed black man murdered in broad daylight by a Minneapolis police overseer (oops, I mean officer). The man’s name was George Floyd. I don’t know much about him. I haven’t even researched or clicked any articles delving into his personal life. Not because I don’t care but because for the moment, it’s irrelevant to what I witnessed — a cold-blooded murder.
I was disgusted when I first watched the video. There was no time to feel sad or weep. The feeling of disgust quickly activated the most primal instinct — rage. When you’re a non-violent person, and your rage hits, you internalize it. You process it. Try to make sense of it. And if you’re blessed enough to have an outlet like writing or music, you do that.
If you read the headline, you know I’m a white man. I’m 41 years old. I’m probably supposed to now tell you about why I am so passionate about this, but does it matter? No. I find the “black friends” comment to be one of the most clandestine racist things uttered by white “liberals” before they explain themselves. You’re not getting my reason yet. The obvious reason would be: A white policeman murdered an unarmed black man on video because the white policeman thinks it’s ok to treat black people like dog shit. Do I need another reason to show my disdain and rage for this kind of “sad event“?
Some white people go around saying they “don’t see color” as if that’s a free pass to never be called racist. But I do see color. I’m a lover of diversity. I also believe that all white people are racists. Don’t get me wrong, I think there’s a spectrum. But I can’t live in a society where I have privilege over others due to the system being designed for my success and deny it exists. It’s nonsensical.
The most infuriating thing to me though is this is nothing new and it’s going to continue until real changes are made. In 1992, L.A. rioted because a group of officers was acquitted of the beating of Rodney King. Now flash forward 28 years and the police have escalated their violence. Brazen enough to murder in daylight while being filmed. They might have scrubbed the elementary history books and call it the “triangle trade” but we know what it was. It’s the foundation of this country.
I will never pretend to know what it is like to be black. Or insinuate the feelings that a black person should be feeling upon witnessing a racist act. That’s just wrong and not my place. However, I do have a place. A place to release my rage. And I am going to use it.
I have no reason to write this article other than doing something, but that’s a lie. I have every reason to write this article because the people I love and you love are in danger. What is it like to feel I might be murdered by police when driving home late at night now, or back when I was stumbling home from the club in my twenties? But now if my stepson is out late on the weekends, I have to consider the police as a danger to his safety. Do I have to now consider that some redneck fucks might endanger my wife as she goes for a walk in our neighborhood? Fuck. That.
That’s my rage. That in this country, easily the most prosperous country in human history, we have the most rotten maggot infested underbelly. It’s time to remove these people from society. Expose them. Next time that office friend tells that racist joke, call them out. But that’s easy. Next time anyone with power or influence over you, makes a racist comment, joke, or innuendo. Take them down. These are the power brokers who allow vermin like Derek Chauvin to exist without a leash.
No more passes. No more “misunderstandings”. These passes and “misunderstandings” have bred an army of animals like the ones wearing blue in Minneapolis. Time to rage.
-The Mean
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