Our justice system is unjust. It is biased and immoral. It is slow and it is forceful. It protects the strong and harms the vulnerable. It is messy, imperfect, and broken. Because it was created by messy, imperfect, broken people.
Too often in our country there continue to be instances of the white majority holding a belief so vastly wrong - that they are superior, supreme, better than people of color. Specifically, that white skin is better than black skin.
It is wrong that armed white men can shout, storm, and blockade a governor in a state capitol building while officers stand silent. It is wrong that this is deemed an appropriate expression of the First Amendment "Right to peaceful protest". It is wrong that none of these people have been arrested or shut down. Seeing an angry person carrying a rifle does not portray peace to me, it instills fear.
It is wrong that an unarmed black man JOGGING in a neighborhood was spotted by white men with access to guns, chased by one truck, blockaded by another truck, attacked while attempting to run around the truck, was shot multiple times, and then died as his killers stood and watched. He was literally treated as an animal being herded to its slaughter. I have no doubt these men knew exactly what they were doing - and it was not, as they claimed, a "citizen's arrest". One of the men involved in this recorded the action on video.
It is wrong that law enforcement in this case had access to this recording and did not charge or arrest the men involved until the video made its way to the public and there was outcry. Why was Ahmaud Arbery killed on February 23rd, and yet the men responsible were not arrested until May 7th? I don't know the whole history behind the creation of laws and the way charges are worded or how they work. Someone with political science expertise can explain the ins and outs of the legal system in Georgia.
I'm speaking out against the violent and deadly hatred that exists the hearts of too many in this world. Racism exists in this county. Racism is wound into every system that makes this country function minute-by-minute. The elevation of the white man over everything has killed humans who have never been a threat to their existence or identity.
For too long I have sat and mourned silently, on my own, for only the stories I know: Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown Jr., Tamir Rice, Sandra Bland, Atiatana Jefferson, Philando Castile, Eric Garner, Botham Jean. I know there are more. I know there will be more.
Living a life of privilege I can say that there are two sides to every story. In lacking the fear that comes from the color of my skin I benefit from being the recipient of others who believe there are two sides to every story.
There are not two sides to a story when one side has been killed by the other without the opportunity to tell his or her story. There are not two sides to a story when one side has silenced the voice of the other. There are not two sides to a story when systemic racism courses through our legal system and fails to protect the weak and vulnerable. There are not two sides to a story when one side limits, or even cuts off, access to avenues that allow them to advocate for and elect others who will be positioned to champion and protect them.
Three men in Georgia are not alone in their views and their utter disregard for the value of human life. These are not the only men or women who live with the vile belief that they have been born with the right to have power and dominion over another because of the color of their skin.
We are a broken nation. Our brothers and sisters of color have been telling us for decades. We have not listened. We have worked continuously to silence and ignore them.
I have not listened. I have been silent.
