Sad and not surprised by the riots in Atlanta last night. I’m
filled with rage and I don’t face racism every day. I don’t see people who look
like me murdered on camera on a regular basis. I feel like America is so broken
right now and I don’t know what to do or where to start.
Killer Mike. For a guy who did not want to be there and had
nothing to say it was 8 minutes of brilliant testimony. “Plot, Plan,
Strategize, Organize and Mobilize.” It should be required viewing. https://youtu.be/JxHWVJYXkeU
I wonder sometimes how my black friends function. How they
can sit in a meeting with me talking about some inconsequential work issue and
not want scream at me or rip my head off. This who system and country is so
messed up right now. And it's gotten worse day by day over the last 3
years.
Which leads me to my next bullet. It’s absolutely political.
From the racist occupying the White House to his enablers through every level
of government down to local reps who vote against hate crimes bills and voting
rights and for loosening gun laws that arm and enable Ahmaud Arbery’s killers. And
don’t give me any of the “both sides suck” bullshit. We have a decision to make
in November. It’s like picking from two pizzas. One may have olives and
mushrooms you don’t like and not have the pepperoni you want, but the other has
a giant turd in the middle of it. This should not be a hard choice. Unless you
just love the turd. Vote. Them. All. Out.
Running. I’ve been a runner for over 30 years. Right after
Jenny and I got married we lived in a new neighborhood and I would always check
out the new houses, sometimes looking for a door that was not locked so I could
see what they looked like. I thought maybe the builder might come up and be mad
sometime but even that never happened. It never dawned on me that a neighbor
would come up to me with a gun. It’s just not part of my reality.
Also running. I just finished listening to The Fire Next
Time by James Baldwin. Some of what he describes from the 50’s and 60’s
seems to have barely changed. “God gave Noah the rainbow sign, no more water
but fire next time.”
Police. I got pulled over by my local sheriff’s deputy last
year at 2 am. I ran a red light two miles from my house after I’d been driving
all day and was just exhausted. He asked me if I had been drinking (I had not).
He never asked me to take a breathalyzer or field sobriety test, he never asked
me to get out of my car. He ran my license and tag, told me to be careful and
sent me home. Not even a warning. How do I square that with the experience so
many of our black friends and neighbors have?
