I am white. I can’t help that anymore than people of color can help the color of their skin. I realize that being white comes with privilege and I can sit in my safe little bubble of whiteness and not feel unsafe when a police officer is nearby. However, that feeling of safety has been crumbling, even in my whiteness, when I see how these officers can treat fellow human beings in the many videos of black people being shot, or knelt upon, or beaten until they die. I feel extreme sadness and pain on behalf of those who have lost their lives, or have lost a loved one to violence, based on the color of their skin. I feel overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of these incidents. I feel angry at a lack of leadership at the top (of many levels of government and other private organizations); we have “leaders” that are looking out for their personal interests and seem to have no compassion for the human beings they were selected to lead. I feel ineffective and afraid. In the world right now, not only do we have a major Black Lives Matter movement going on with peaceful (and sometimes not peaceful) protests, we have a deadly pandemic that is most likely spreading among those protestors who are trying to do so much good.

It’s got to stop being money over people.

It’s got to stop being ego over principles.

It’s got to stop being someone else’s problem.

It’s got to stop being “us” versus “them.”

I must pause writing my usual blog posts and acknowledge that I stand with the Black Lives Matter movement. I also stand with other people of color, as well as with people in the LGBTQ community. That we can treat humans who are somehow “different” than we are with such vileness, rage, and hatred, especially when we hold a position of power, is sociopathic and disgusting. No one should die over a possible counterfeit $20, no one should die for jogging, no one should die reaching for their wallet when asked for their license. No one should die because of the color of their skin, or who they love, or for peacefully following their religious beliefs. No one should die for whatever stupid reason people create to hate others. These people are people who love, who have families, who are mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, sisters, brothers, husbands, and wives. I am grieving for them.

My heart is heavy. This is all I can post this week.