Recently I have been wanting
to say so much about Ahmaud Arbery, Christian Cooper, and George Floyd but I
have held back, afraid to say the wrong thing or have my words and thoughts
seem meaningless on a Facebook post. When I read and listen to the news about
Ahmaud, Christian, and George instantly my friends faces appear in my mind
Brian, Joe, Cornell, Bill, David, Reggie…
I can’t keep silent anymore.
My silence isn’t helping. I decided to post my thoughts here because I have
always said that my blog is a place of honesty and I show my true struggles.
When the story was shared on
the news about Ahmaud, months after he was killed, I was shocked and angry. I instantly
thought about the 100s and 100s + runs I had been on and no one had every
stopped me, questioning why I was running in a particular neighborhood. I often
drive to different neighborhoods to run and I have never been questioned. And I
thought back to the construction sights I have passed on my runs and praised
God when I have seen a porta potty that I could use. Too many times to count
the number of times I have entered a construction sight and used a porta potty
without being stopped or questioned (yes, I always looked for security cameras).
I have never run in fear, even at night in Central Park. No one should run in
fear! I see you Ahmaud!
When the story of Christian
Cooper was shared, I watched the video and thought to myself this woman is
crazy and how was Christian threatening her? I did post on social media after
her job fired her and I applauded them but then my focus went to the dog and
how she was handling her dog in the video. I apologize for that; I took the
focus off the real victim Christian Cooper. I see you Christian.
Yesterday, my friend Brian wrote
a post on Facebook to his white friends and family…” Do you see me? Do you
really see me?” it brought me to tears as I read it. Brian is a husband, a
father, a brother, a friend…I see you Brian!
I can not stand in your shoes;
I cannot begin to understand how you feel but I can stand with you. This has to stop. I am sorry, I hear you, and I
SEE YOU!!
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