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So what are you afraid of these days? The coronavirus? Of course you are. Losing your job? Possibly. Being unable to provide for you and your family? Again, possibly. Of the Trump Administration and the future of our country and democracy? I would assume many of you are. Are you afraid of the protesters and the "riots"? Hopefully not.
This is not 1969. Law and order are important, but are they more important than the rights of the American people? I think these are questions we all need to ask. And if we are going to be resilient at a time when God knows we need to be, we're going to have to push through our fear and not allow it to control us and force us to make bad decisions.
As we are considering the options, we need to remember that there is a long and tragic history of racism in this country that is still alive and well. Domination and suppression are part of what has gotten us into this present mess. More of the same is going to create more of the same. What happened in Minneapolis has been condemned by every police officer I've spoken to and know. They are appalled at what happened and, unfortunately, they are being painted with the same brush. Not one law enforcement agency or organization has supported what happened to George Floyd on the streets of Minneapolis.
Black and brown people in our society have endured way too much over the years. It is time we came up with a different solution for handling race in this country. A real solution, not lip service. Change needs to become a major priority that we take very seriously. Racism may be more likely to destroy this country than the coronavirus.
The first thing is that we must admit that we are not colorblind. We never have been and probably never will be. Racism exists and is as strong today as it has ever been. It has had a permanent, and in some cases pervasive, effect on people of color and on our society in general. Admitting this is the first step to changing it.
In my next post, I will talk more about what we can do to deal with racism in this country by using the skills and attitudes that all of us possess or can possess. That is, the skills and attitudes of resilience.
