The World is Watching

And we don’t look too good.

George Floyd was lynched on Memorial Day in the streets of Minneapolis by a police officer. I watched the recording* believing that the officer would realize he was being recorded and come to his senses. I did not expect that he would be willing to sacrifice his career with the whole world watching just to promote fear in the hearts of black people. But some people are just that maniacal. And heartless.

This pandemic is not the only social illness we are fighting. There are some people who are much more sick in this world than a virus could ever make them. As the mother of two black children, one of which is a man now and the other who has special needs, I pray they never encounter hateful police. I hate though that after awhile, it seems they’re the only ones around. Where are all the good ones people say are there? Why don’t they police the bad ones better so that all people can live peacefully?

I can’t describe the pain I felt watching the recording. I can’t describe the outrage I felt at some of the tone deaf responses afterward. It took me a few days to even make this drawing (blogging allows you to back post). These things can take you to a dark place. But I appreciate those members of the lettering community who have attempted to bring light to the issue from what appears to be sincere hearts. You can see some of my favorite quotes here, here, and here.

I also appreciate my own white friend who has stood up to say something about what it means to be a true ally. Unfortunately, though I have quite a few white friends, I only have one courageous or maybe empathetic enough to do this. This is my own feeble attempt to make sense of it while, hopefully, making tomorrow better for black and brown children like mine.

*Warning: The video is highly traumatizing. Please use caution should you choose to view it.