A friend of mine expressed his aggravation and puzzlement on why the protests are lasting so long. He thought 7 nights was long enough. “We get it. Protest but not all the destruction that has occurred”. I was puzzled about the destruction too and recently commented that on a news post to which another reader replied that maybe I didn’t truly understand their protest after all. He had a point.
I went about trying to explain to him the point they were trying to make, and opened my own eyes a little more in the process.
They are tired of being afraid of losing their lives simply because of the color of their skin. Racism is something we should be LONG past in this melting pot called America.
I went about trying to explain to him that, to the people who have been dealing with the racism year after year, 7 nights is nothing compared to what they’ve been living with. I told him it shows just how angry they are. I think they feel that if all they did was peaceful protest, it would just be ignored. They want us to understand that this all needs to stop. We can’t get that if we don’t have anything to feel that way about. It’s a demand for action. They have been dealing with life-threatening situations over and over.
They have lost lives with no end in sight simply because of the color of their skin. That doesn’t make it a free country for them and that’s wrong! They are correct, this needs to stop now. Their anguish, and desperation needs to be seen and felt. They are trying to show us the sheer velocity of what they are going through.
I could not condone violence or burning the store you get your milk and chips from, but maybe I understand it just a little bit more. This is on us all. We need to treat each other as fellow human beings who are no better than anyone else regardless of our skin color. We all have hopes and dreams. Isn’t that why we made Martin Luther King Jr Day a holiday?! It really is time we get it.
Compassion not contempt
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