Unrests Across America

Today we went dark in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. People across the globe joined in to show their support as we are outraged by the continued killing of black people in America. 

In the past 7 days, there have been protests and unrests in cities all across America, which are the result of the outrage of the community about the killing of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, during an arrest by the Minnesota Police Department. George was handcuffed and restrained and being completely cooperative during the arrest. However, a white police officer kept his knee on George's neck for over 8 minutes (while two other police officers held him down) and despite begging that he can't breathe, the officer continued to kneel on him and ultimately caused his death due to asphyxiation.  The video evidence is clear and demonstrators are desperately calling for an end of police violence. Unfortunately, George is just one many recent black people who died due to brutal police force. 

I'm disheartened, saddened and disgusted by this violence and what has followed over these past 7 days. While protests in some cities turned violent (mostly looting and property damages but also some injuries), most people just want to show their support for the black community and raise awareness to stop the racism that is still so alive in this country. I do condemn the riots and attacks on the police force though as problems will not be solved thru violence and only will create a bigger rift among sides. But I also condemn the president's actions of using tear gas on peaceful protesters to clear a path for him and then raise a bible in front of a church and ultimately calling for martial law. It is disturbing and frightening.

Racism is very real and alive and can be encountered on a daily basis as seen by the actions (and tweets) of our leaders in this country. Racial profiling and the killing of African Americans by police force and vigilantes that recently surfaced are only the tip of the iceberg as the root causes are much deeper and have existed far longer. The evolution of slavery in America, racist American policies (prejudice vs discrimination), inequalities and economic segregation are all part of the issue and will need to be tackled in order to diminish discrimination and achieve equality.

I'm married to an African American man and my children are bi-racial. For us, we don't see each other as black or white. We don't love each other because of our skin color and our children accept, respect and love us the same way. My life is in no way more worth than the life of my husband, or any other person in America or around the world. Skin color, gender, sexuality or the country of origin should not define a person or make them any more or less valuable.  However, I'm worried sometimes about going to certain places with my family or if my husband is out and about by himself (especially in a Republican Southern State) as we are more susceptible to encounter racism and discrimination. In this day and age, no one should have to worry about that though as the human race is better than that. Therefore, we need to step up, be active and make change happen so that our children do not need to live in fear.