Normalizing Brutality

Hola mi gente,
I began to write this thinking I could do something “activist” by penning a blog post uncovering the systemic nature (and quiet compliance of whites) of police brutality. But I can’t… I can’t anymore. I need to sit with this for a moment and just… be.

Cameron Sterling (l) cries, as his mother Quinyetta McMillon speaks about 
the shooting of Alton Sterling during a news conference. (Bill Feig/The Advocate via AP)

I will only say that, as a society, we have created this apartheid state. Yes, I used the word apartheid. I’ll only add the following:

In the USA, you can start your day by watching video of a black man, Alton Sterling, in Louisiana killed by police as he lay helplessly on the ground. You could end it by watching another black man, shot by police in Minnesota, slowly bleed to death in a car as a seven-year-old girl looked on from the back seat and the man's girlfriend prayed to God. A subdued and prone 37-year-old Alton Sterling was shot by an officer twice in the chest; then, after a pause, another officer shot him several more times. His hands were empty. You can watch him die on YouTube. The evening brought the live Facebook stream of 32-year-old Philando Castile bleeding out in a car, as his girlfriend interrupted her appeals to God to challenge the actions of the officer she claimed put four bullets in Castile. She claimed they were pulled over for a broken headlight. If this sounds familiar it’s because it is.

A society whose institutions do not follow the rule of law, cannot lay claim to its authority. If you want to see the monster that created this, look no further than the mirror. We have created this.

My name is Eddie and I’m in recovery from civilization...