My First Protest

Tonight I was a part of something. This was something that, 3 months ago I would have bet you a million dollars I would not be a part of. As I was dropping my son off at soccer training,  I drove by a BLM gathering. After dropping him off, I drove by multiple times as I was not going to stop if I saw signs of ACAB, F**K12 or other radical symbols. It seemed peaceful, so I got a cooler, iced down a bunch of bottled water, picked up Cam and we went to see what was going on. What started out as a curiosity, turned into a very moving experience. Here are some of the highlights:

The ‘leader’ was a 19/20 year old man. His first words were “We will not tolerate any violence, if you are here to cause trouble, we don’t want you!’

2^nd up was a 19/20 year old lady. She talked about the power of the vote, the power of dialogue with the other side, and what she had learned from her conversations with the police the night before. Her message was ‘open up dialogue with the opposition and you will be surprised what you learn’

3^rd up was a very large man (think Football DB big...bulk, muscles and height). He spoke about the fact that, at the age of 20 he has been frisked, handcuffed and searched multiple times, but has never been charged with anything. At that moment it hit me…In the last 30 years I have never even been asked to step out of the car. That includes when I got pulled over for going 105 on the interstate, and a night that I drifted out of my lane and the cop thought I could be drunk. There is one difference between me and this man...and it is not his size!

Next up was a mother of 3 teenage boys. She talked about the lessons that she had to teach her boys to ensure that they survived every encounter with the police. The same lessons that her father had to teach her brother 30 years ago. In my own words, I would say her lesson was ‘fear the police’ because of the things that #3 mentioned above. Her prayer was that her boys did not have to teach their sons the same lesson someday. She wants to get to the point where they can respect (vs. fear) the police. It hit me because I recently gave my son the 'Respect the Police' speech that she would love to be able to give.

The final speaker was the president of the local NAACP. She was there to help people register to vote, and she told them where to go to learn about the candidates. One of the questions she was asked was, ‘How do we know WHO to vote for?’ Her answer…’The NAACP is a non-partisan organization. We can’t tell you who to vote for because we don’t know what is best for you as an individual. We encourage all of you to know who is running, learn about them and make an informed decision.’ I could learn a thing or two from her!

Finally, they ended with a prayer. The prayer was for peace and understanding on both sides, followed by a moment of silence for those that have lost their lives to senseless violence, and the families that have had to endure their loss. It struck me that they did not mention black people or police violence…Just senseless violence. (Note: there was a moment of silence prior to the march that was specifically for George Floyd.)

I ended up talking with a few people as the group broke up. There was no hate in any of the people I talked to AT ALL. There were no undertones that ‘black lives’ were better than ‘white lives’. There was genuine concern that their voices would be heard. There was appreciation that we would come out to support them. From the older generation, there was a sense of hope that the younger generation was taking this seriously. The NAACP president even said she felt comfortable passing the baton now that she new the younger generation was ready to accept it.

My transformation is just starting, but the impact that this event had on me truly took me by surprise!

Time for a change?

Ignoring the racial injustice because of the rioting is like writing off your favorite football team because their second-string Offensive Lineman is injured. Yes, that situation needs to be dealt with, but there is so much more that we should be focused on.

I don't support the riots and the burning of our cities, but I also understand that it is a mix of opportunists, anarchists and people who are feeling real pain and have no clue where to direct their anger. However, I am extremely encouraged when I look past the riots for a couple of reasons:

1.      The movement has some powerful leaders: If you have not seen Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms plea last night, you should watch it! Same goes for Killer Mikes speech. They have a powerful message, they have the mic and most people are willing to listen.

2.      The opposition is silent: I am not talking about the white supremacists…those guys will never shut up. However, look through the comments section on posts about the criminal cop in Minneapolis, or the racist DA in the Ahmaud Arbery case who said there were ‘no grounds for an arrest’. The comments are more one-sided than I have ever seen. While you should expect that because there is absolutely no ground to stand on in these cases, typically there is some opposition (See Botham Jeans murder as a perfect example).

3.      More people are ready to stand up and do something: We all have those friends that constantly remind us of the injustices going on through their posts. After time, I learned to scroll past to find the ‘fun’ part of Facebook. Then there are the occasional posters, who inform you of the ‘big’ events as they are happening. I always appreciated them, and would read about each event, but would refrain from posting because I was afraid I would upset someone. This is different. While I have been a silent ally for most of my life, this is my first post about racial injustice…and it was spurred by a friends first post about racial injustice. This is not a White vs. Black thing; this is a RIGHT vs WRONG thing. You can #Backtheblue and stand up against racial injustice. You can vote Republican or Libertarian, and still stand up against racial injustice. You can understand that #BlackLivesMatter even if you are not raising a black life.

Recent events have taught me that we have a lot further to go than I had expected. However, my blinders are off and I am hopeful that these events can be the spark that ignites all of us to do whatever it takes to make this world a better place for our kids.

Now with all that said, I will go back to posting mainly about kids and fish and fun times. But I am here, I am ready to stand up, and if you made it this far than you just witnessed my transition from silent ally to vocal ally!