This afternoon I turned on MSNBC, just as they began providing live coverage of George Floyd's bereaved brother, Terrence, leading a march to a makeshift memorial. It was a grieving process, infused with a political process. Incredibly moving. People were chanting "George! Floyd! George! Floyd!" As the chants reached a crescendo, I could feel a surging power and sense of peace welling up inside of me. By speaking Mr. Floyd's name in such a powerful way, it was a recognition of his full humanity. Everyone there was encouraged to take a knee, while many people were bowed in prayer. He said that he understood everyone's anger, but "if I'm not wilding out, no one else should be." Floyd said they want us to destroy ourselves. Don't give that to them. He encouraged people to educate themselves and to vote in all of the political races. Terrence asked people to "stop looting, but keep protesting." I was very moved by his courage in the midst of his unspeakable grief.
@laura-f This breaks my heart. In 2006, I attended a conference there where Barack Obama gave a speech. He had given the address at the Democratic National Convention and became an overnight sensation. Afterwards, everyone sat in silence, and someone finally said, "I think the hand of God is on that man." Everyone agreed. So many other speakers from both sides of the aisle, but he stood out over the three days.
Apologies for so many posts... found a good resource to share. Someone is actively keeping track of disinformation regarding the police brutality protests. Please feel free (strong nudge) to check it before posting stories about the protests:
It was very emotional, and found his statement today from a USATODAY source :
"Floyd's brother, Terrence Floyd addressed a crowd of protestors and called for peaceful demonstrations and a stop to the looting and rioting." My family is a peaceful family, a God-fearing family. Let's do this another way."
The family has hired an independent autopsy; the report concludes Mr Floyd died at the scene of asphyxiation, and Chauvin will likely get a first or second degree charge.
It's gratifying that justice is going to be served and his life will be honored with the respect he deserves ...
This brought tears ... Terrence's plea .. "Let's do this another way."
The United States appears to be extremely close to a full-blown civil war. I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that. Donald Trump has chosen to deliberately ignore the grievances of the protesters who want to end the totally unjustified killings of unarmed people at the hands of the police. By so doing Donald Trump has put himself squarely on the side of evil and the most blatant tyranny we have ever seen.
Donald Trump thinks all has to do is flood the country with an extremely massive military presence and he can force his will on the masses. He seems to greatly underestimate the severity of the public backlash he is provoking. Most Americans of course would not support the widespread destruction of stores and looting that occurred some places. Donald Trump is sending the message that he sees no problem with blatant abuse of power by the police when this has happened.
- @vestralux. Yes! I have a bad feeling about Anonymous too. Something wrong with it. I feel angry and anxious for no reason. I'm fearful. They appear to be powerful enough to do serious damage to whatever they choose. They promise "great things coming soon." Feels cultish. Even their masks scare me. I wish I could rejoice in Anonymous' great return like everyone else. But I've got butterflies in my stomach. Does anyone have read on Anonymous?
To those who are concerned about civil war -- I agree, we are closer than we have been since 1860. That being said, as many of you on here know, my husband has some contacts high in government, but more relevantly right now, he knows more than a few former Special Ops guys from the various military branches (e.g., green berets, seals, Delta Force, etc.). These are the people who have spent a chunk of the last 20 years in various parts of the middle east (e.g., Lebanon, Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan).
To a man (they are all men), they have all expressed some version of the following, I'm paraphrasing and condensing:
"As far as civil war here right now, I don't see it. I spent a lot of time in failed democracies. All the protests and violence and stuff you see going on right now, for someone in Beirut that's just a Sunday, not a revolution. If I think we're getting close, I'll let yo know."
I keep thinking about the many radical acts attributed to Jesus of Nazareth in his efforts to rebuke and subvert the corruption within the established order of his day. In four separate books of the Bible, it's written that Jesus physically flipped over tables and even made a whip out of cords to drive out merchants from the temple. He wasn't afraid to be seen as disruptive.
He wasn't burning or vandalizing anything to make his point (except law and tradition), but for Christians, if the Son of God himself could muster such anger, isn't our own outrage—however imperfectly expressed—all the more understandable?
There's a passage from Luke where Jesus stands to read the words of the prophet Isaiah, and reading them again today brought me a deep sense of wonder and awe.
16 He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, 17 and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”[f]
20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. 21 He began by saying to them, “Today, this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
– Luke 4:16 - 21, New International Version (NIV)
Perhaps the terrible pain and outrage we have suffered in the events of the first half of 2020 are necessary for compelling us to act: to overturn the tables, to rebuke corruption, to overthrow the old order. By year's end, we might even look back and see that 2020 was in fact the year of the "Lord's favor." (Reminder that the Judeo-Christian God's "favor" is rarely soothing, but instead tends to demand duty with the promised reward of liberation.)
I'm no longer a Christian in the traditional sense, but reading those words in Luke moved me and brought a sense of much-needed peace.
@vestralux Your insight is such a deep blessing. I just read your post re: Floyd’s actual dying. ??? Grateful to hav erased it.