I can't breathe...

No air

No justice

Not surprised

 I wish I could say that the individual Grand Jury verdicts for Michael Brown and Eric Garner and for the countless other Black men, women, and children who continue to be killed  by law enforcement and citizens was shocking, but it is not. Social media and society is definitely divided along several lines, but mostly it is separated between denial and truth.

The truth is that America has very deep racist values in its DNA. The treatment of women is yet another conundrum that we cannot fully overcome either because of how we also devalue individuals based on gender. Look at how we deal with rape. The list goes on and on, but mostly it is connected to the American view of "us" and "them." We even go as far as to designate certain months for "them". We celebrate Women's History Month, Black History Month, Hispanic Heritage Month, and every other population who is not the majority. This is a silent and overt practice that means that every contribution that is not mainstream or white does not exist until its special month comes around once a year. And that is a problem.

The truth is that the pipeline to prison incarcerates more black and brown individuals and as a country we have the highest prison population. We also have the most guns. We have more guns than entire continents. The same country that boasts the top 5 in Forbes each year for their success and their equally ample paychecks, is also known for 1 out 5 children being homeless and hungry. This is a problem

The truth is that less than half of the population participates in the political process by exercising our right to vote. The income gap continues to grow despite the creation of new jobs. Public education is underfunded and the achievement gap still exists. The "have" and "have not" between schools is a reality. The New Jim Crow is also a reality. And that is a problem.

The truth is new laws that actually check and balance local municipalities in regard to law enforcement should be created. In other words, maybe the state's prosecutor should not be in charge of a case involving a police officer in their own state. Maybe we should actually elect public officials that care about the community and vote them out when they don't.

The denial is that we can all simply stop seeing color and move past this. Move into what exactly? The more we sanitize the past and the truth, the more denial runs rampant. Remember and fully acknowledge that this country was built on mass genocide and injustices. It is time to look at white privilege, which is basically American privilege and realize that as long as we only celebrate or remember the histories of certain populations, you know, "them,"we will continue to repeat history. Once we get over that, only then will we be able to create sustainable change that will literally break and eviscerate cycles for future generations. But you know what they say about habits...so I won't hold my breath...I already can't breathe...and that is a problem.