Part 1.

“I Can’t Breathe.”

If there’s one phrase that will forever be associated with the murder of a Black boy or man, it’s, “I can’t breathe.” Those three words recently uttered from the suffocating throat of George Floyd break my heart.  Furthermore, that fortitudinous young teen, Darnella Frazier, who videotaped his murder comes from a long line of Black women (and men) who have witnessed such a crime. She is inescapably damaged for the rest of her life. Even a forgiving angel couldn’t survive such a trauma?

As for the other people who witnessed that sadistic killing (both at the site and across the World Wide Web,  they will also be haunted for life. In fact, I could only watch a few minutes of Minnesota Prosecutor Steven Schleicher’s closing arguments. He said Chauvin “had acted with cruelty and indifference unbefitting of a police officer and should be convicted of murder in George Floyd’s death.”

And while my left palm cupped and caressed my neck, Schleicher went on to described a man trying with all his might, face and hands scarred from the asphalt, to beg for one last breath of air.

“George Floyd struggled, desperate to breathe, to make enough room in his chest to breathe, but the force was too much. He was trapped. He was trapped with the unyielding pavement underneath him, as unyielding as the men who held him down.” (Prosecutor Steven Schleicher)

After hearing those words, I cried and clicked the remote off. What’s even harder to swallow is the knowing that millions of other people vicariously enjoyed Chauvin’s humiliation of a Black man. I can imagine they hooped and hollered as Chauvin looked down in disgust at his victim.

It is a “Snuff Movie” made for Daytime TV. 

What do you do when it’s too late to pray?

The face of HATE!

“Newly released transcripts of the minutes leading up to George Floyd’s death reveal he told officers “I can’t breathe” more than 20 times, only to have his plea dismissed by Derek Chauvin, the white officer pressing his knee into Floyd’s neck, who said: “It takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk.” (The Guardian)

Sometimes, out of nowhere, I see the image of a White Cop crushing the life from a Black man using just his knee, hands in his pockets and smirking as if he enjoyed denying a downed and handcuffed Floyd  gasping for his life. Finally, I say those other officers who did not stop that crime are worse. They deserve guilty charges as well. Wrong is wrong whether you’re a trainee or the boss.

Does it ever end? Nope.

Police shot 213 civilians so far in 2021. 30 were Black. Additionally, Black American police killings are higher than for any other ethnicity—35 shootings per million as of March 2021. And the bullets keep on coming.

 

But, finally, one out-of-control Police Officer will do some jail time. Chavin’s face, half-covered by a mask, revealed only his eyes shifting left and right; and I watched as he was respectfully and “professionally” led out of the courtroom into the custody of the State. (AI)

But, for Once the Angry Cry for Justice Prevailed.

Guilty!

“1. Unintentional second-degree murder: Causing death without intent to do so, while committing or attempting to commit a felony offense. The maximum sentence for second-degree murder is 40 years.

Guilty!

2. Third-degree murder is causing death to an individual by “perpetrating an act imminently dangerous to others and evidencing a depraved mind without regard for human life,” but without the intent to cause death. It carries a maximum sentence of 25 years.

Guilty!

3. Second-degree manslaughter is causing the death of another by “culpable negligence, creating an unreasonable risk” in which the defendant “consciously takes the risk of causing death or great bodily harm to another individual.” It carries a maximum sentence of 10 years.” (PBS)

Can Our Broken Racist Criminal Justice System Be Fixed?

Nope, not in America.

I’m not feeling too optimistic but, it’s a fact that Police must live in the communities they serve. In addition, we need more Black police officers, limit the amount of overtime and do constant mental health checks. Policing is stressful work.

Police must get yearly multi-cultural and anti-racism training. And, depending on the severity of the infraction, be stripped of their guns. Prior reports of misconduct have to be admissible in court trials.

We must also rethink hiring our soldiers to  become Police Officers. Our enlisted men and women are taught to shoot to kill in war zones. They are military warriors who sleep with their guns many before they’ve had their first sexual encounter with another man or woman.

PART  2

Stop Denying COVID.

Meanwhile, during a despicable trial going on we’re told to cringe because of blood clots from the Johnson and Johnson vaccine? After more than 6.8 million doses of the vaccine, six (now 15) cases of a rare and severe blood clot type generated more fear than the potential for the bubonic plague. Why are we being such punks? Have you seen the list of “warnings” on the medications or herbs we regularly take? In spite of that we continue to be sold and take those meds. It’s a trade-off.

I am not dismissing the people and families who’ve experienced those losses. I’d be devastated too.  I’m still coping with the death of the millions who’ve lost their lives due to COVID. And those who will continue to die or contaminate others. Armageddon seems closer than we think. In addition, as mutants chase us around the globe stupid Republicans refuse to explain why their “main man” and his family got their vaccine? Consequently, why are so many Americans scared to get a vaccine?

Why are Americans so pitiful? It’s just a damn shot.

Immigrants to the U.S. are required to get: 

 

• Mumps
• Measles
• Rubella
• Polio
• Tetanus and diphtheria
• Pertussis
• Haemophilus influenza type B (Hib)
• Hepatitis A
• Hepatitis B
• Rotavirus
• Meningococcal disease
• Varicella
• Pneumococcal disease
• And, seasonal influenza shots.

Should your First Amendment Rights usurp my right to breathe?

Apparently so. Why should I have to worry about catching COVID at the grocery store? Why can’t my Grandkids get on-site schooling without a mask on all day. I want to fly out of angry America without a face mask on for 14 hours. You don’t have to agree. I say if you don’t want a vaccine to stay home. It’s your right to live free and die and mine to live free from your breathe of death.

Part 3

It’s Too Much!

😔I’m nervous that a Police Officer might be in the mood to stop and kill me during a routine traffic stop, or that a new variant of COVID is waiting for me around the corner. But, while I got the vaccine. I have no protection from a dangerous cop having a bad day.

😣Some people believe prayer is the answer. But, I never get a rationale answer when I ask, “Did all those people who’ve died from COVID neglect to pray? Or, did all those Black people killed by the police forget to pray? Did all those kids being shot in the back? Right now, I feel nothing but pain and disdain for this country.

“Like many Black Americans I’m ready to leave the United States. I just wish I could scoop up my Grandkids so they could grow up in a place where being Black doesn’t automatically put a bulls-eye on their backs. That they are American could cause them some issues but, at least they’d be able to inhale and exhale without the knee of racism on their neck.” (AI)