Month: June 2020

THE TULSA RALLY: FAQs

What is the purpose of the rally? Um…you ask a really good question! We’re not…really sure?

Should we be concerned about getting sick from attending the rally? No!

What steps are being taken to keep the attendees safe? What are you, a sissy…or a loser?

Should I wear a mask at the rally to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 virus? To prevent the what of the what?

Wouldn’t it be better to hold the rally when the rates of infection in Oklahoma are going down instead of up? Yeah, maybe, I guess…no, I mean no!

Why do I have to sign a statement relieving Donald Trump Inc. of any responsibility for my death in case I die as a result of attending the rally? So that Donald Trump doesn’t have to spend a lot money to keep from paying your estate even more money when you get sick and die as a result of attending the rally. Hehe kidding, just sign the damn form.

Will there be a moment of silence and an opportunity to kneel in support of the Black Lives Matter movement? Another good question! No!

Are people of color welcomed at the rally? Yes, but we already have one!

On George Floyd, Black Lives Matter, and All Lives Matter

Of course all lives matter. That was never the question. The question is, if all lives matter, why are black lives treated with such disdain?

The fundamental oppression of black lives in this country won’t disappear until we all take it personally—until we see the murder of George Floyd not just as an awful tragedy that happened to them, but as an atrocity inflicted on us. That shouldn’t be so hard. Anyone who has seen the video of Floyd’s murder and doesn’t feel angry, who doesn’t take it personally, is missing something as a thinking, feeling human being.

The multitudes of young white people marching with the Black Lives Matter movement is a promising sign that the larger community of Americans is taking it personally.

But it’s just a first step. Demonstrating is important but in a way it’s the easy part. I wonder what will happen, what will change, when those young people become HR managers, loan officers, police officers, prosecutors, judges and politicians.

When they decide who to hire and who to fire, when they decide who gets a loan to buy a house or start a business and at what rate, when they decide whether to shoot someone or just let them run away, when they decide whether someone convicted of a non-violent crime gets probation or gets sent to the penitentiary, when they decide who gets to vote and how easy or difficult it is to do so, will they remember George Floyd and Black Lives Matter then? Or will the demonstrations just be something to brag about in middle age, like being at Woodstock was for their parents and grandparents?

I hope that they, and all of us, remember George Floyd, take his death personally, and act accordingly as we go about our daily lives.  That’s how things change.