Voices

I reached out to some folks that I trust, some are former co-workers, some are former students in an effort for voices to be heard regarding the current situation that we find ourselves in. I recognize my privilege, and as much as I think I understand, I KNOW that I cannot fully give voice to what is happening. Even though my heart and mind are in the right space, it's not my voice that needs to be amplified.

This is my friend Nathan Bruce. I have not edited his words in any way. Please take a moment and consider what he has to say.

In my career, I do a ton of writing. I work in software and I often create material that communicates technical ideas, system architecture, documentation that reflects work that has been done or work that is to be done, and documentation that lays out how to operate custom software. This type of writing, though, is much different. It isn’t often that I get the opportunity to attempt to capture meaningful thoughts on relevant topics outside of software. So, please forgive me if anything seems out of place, but I want to communicate my thoughts on the current climate of civil issues in our nation and the world.

I think it might be beneficial to give a brief overview of myself and some of my experiences before letting on to any kind of stance that I have. I’m a 31-year-old, multi-racial college graduate who works as a Data Engineer at a consulting firm in St Louis. I was born and raised in the hills of East Tennessee. After graduating high school, I spent a year in Flint, MI before coming back home and attending college in the same hills I grew up in. Since graduating I’ve lived in Nashville, Denver, and St Louis. If you ask me, I feel that I’ve gotten to experience a few different cultures by living in 4 or 5 very different places for a decent amount of time. I can also say, without a doubt, I’ve never lived in a place where racism is more prevalent than East TN. At this point, I don’t know that it is really beneficial to go into the details, however, I can most certainly update this if Dr. Blackwell thinks it would be worth mentioning. I’ll just say that I’ve experienced racism in many forms since before I even started school. I’ve been harassed by police officers, to the point where I can’t really think of any other reason for it other than “I looked different”.

So, what does that have to do with the current situation going on in America and other countries? I guess nothing really, other than I feel that I feel that I have a different perspective on society as a whole than someone who may be reading this.

How did we get to where we are today? On May 25th, three police officers from the Minneapolis Police Department restrained a handcuffed George Floyd by holding him face down in the street, while one police officer, Derek Chauvin, had placed his knee in his neck. While this was going on, a fourth police officer was defending the other officer’s actions to the crowd. All of this happened while they were openly being filmed. George Floyd died face down in the street with these 3 officers restraining him. George Floyd was not combative and repeatedly cried for help. He repeatedly begged for his life. He exclaimed multiple times that he could not breath. However, the officers never adjusted their bodies on his. Again, they knew all of this was being filmed.

The next day the officers were fired, and not charged. Just a matter of weeks before, the public was made aware of a retired police officer and his son than stalked a black man, Ahmaud Arbery, through a residential neighborhood in a vehicle and gunned him down in the street. This incident was also caught on video and no charges had been brought against the individuals who murdered this man in the street. It wasn’t until the video went viral and the nation rallied months later than an arrest was made. In fact, prior to the nation’s outcry, a previous D.A. labelled Ahmaud Arbery as the aggressor in the matter.

These are just the 2 latest events that have made national headlines where a police officer was involved in a blatant overuse of power that resulted in the death of a black man, where the police officer (or retired police officer) was not held accountable. I will repeat again, where the police officer was not held accountable. I felt it important to repeat that key phrase as that is the catalyst for the protests.

Now, after the nation and the world responded, charges have been brought against every individual involved in both incidents. We’ve seen a ton of peaceful protests. We’ve seen some rioting and looting, but the majority of protests have been peaceful. We have seen police officers, protestors, and even soldiers taking a knee together in solidarity. We’ve seen police officers putting down their riot gear and marching with protestors. We’ve not only seen this in America but in several other countries. What we have witnessed is the most united the world has been behind any one “thing” in my 31 years of living. And let’s be honest, it is BEAUTIFUL! There has truly been an awakening. I’ve personally seen people from both political parties come together in support and to have conversations for change. We’ve witnessed the beginning of the legislative changes that will come from this united front seeking change. And even though we are starting to see the change that we want, the protests, the conversations, the informing are continuing. People are still sharing their thoughts and experiences. I think this is very important because it wasn’t until recently that I realized how unaware so many of us are of reality. There may be several reasons people were unaware, but it seems that now more minds are open than ever before. This is key for long lasting, generation spanning change.

Finally, I think it is important that we all consider 2 things. First, it is completely acceptable to change your stance on any subject when given additional information. Therefore, do not be afraid to vocally change any stance if your self-reflection leads you to do so. Secondly, is forgiveness. Forgiveness of yourself and forgiveness of others. If you feel upset with yourself after some self-reflection, you have to be able to forgive yourself. On the opposite end of the spectrum, you must be forgiving of others. When someone makes a sincere apology, shutting out their apology is not the solution. Even when it is tough, it is important to be forgiving.