A Writer’s Thoughts on the Horrific Events: A Rant.

Dear, guys – welcome back to Letters From Liz.

I created this blog for a space of positivity and an escape from the negative things happening around us constantly during these times. As a writer, I feel like half of my job is to provide content for people who need that mental escape for just a couple of minutes, whether it’s to read some creative writing scenes about characters living different types of lives, to discovering some new music and genres, or relating to some of their inner struggles with some of mine that we might share. Whatever type of content brings you some peace for just a moment or two, I hope Letters From Liz creates that for you.

With that being said, the other half of my job is to use my platform to speak out on the important things and yes, use my white privilege to speak out for those who can’t do so without their lives immediately being in danger by authority.

On May 25th, 2020, George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, died under police custody in Minneapolis. He was pinned to the ground by Police Officer Derek Chauvin; his knee was on George Floyd’s neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds. In that time, he claimed that he couldn’t breathe, and died because he couldn’t breathe. Another white police officer taking the life of another unarmed person of color for no fucking reason, and the justice system doing little to nothing about it.

To make matters worse, protests all around the country have been going on once the video of George Floyd went viral this past week. These protests while some peaceful and others (by white people) were destroying property, police officers were quick to shut down the peaceful ones; one in particular took place just 30 minutes from where I live in NYC.

Yesterday, people gather around the Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn to protest their rights and have their voices. In the videos taken, police officers were brutally using force to break things up; night sticks being used as weapons, tossing people off of bikes and stone platforms in the area, trying not giving a fuck about anything or anyone’s safety but their own.

This narrative of “white cop killing unarmed black person” is one that should’ve ended years ago. Too many people of color have been tragically murdered in the hands of authority. Too many people of color were just living their lives as normal as possible moments before they were killed by police. Walking home from the corner store. Walking outside of their own home. Sleeping in their own home. These innocent people of color killed for being innocent civilians. And no, selling CDs and cigarettes doesn’t equal murder, not when we have white people shooting up schools and churches and again innocent people of color just because they are fucking racist white supremacist sons of bitches NOT having the same level of punishment or any punishment at all. I think about all these outcomes from these heinous murders with little to no consequence. Not arrested, charges against person dropped, killers just living their lives as normal as possible. But let it be a person of color just simply enjoying the nice weather that we’re having, and they don’t know if their lives will be taken next by the hands (and weapons) of police officers. It’s fucking disgusting and there needs to be more outrage from more people, not from just people of color, but from white people who have white privilege. Those whose lives are more secure than people of color.

We are all tired and fed up having to share another innocent POC’s name on social media. We are all tired watching the gruesome videos online, of people getting shot 41 times for no reason, bleeding out, dying for the world to see. We are all tired hearing the stories of how these innocent POCs were just carrying on with their lives and these officers who BEEN KNOWN TO USE EXCESSIVE FORCE IN THE PAST getting second chances. As a white person, I fear for the safety of my POC friends, their families and their friends and worry one day, God forbid, it’s their names going viral on social media. I’m speaking for those whose voices are silenced by stereotypes and white supremacist with horrible, dumbfounding, racist perspectives on life. I’m speaking because although my appearances labels me as white, half of my family who are fully Latino/a have been racially profiled, sent to prison for minor inconveniences, and whose stereotypes have been targeted by entitled, racist white people.

I’m tired of hearing nothing but injustice for these families, friends, and for the POC community. This needs to stop.

Speak out loud, be the barrier for these POC lives, amplify their lives because they fucking matter.

Sources on Ways You Can Help: