This is not a normal blog post but George Floyd’s death is anything but normal. I sent a graphic design (thumbnail image) to some of our clients who have a significant following and told them to feel free to post it or don’t. I told them that I DID NOT want credit. I know that my feelings are representative of so many people in our culture. We hate evil, we want to change it, we don’t know how to do that. We “shout” on social media which is immediately lost in the sea of bandwagoners or agenda-pushing capitalists. I created that graphic to encapsulate those feelings and want to see it spread. Credit, especially watermarking, is for rookie wannabe influencers and I’m neither of those things. After some discussion I found myself spilling my guts to two of my friends from the main industry we serve. Here is the unedited message I sent to my friend and airbrush artist, Jenn. My hope is that sharing this will spark discussion that will lead to change because like so many others, I have no idea where else to start.
I really don’t know. I don’t believe it’s as systemic as it seems. Police are trained to be objective. Identify the societal or personal threat and eliminate it via detainment, less-than-lethal, or lethal force. There is no training that implies a hierarchy of value of one race over another. The level of force is meant to be determined by the actions of the suspect, not the their skin color. Break the law and comply, get arrested. Break the law and point a gun, get neutralized via less-than-lethal or lethal force. It seems so easy when I type it out but I know it’s not that simple. Unfortunately, there will likely always be a few individuals on both sides with deeply rooted beliefs and hatred that create division and ultimately violence.
I hate it because I have friends on both sides. Good cops who just want a peaceful, thriving community. Black people who contribute to a better society that just want to be treated as equals. I hate that there are even sides. The reality is that it’s an individual heart issue which is why it’s so hard to identify and eliminate. It’s been likened to a virus and I feel that is a very accurate metaphor. By the time the issue is realized, it may be too late and how much damage has the poison already done? There are certainly bad cops that shouldn’t be cops but how old was the officer that kneeled on his neck? How many red flags should his peers or supervisor seen throughout his career? How many other incidents happened that pointed toward racial bias? In this particular case, is there any concrete implication that racism was even the root as opposed to just the officer’s violent nature? Does his PD have policies or resources such as regular psych evaluations to address these things? Who is responsible for enforcing them? Is he truly a bad cop or was there a rapidly escalating series of events that lead him to this ultimate moment of majorly flawed decision making?
I’m not ready or willing to throw my hands up. I’m adamantly opposed to the cliche “it is what it is” because I believe that is the softest of all rationalizations. If something is broken, fix it. But I represent the majority as I believe you do too. See the news, become upset, express our disdain, maybe even go to a protest. Then what? Wait until the next George Floyd?
What can we do? How and what can I do in this moment to make a change?
I realize that I don’t offer a solution but I’ve been silent on this matter for too long. I detest the notion that to be silent is to be complicit because that implies that we are all responsible and even blame-worthy of every bad thing that happens in the world. However, this is all I have at the moment. The ability to create assets like graphics and copy so that’s where I’m going to start. In the meantime, please stop killing each other.
For the original graphic that we posted on social, you can download it here.
