Truth and fact are not always
the same thing. The latter often is a window
to the former.
A black man is pursued and
captured by four cops in Minneapolis.
One of the policemen detains him prone facedown on the ground by placing
a kneehold on his neck. The man exclaims
that he cannot breathe. The three other
police ask the small crowd to step back; a number of the bystanders are
recording video on their phones. After a
short period of time, the man lay silent.
He is declared dead at the hospital.
Times have not changed. This brutal treatment of a black man is not
new. History is just on video now.
White America has always
treated African-Americans, hispanics, people of color, as inferior humans. We have been racist since the beginning of
our history, believing we white-skinned descendents of Europe are superior
because of our culture, our education, our bloodlines, our self-definition of success.
Yes, this is a
broadstroke. It does not apply to all
white Americans, just as the stereotypes we hold are inappropriately applied to
people of color.
But the death of this one man
is more than fact. His full story – his
life, his history, and his death -- are another symbol of a broader truth about
racism in America.
