Wednesday, June 03, 2020

Fact as the Window to Truth


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.

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