What our friends don't say

I am tired of seeing promising young lives end in hashtag advocacy. I am tired of people being killed simply for being the wrong skin color. I am tired of those operating from the core of their perceived entitlement and privilege continue to minimize the pain and anger felt by those who don't have exclusive memberships to those clubs.

We are living in a time where an unarmed man is less likely to make it to jail breathing and be due judicial process but a disrespectful White woman can publicly tear up a legal citation, mock the court, be held in contempt and is released by a state Supreme Court. 

Not since James Byrd in Jasper, Texas have I truly been sickened by a racist fueled murder like the way I felt this week when I viewed the video of Ahmaud Arbery. This man went out for a jog and was gunned down within moments of confrontation after being labeled a "thief" running away from a house in his own community.

My husband could be Ahmaud. A retired Army soldier, he goes out for a run at least three times a week. He is a man of stature standing 6'2, 240+ pounds and runs a competitive 8 minute mile pace. Could he be mistaken for running away from a crime in our own neighborhood? I can't imagine that he would be mistaken for a robber and chased down and hunted like an animal. It is absolutely disgusting.

But yet, the silence from my "friends" on this travesty is equally disturbing. I see them championing animals yet here is an unspeakable crime and they don't seem concerned. They won't publicly voice contempt for the behavior. But wait.....what Michael Vick did to those dogs was terrible and they are very vocal on that.

In the end, I don't think I will remember all the things my friends said but you can trust and believe, that I will remember when they chose to be silent. That spoke volumes.

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