What if there wasn’t a video? What if it wasn’t made public?
The Twitter tweet below was my public reply to John Fugelsang’s tweet. And below that is a quote I pulled from Glennon Doyle’s recent post on Instagram. After that, it’s me talking again.
Adam Toledo.
He was 13 years old.
His hands we up when the police shot and killed him.
To cover up the murder, the prosecutor lied saying Adam had a gun (now recanted).And the US has reported at least 45 mass shootings in the last month.
In all my years of working with recovering people and families, I have never witnessed denial like American denial.
I have never seen such a collective willingness to succumb to deeper and more shameful rock bottoms- to sit by and watch so many die.
Families are only as sick as what they will not face.
We are a sick family, America.
Our family has become unmanageable. We must take a moral inventory and face our open family secret: that this nation – founded upon “liberty and justice for all” was built while murdering, enslaving, raping and subjugating millions. That this nation is still killing its Black and brown citizens with impunity, and prioritizing gun manufacturers’ profits over human lives.
Then maybe we’ll gather the entire family at the table – the women and the gay and the Black and brown folks and the babies memorizing lockdown drills, and those in power – so that we can begin the long, hard work of making amends.
There will never be peace without a full and truthful reckoning. There will never be a revolution in the nation until there is full revelation in this nation. We will never become a healthy family until the truth is told, justice is served, amends are made, reparations are paid.
Quote by Glennon Doyle
There are so many Americans that refuse to see what is happening (and has been happening for generations).
There are also many Americans that are coming together, demanding change, and working to raise awareness.
Please be the latter. Please do what you can to raise your awareness and the awareness of those around you.
Of course, I am with you. Doing the same in whatever ways I can.
Things won’t be better, unless we do better.
Things won’t be different, unless we are different.
It’s an ongoing process.
The world will never be perfect, but it can be better.
But it won’t improve, unless we are committed to making a meaningful difference in the lives of others.