The Change That We Demand

I have never felt such disgust to be an American as I have this last week.
I have never been so ashamed of this nation, a nation that I once thought was one of the best in the world.
I feel nauseous when I see the names of the lives that we have lost; innocent lives. 
I have heard names and stories of people like Ahmaud Arbery, stories of black people who aren't with us anymore.
I have always been devastated when I see the name of a new black person on the news; a black person who is no longer among the living.
Nothing I have ever seen or heard in my lifetime could've prepared me for the video that I watched earlier this week; the video of George Floyd.
I know that black people have been murdered by the police; it happens so outrageously often to the point where it's not surprising anymore.
George Floyd was different; I witnessed the video in which he died.
I watched his eyes shut, and never reopen.
I watched as he pleaded for water, and begged for air.
I watched him take his final breath.
A police officer kneeled on George's neck, and observed as he left the living. 
I refuse to say the officers name; he doesn't deserve for it to be said aloud.
I watched as this officer kneeled on the neck of a man who showed no resistance; a man who just wanted to live another day.
At this point, I don't know what the job of a police officer is.
I always believed it was to defend the community, and to contain any threats. What happens when the officer becomes the threat?
George Floyd didn't show a singular sign of being a threat; but if he did, he would've stopped being a threat as soon as he was in handcuffs.
That is all that the officer should've done. That is all that the officer was SUPPOSED to do.
We cannot allow our Police officers to serve as executioners; It isn't their choice who lives or dies. 
I could list the names of many innocent black lives that have been taken from us; but it is the video of George Floyd that set things into perspective.
We should not fear for our lives in the presence of officers; if anything, we should feel more safe with them. 
We are the new generation; if we want this, we have to fight for it.
So many people have died among this road to racial equality, but if something isn't done, there won't be a finishline. 
We will not stand silent while more lives continue to be taken from us. 
We have pleaded for mercy as more and more names came on the news, but we now refuse to plead.
We are demanding.
Demanding justice for George Floyd and the others like him.
Demanding constraints on the power of the police.
Demanding the equality that we as a nation have claimed to have, but are yet to follow through on. 
We are demanding change. 
I am not black, but I stand with you.
I am not black, but I weep with you.
I am not black, but I fight with you.
His name was George Floyd, and he couldn't breathe.

DarkTruths

VT

18 years old

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