Philando Castile

 I woke up in the night, my brain too busy with some thoughts that need conscious as well as subconscious sorting.  

First, I can tell you that I along with millions other sighed in relief after both Harris and Biden had sworn their oaths, the Inauguration capped off in style by singers and the latest poet supernova, Amanda Gorman, dazzled us with her light.  After four years of hearing vitriol and outright lies from the highest office, it was a restorative morning that offered the promise of a better path forward.  We stumble forward imperfectly.  Gorman's phrase "it isn't broken, just unfinished" resonated with me the days after.  So why couldn't my brain enjoy a full night?

The fallout of the attack on the Capitol remains a sore, unfinished business.  Salt is being liberally applied to the wound as perpetrator after perpetrator is not only continuing to roam free instead of being held for trial, but often in the comfort of their own homes.  I'll point out the actions of a young white woman named named Riley Williams, who has been documented in many places as being the person who stole a laptop from Speaker Pelosi's office.  Source:  https://www.npr.org/2021/01/21/959446771/woman-charged-in-theft-of-pelosis-laptop-released-from-jail

Did you catch the last part of that web address?  Released.  From.  Jail.  The article further states, "Williams will have to wear an ankle monitor and can only leave her mother's home for work and some other court-approved reasons."

Excuse me?  She can still go to work? How is this possible?  This is the Alice in Wonderland upside down world where a white woman can steal federal property, be documented doing it on camera, and gets to return to her family home where she isn't even under complete house arrest? 

There have been many tragic police involved shooting in recent years, and one that is outstandingly horrible is the case of a young black man, Philando Castile, who was shot by a police officer who had pulled him over.  And article by the New York Times reported that Castile "In a 13-year span, Philando Castile was pulled over by the police in the Minneapolis-St. Paul region at least 49 times, an average of about once every three months, often for minor infractions."  Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/17/us/before-philando-castiles-fatal-encounter-a-costly-trail-of-minor-traffic-stops.html

Who was Philando Castile?  To the children at the school where he supervised the cafeteria, he was Mr. Phil.  Now he is recognized by the Rockefeller Foundation as a "school food hero" because he was known for paying for food for children who couldn't afford lunch.  Source:  https://www.rockefellerfoundation.org/blog/remembering-philando-castile-school-food-hero/

You can see the argument my brain was having:  Philando Castile, taken from his community.  Riley Williams,  returned to her home with an ankle bracelet. 

The even sadder coda to this contrast is that the officer who shot Castile, was acquitted.  According to this npr report  Yanez "separated" from the police department where he worked, even receiving compensation for unused personal leave.

So I lay awake for awhile last night.  I thought about the news coverage of the attack on the Capitol, about the news coming out about the individuals who abetted the attack, some of them sitting lawmakers.  I thought about how the invaders, once they had achieved their goal of disrupting the electoral ballot counting, didn't appear to have a plan other than random destruction and looting once they got inside.  

But who they are--their identities are known because of the photo and video coverage, and many of the rioters have even posted their own photos claiming their acts. And the expectation that the people who have fallen for Trump's rhetoric are limited to just one type of person....well, turns out his appeal cut a much broader swath than many of us wanted to recognize in the American public.  People of means who had the resources to travel across the country to participate in a riot meant to disrupt our peaceful transfer of power.  

It's naive now to say 'who knew'? It is daunting to see how many people gleefully chose violence over peace, disrespect over unity, chaos over being constructive.  A lesson I take away is how much faster people of good conscience must stand up the truth.  I've seen two elections stolen from Democrats, Al Gore and Hilary Clinton.  No, they did not run perfect campaigns, and neither of them are perfect people.  But I know both of them would have been better presidents and done more good for our country and our planet than the Republican leadership that evolved from those debacles.  We have to stand up faster, harder, and more authoritatively and put an end to the "whataboutism" arguments and hate that passes for discourse.

Maybe I'm writing this for myself more than anyone out there, to remind myself that as a woman with a fetching touch of silver in my hair, I can throw my weight around a little and ask more of myself and my community.