How Do I Feel ?

I normally don’t post on social media but the events of the last few weeks and for that matter the past several years, has left me shattered and upset. I truly can’t even fathom the pain & suffering, centuries of oppression has caused. I want to learn more, listen more and act more to help black communities enjoy the same freedoms and privileges as most Americans. Over the past few days, I have been reaching out to my team mate to make sure he & his family are OK and more importantly to find out how he was feeling. This is what he had to say, extremely insightful !

“Been getting asked how I feel about all this going on and before I get into answer that question, I want to say thank you. I am very grateful to work for a company that has a community that reaches out to me to offer support.

Not sure how many people live in Capitol Hill (Seattle) or Bellevue but I am confident you heard crackling of gun shots, felt the vibrations from the pops of flashbangs, and the smell of tear gas. When it happened, did you feel your heart drop? I went to Morehouse College in Atlanta, and where I lived (3 minute walk from school) I had the exact same thing happen, almost every night during the summer, minus the tear gas. The experience of that one night of protest is something that I felt for years at a time. If you had even a sliver of fear, anger, sadness, and uncertainty during that night, please understand buying a gun, detesting the looting & violence, and not supporting Black Lives Matter, doesn’t end any of it. If you REALLY want to not experience this again you will take all that energy and put it towards a scalable solution. Before you say looting and rioting won’t bring any change, please go educate yourself on the aftermath of MLK’s assassination and the riots and protest that followed. It eventually lead to the civil rights act of 1968, or you know literally the founding of the United States (Boston Tea Party). Before you say peaceful protesting is an option look at some of the videos from the protest on Capitol Hill and why the purple umbrella emojis are popular now. Before you say we don’t need police officers, consider the huge consequences of not being able to dial three numbers for help in a dangerous situation; some protestors are going home and being robbed by opportunist because there is no protection. Before you say anything please understand the way we got here is from lack of action, and the reason this will continue is the lack of action.

Get educated, make your own views based on factual information not just from one source but cross reference from many, and help come up with a solution that will benefit everyone. There will be awful things transpiring all month but don’t let it derail you from the overall solution. Claiming this isn’t about justice or looters are killing people moves us away from the solution to focus on who is right and wrong. NO, stop that. This is not the time to argue, this is a time for solutions. You will have all the time retrospectively to figure out who took advantage of the situation. Let me also take this time to say rest in peace David Dorn, opportunists will use your death as an excuse to say the entire protest isn’t about justice. Those same opportunists were the ones that killed him while looting. Really think about what I am saying.

I am NOT in support of everything going on, but if this is what it takes to bring this conversation to everyone’s doorstep, then good. This is not something I would want ANYONE including people who hold opposite beliefs from me ever going through. With that being said, we need to implement a solution. So with conversations going on in the company and externally PLEASE keep in mind the overarching goal, end systematic police brutality and injustices towards everyone. For the people who are silent keep in mind, the entire world is watching. This goes especially to all lives matter and pro-life supporters, who seem to be very silent during a time where your lack of action on this issue contradicts your name. The more you sit silent the more people will die.

You’re hopes and prayers are always accepted but, your action is necessary. If you don’t like what is going on come with allyship and solutions.”