Inaction is Action!

I am a parent of black men and police officers so this current unrest is of particular interest to me.

This pattern of senseless killings is an outrage felt by human beings across the world. It is that connection, compassion and cry for justice that reminds us that we are one global community, as COVID-19 did a few months ago.

Death stings at different levels:

When you watch your loved ones health deteriorate, you have time to come to grips with the fact that they are going to be gone soon. You may even have an opportunity to let them know how you feel about them and how they added value to your life – yet it is a tough blow.

When your loved one dies suddenly to an accident, COVID-19, suicide or a disease, and you had no warning or couldn’t see it coming – it’s tragic and devastating.

When your loved one gets their lives senselessly striped away by the people we pay to serve and protect us – it’s mind-blowing! I cannot imagine what that trauma must be like for the grieving families.

Inaction is the lack of action where it is expected or appropriate; the failure to do anything, especially when you should do something (Macmillan Dictionary).

Let’s take a look at the inactions of the other officers in the George Floyd incident.

Imagine if, when ex-officer Chauvin had his knee on George’s neck, snuffing the life out of him, one of his colleagues said, “stop!” “Don’t do that!” “That’s enough!” or pulled him off when George said “I can’t breathe.”

They could have saved George’s life, saved their colleague his legal struggles, saved a devastating blow to the already tarnished image of the police, saved our communities this pain and unrest, saved the immeasurable consequences from this incident, and so on.

The case of George Floyd demonstrates that inactions are a form of action that can have devastating impacts.

Choose Action:

1.   Examine your own thoughts and behaviours for biases. The question is not “if” we have biases, it’s “what” are our biases?

Erin York Cornwell, associate professor at Cornell University, in a 2016 study found the bias against blacks in public settings "very troubling". The study found “a huge racial disparity in terms of who gets help during public emergencies.”

2.   Identify the ways in which you tolerate or support language, policies or behaviours that are racist.

Think about the times when you observe racist behaviours and turn a blind eye, or hear racist language and lend a deaf ear, or enjoy “jokes” that are offensive or harmful to others.

3.   Be honest about the ways in which you display racist behaviours. The Ontario Human Rights Commission offers a fact sheet on racial discrimination.

One lesson from the death of George Floyd is that we can no longer afford to be neutral, to sit on the fence, to stand by and pretend we're not seeing, we're not hearing, it’s not happening, it’s not my business.  Racism is my business, it’s your business, it’s our business. That is what the protests across the world demonstrate.

The consequences are not just for the immediate victim. The consequences of racism in this climate are devastating for the whole world because we are one very intricately connected community. As one global community we jointly call on our leaders for action. Action against racism where ever you lead.

In the midst of this racial crisis, there is an opportunity for all of us, especially our leaders, to deeply examine the steps we need to take to advance racial equality in a meaningful, authentic way, including engaging in the critical conversations necessary to take us forward.

At this moment in history, change is "expected and appropriate." Therefore, the failure to do anything, especially now when you should do something (MacMillan), is inaction.

Inaction is action, as we have learned.