Those of us who have kept our jobs, are not minorities, and are wise enough to stay at home to avoid contact with carriers of the virus are mostly protected. Or privileged, as it is so fashionable to say now. Privilege is an odd condition. I have a male friend who is bullied by his boss. If he were a woman, it would be a question of sexism; since they're both white men, they are both privileged.
While parts of the country live through riots and the big cities have imposed curfews, I think I am mostly safe from the violence; although, I thought I heard three gunshots and a car escaping earlier in the evening. It must have been all in my head because there were no police car sirens after.
Last year, a man got shot nearby and died. When I went to the Memphis in May barbecue festival, I met one of the detectives that worked on that case. I asked him a question about it, but he just stayed quiet, as if to wait for time to skip a beat and that moment to dissipate. Something in his demeanor stayed with me. One could feel the emotional toll of that line of business.
There are police officers now that are hurt that so many people have decided to criticize the police or assume that they are all capable of killing innocent citizens. It is the acts of the few that shape our perception of the many. It is not fair, but the riots are the price we pay for not acting sooner.
Today's JFK quote on Twitter is on point:
"Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable."
— John F. Kennedy (@JohnFKennedy) May 30, 2020
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