Day 128: Response about many things..
I am not disputing how horribly George died, and that racial issues persist, and that there are many on the police force that are corrupt. These four officer’s are in jail and could face up to 40 years in prison for second degree murder and George’s brother wants Chauvin to face first degree. I’m not in law so I can’t add anything to that but it was clear this cop had a history that was left, unchecked.
But, George was not laid off because he was black. He was laid off more than likely because all bars, restaurants, and other places where groups could gather were temporarily closed to isolate the virus. Business in MN is just beginning to re-open but not at full staff, yet. I have been laid off since March 18 because I am a service provider, and many of us in MN have been laid off for the same reasons because of COVID isolation - we shut down business to quarantine. Even now, only 25% of a workforce in any given industry that was closed down, can go back to work and only if specific guidelines are followed. People who worked with computers for corporations that were shut down were able to work from home. Not everyone can do that. Restaurants could still offer to-go food services but the workers had to practice the same social distancing guidelines and masks while there, and not all could be working. Churches and other places of worship had to do the same, and can only have a few attend a service, with masks and social distancing. COVID affected everyone.
I am sure you know this because most states have done this, depending on the Governor's ruling. We all were able to go on Unemployment Insurance including those who were self-employed, which has never been true in the past, and who never paid into the insurance were able to receive it because of the forced shut-downs. President Trump and Congress, additionally, allowed a four month period, which is not over yet, that those on Unemployment Insurance receive $600 per week on top of what they would have received from UI. Anyone who filed taxes in 2018, 2019 received a stimulus check on top of that with extra money given to those with children under 16. Some people have made more money NOT working than when they were employed. So, if you live here, you would know all this.
I am white. I have diabetic issues from both side of my parents, have been gestational diabetic, and unless I'm not careful, I have been pre-diabetic more than once. I bring my sugars down with cinnamon. The Native community here has issues with diabetes. My best friend, who is a black female is married to a white husband, and he is diabetic, which he passed on to his son, who has three of the four races in him - two from mom — she is not diabetic. Some races are more prone to different types of illnesses, for sure, and I am reading more that the black community is one of them for COVID. I would bet that most of us have underlying issues or genetic predispositions to any number of illnesses, and we KNOW that George was murdered. I don’t think anyone with eyes could say otherwise. We know that there have been some who have tried to say something different, but they are being called out, too.
Anyone here who cannot afford healthcare insurance because they did not make enough money typically was able to get on our either less expensive state healthcare plans, and if that was still too much, many qualified for the Medical Assistance plan, which then covered 100% of everything, including dental. Some people fell through the cracks, like me because I make too much, but not enough; therefore, we would have to purchase a private plan because under the Affordable Healthcare Act, it was illegal for people to NOT carry insurance, or were fined. You should know that, too. Until I was able to receive Medicare two years ago, my private healthcare cost me over $700 a month, with a deductible that was as high as $6700, and until I met that, everything was paid for out-of-my-pocket. I couldn’t afford to go to the doctor for two years because it was full price visits and drugs (no dental or vision), not co-pays. The Affordable Healthcare Act hurt many people.
This has definitely opened up eyes, though, and things are slowly moving to correct them. Peaceful protestors were lumped in with the violent protestors who showed up from outside groups, which I would call domestic extremist terrorists. They came to disrupt, burn, and create conditions of high emotional intensity. Even peaceful protestors were angry about them because it took away from what they were trying to do. The destroyed areas of Minneapolis were where many mixed groups lived, bought their foods and medicines, used the public transportation system and where many homeless resided. They even burned down a low cost housing development that wasn’t even finished getting built.
They now have no where to shop for their necessities. Many more jobs are lost because these places of business were destroyed, and some of them were owned by immigrants coming to America for a better life, as well as our black community. We have a large Somali community here. Many times insurance does not cover rioting, so they lost their livelihood, as well, and cannot afford to start over. Even if aid can come, you must know that to get through all the paperwork it will take a very long time.
Yes, we need to clean up corruption, and those who didn’t stop it, like the head of the police union, need to be ousted from their jobs, and held accountable. Bad cops have made it extremely hard for good cops to do their job. Just like bad priests made it hard for good priests to do their job when their corruption was not stopped. It cost the church, heavily, and so many were hurt, needlessly.
No one can look the other way, we are all a part of it. You can write about it, but what are you (the collective you) actually doing to help someone out? Will you sponsor a family in need? Will you regularly donate to food shelves, or volunteer at non-profits designed to help the poor? Will you seek out someone who completely lost everything and start a gofundme to help them raise money to start over? Words without action are useless. And, just in case you are wondering about me, yes, I take action and have been raised that way. I have done something to help others my entire adult life; sponsoring families here and abroad, donating food, gathering furniture and other household items for refugees and immigrants, locating families who couldn’t afford Christmas and bought their gifts, donating baby items for mothers who chose to keep their babies, collecting clothes for St. Joseph’s Home for Children who couldn’t stay in there home, for whatever reason… I am not trying to toot my own horn, I am just saying that we all need to pitch in from our hearts. We don’t wait for others, or governments.
My fear is those left to live in those destroyed neighborhoods without supplies, may be forgotten in a few weeks. The isolation was already hard on the aged, and this just doubled their problems because they now live in fear that they won’t get their needs met, or that someone may come and burn their building down. In one city they set fire to a building with a child still in there and tried to block the firefighters from going in. Those people who did this must also be held accountable. The destruction nationwide will cost billions, but maybe that was their point.
Two passages out of my Christian Bible say this:
Matthew 25:37 (This said to Jesus) “Then the righteous will answer Him and say, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink?”
Matthew 25:40 (His answer) “As often as you did it to one of the least of My brothers and sisters, you did it for Me.”
God knows everyone’s heart, and no one passes from life into death without going through Him. No one.
Namaste.
