It is difficult as a Black woman to type this blog and not feel some sense of “I told you so” as White America is reeling from the untimely death of Justine Damond, an Australian native murdered by the police.  (Let me first say, I am against ALL police brutality and racism.) My site is filled with blogs about the deaths of Black men, women, and children that seemingly were off the radar for White America. However, there is nothing more shocking to White America than when chickens come home to roost.

When Colin Kaepernick posted a tweet about the police being an offshoot of the slave patrols-  to White America, it was laughable. When Tamir Rice was killed on a playground in under two minutes, White America wanted to speak about his height. When Mike Brown was murdered in Ferguson with his hands in the air, White America wanted to paint him as a thug. When Rekia Boyd was shot in the head by police, White America said she was in the wrong place at the wrong time. When Sandra Bland was murdered in her jail cell, White America said, “If only she would have complied.” When Eric Garner was suffocated in a chokehold, White America said, “He should have listened to the police.” When Philando Castille was murdered, and we watched him bleed out on Facebook Live, White America said, “Well, he was getting his wallet.”

And now here we are.
White America.
With Justine Damond. Dead.
Murdered by the police.

From all media accounts, which made sure to point out she was blond, saved ducks, was a future bride, seemingly a good person that was simply calling the police to report an alleged assault and she is dead. Killed by Somali Officer Mohamed Noor.  We only have the account of the officers because there is no dashcam footage and the body cameras were turned off. Such a familiar story.

The problem, White America, is that police brutality, unjustified police shootings and murders are like cancer often rooted in racism. It is of no concern to me that this time the officer is Black and the victim White. He operates within a system with a foundation built on racism.  I have repeated this time and time yet it appears White America is not hearing me.

WAKE UP WHITE AMERICA! LISTEN!

Racism in a way is like cancer. Without immediate intervention, you cannot contain or destroy cancerous cells. Similarly, you cannot contain racism that is built within  system. (Why do you think they try to stop cancer before it spreads to the lymphatic system?)  Racism spreads and goes where it wants to go until it invades your entire being.  If you go to the doctor and the doctor says, “I am sorry. You have cancer.” You don’t say, “Well, that’s fine. If we don’t talk about it, it will go away.” You don’t say, “Well, it’s just kinda cancer, not really cancer. I have friends with cancer, so I’m cool.” Or how about, “Well, cancer happens to those people not me so I should be okay.” Or how about, “Well, let’s just keep the cancer in its spot and pray it doesn’t spread anywhere else.” If you said that about cancer, we would think you were insane.

The same goes for racism. You cannot contain racism. Racism will not be confined. It will not be held in a neat little box. It will not be hidden among the leaves on your family tree. Racism is a poison that always goes down to the roots. Infecting everything it comes into contact with. Racism is pervasive. It spreads into policies, legislation, and systems. And similarly, to cancer, the only way to combat racism, is to eradicate the cells. And we cannot begin to eradicate racism by pretending and portraying the death of Justine Damond differently than the death of Philando Castille. The ONLY reason this police shooting is NOW an issue is that Justine was WHITE. Period. The family’s attorney called her, “The most innocent victim in police shootings.” REALLY? REALLY?  What about Rekia Boyd, walking?  Jordan Edwards, getting in a car to ride home. Aiyana Stanley-Jones, seven years old sleeping on her couch MURDERED by the police. Who is more innocent than a 7-year-old sleeping? The only difference is THEY ARE BLACK!! Does that make them less innocent?

And while I do not agree with the Blue Lives Matter agenda, where are they? Where is Blue Lives Matter? SILENT! If Blue Lives REALLY mattered, they would stand behind him. This is what we have repeated time and time. Blue Lives Matter is a White agenda to uphold and defend White police officers. What Blue Lives Matter REALLY means is White Police Lives Matter if you kill a Person of Color. If you kill a Black or Brown person, they will rally behind you, create an online campaign for funds, bring your family casseroles and defend you relentlessly on social media but now it is different because a Black officer killed a White woman. Suddenly, running up on a police car, in the dark with a cell phone in your hand means NOTHING! Yet when every time a Black man reaches for his wallet, holds a cell phone, or breathes in broad daylight and is murdered by the police, anything in their hands magically appears like a gun, and that’s okay with White America. The, “I felt threatened” excuse seems to work ANY OTHER TIME. Yet surprisingly officers and White America as a whole do not stand behind this “Blue Life”. I wonder why? What’s different this time?

White America you have some explaining to do. Your hypocrisy is showing! From police brutality to drug addiction to healthcare you are a hypocrite.

States are bending over backward to prove that White people strung out on opioids and heroin are now a health crisis. Really? Because White middle-class kids are now strung out, it is now a public health crisis? White America is demanding rehabilitation clinics, and lesser jail sentences and the media is painting White drug addiction in pretty words. Yet during the crack epidemic, which hit and wiped out a huge portion of Black mothers, fathers, sons and daughters, no one cared. No one gave a damn about investigating the governments roll in introducing crack to the Black community. Crack addiction was not a health crisis. Calling mothers addicted to crack wasn’t met with nice words from the media. They were crack hoes and crack bitches. And their children weren’t considered suffering and the state finding a way to make them well; they were just cast off as crack babies. Crack offenses were dealt harsh sentences in the legal system. And now, White America wants to care, because drug addiction has come home to roost. It doesn’t feel good when drugs hit Johnny and Becky, does it? It doesn’t feel good when you’ve built an empire off the backs of Black people, and Johnny and Becky are too high and strung out to sustain your plantation legacy does it?

Now reality has hit Middle America, and now it’s a tragedy.  How does that feel?

The same goes for healthcare. When a Black President was trying to give you health care, masses of White America hated the idea! Hated “Obamacare”! White America rallied around Trump to repeal Obamacare because they didn’t have Obamacare, they had the leprechaun, magical Affordable Health Care not realizing they had been duped. When Trump was talking about taking healthcare away from people, White America was fine. Great! Take it away! However once White America saw, Trump meant them too, now magically, they don’t have a problem with “Obamacare”. An article recently came out and someone said, “I don’t know why I had a problem with it before.” Really? NOTHING CHANGED! So if you had a problem before but not now, it leads me to believe you had a problem because a Black man came up with the idea! And you allowed your racism to override your health! IDIOT!

White America, you can continue to pretend if you want. But your dirty laundry is showing. My mother always told me, “What doesn’t come out in the wash, will always come out in the rinse.” And your dirty laundry is on display. Dirty laundry that we have told the world about since time was time.

White America this blog is a chin check to your bullshit and hypocrisy. White America you are fooling no one but yourselves. And now you cannot lie any longer.  There is a well-known quote by Martin Niemöller that says:
“First, they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Socialist.
Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.”

I changed this quote to say, “First they came for BLACK PEOPLE and White America said, ‘Who cares?'” Perhaps if White America would have cared about Black people we wouldn’t be here now. We tried to tell you.

Now here we are.

Make room in the coop. More chickens will be coming home.