Milwaukee outlines plan to re-open city
Distraction
Others complained this was a distraction - to allow bars and restaurants to open up now - during a time of protest for racial justice and police accountability. So, my question here is, are businesses to stay closed until we have complete racial harmony? What is the time frame?
Do some think people don't have the ability to walk and chew gum? People can't be focused on societal improvement ... and occasionally go out to eat?
So, let me get this straight, the George Floyd murder, at the hands of a piece of shit cop (and his shitty accomplices), has inflamed our better senses, but if we can suddenly dine out again, we'll forget about that? If that's the case, you're not as righteous, woke, or enlightened as you think you are.
Pushing for people to concentrate on one thought, or being able to only hold one idea at a time, doesn't make you a woke warrior, it makes you a baby. People can do more than one thing. If the fact that the mayor announcing a 25% capacity reopening for bars and restaurants has distracted you from the fact that America is, and has been, extremely racist and has a lot of work do, you're not woke, you're not an adult, you're just a squirrel distracted by any sudden noise or light.
And, it appears most of the recent distraction and other complaints about reopening are coming from white people. Which begs the question, where have you been? There's a long
history of racism, oppression, segregation and inequality in America. It didn't just start in May 2020.
If you're so woke, let's look through all of your Twitter, Instagram and Facebook posts over the years and see how much time and effort you put forth in seeking racial equality and justice. Some of these same people were complaining of the lockdown not too long ago. Being closed, or being deemed non-essential, not being able to operate, that was un-American. The government, in trying to manage the pandemic, was overreaching and putting businesses at risk.
Seems to be a lot of bandwagon-jumpers with slogans and hashtags, pretending they've been part of the solution all along, and then criticizing, what would appear to be, their allies for not being as perfect as them, in their little fictionalized, sanitized, revisionist world.
The Mayor
A lot of vitriol has been throw at Mayor Barrett. He may not be perfect, but he sure as hell just seems to be trying to
do the right thing. But let me get this straight, he alone is supposed to run a major city, try to manage the pandemic and solve racism?
Further,
the mayor is not the police. Tom Barrett doesn't make the call for tear gas,
rubber bullets or the
use of force. Tom Barrett has called for officers to be
fired and he has
marched with the
protesters. Tom Barrett took a
pipe beating at State Fair to protect a baby and her grandmother. He is not some insensitive, racist, political apparatchik. He's doing his best to try to keep the city
safe while trying to figure out how to move forward and right the wrongs. But there are no guidelines for this (at least not as many clear and concise guidelines as there are for operating your business during a pandemic); sometimes you have to figure it out as you go.
Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett joins protesters in Wisconsin against police killing of George Floyd
The Police
I've long
complained about the
police. Not that they are all bad or that it's not a tough job. But their
budgets take way too much
money from municipalities, which could be used for economic development, training, education, small business loans, etc. Which could go a long way toward helping poverty and inequality.
Yet, there are a lot of bad police doing bad things and costing their municipalities millions of dollars for their criminality. They need better vetting, training and accountability. Our country needs a paradigm shift in how we look at and operate our policing and law enforcement.
Also, we just have
too many police in too many communities. We need to focus on police serving and protecting rather than simply enforcing the law. Because their emphasis seems to be on the
force part of
enforcement.
In Closing
This country has a long way to go toward racial justice, fair pay, equal opportunity, health care as a right, giving voice to the voiceless, and numerous other issues where we sadly lag behind. So, by all means, peacefully protest, run for office, vote for candidates that will actually do something, join an advocacy or lobbying organization, or start a local group to focus on a particular issue. Focus on the issue(s), know your true enemy and don't cut off your nose to spite your face.
Proactive, Productive Ways to Help
Milwaukee Urban League using community roundtables to identify solutions to end injustice
