In the early morning hours of Independence Day 2020, I’ll be standing there, Old Glory in hand, wondering not which way is up, but how and when up became down.
If ever there was a nation in distress, it is the United States of America in 2020.
If ever there was a time when the U.S. flag should be displayed upside down as a signal of that distress, the time is now.
Over the next couple of days, my family and I will need to make two decisions.
Trump, his cronies and enablers want us to believe “Antifa” has been causing all the damage since George Floyd’s death. Yeah, that’s bullshit.
If there were Old North Churches in cities across the United States, their steeples would have shone brilliantly over the past fortnight, signaling “One if by land, two if by sea.” But not for British soldiers, as in Paul Revere’s time; this time around, the warnings would have been about an Antifa invasion.
As protests, riots and over-militarized law enforcement responses played out in the wake of the murder of George Floyd, a Black man, by a White Minneapolis police officer, alerts flashed out via social media like sparks from a towering oak struck by lightning.
Antifa is bussing in agitators and counter protesters to stir up trouble and start riots, went the fiery bursts from people around the country, including the inept occupant of the Oval Office himself.
Rumor, innuendo and baiting have been ruling social media throughout the ongoing upheaval. People appear to feel they are in the right when decrying violence and property damage by “outside agitators.” They seem to be saying, collectively, “This isn’t anyone from our city. Blame the outside extremists!”
That concerned me, as I wrote last week. It does still.
The “outside agitator” narrative seems intended to distract people from the bigger picture, the cause and effect, the true meaning of what’s really going on. It’s not a new tactic. Google “history of outside agitator” and read some of the results from reliable sources, like this one from The New York Times.
Speaking of news media, they, too, have been rife with reports of “Antifa-led” agitation, counter protesting and violence. There are all kinds of problems with that, but here’s the most basic and obvious:
Protest sign: “The system in the United States isn’t broken; it was built this way.” We all need to do more to address racism and stop the killing of our brothers and sisters.
IV Words is horrified at what happened to George Floyd in Minneapolis – yet another death by cop for a black man in this country.
As a white man, my perspective is obviously limited, but what happens to people of color in the United States every day, and it seems especially to men of color, is shameful, soul-crushing, vile. I cannot imagine the daily feelings, from ever-present unease to terror.
For what it’s worth, I stand with all people of color. And today I stand especially with you for George Floyd.
#JusticeForGeorgeFloyd #BLM #BlackLivesMatter
