9 Minutes and 29 Seconds

One year after George Floyd’s murder, I am reflecting on the statement made by George Floyd’s now 7-year-old daughter Gianna; “My daddy is changing the world”. Gianna is right. George Floyd had a greater purpose. Change is slow, but change needs to happen, and while George Floyd’s life is judged by some as being less than exemplary, I see that as “earthly stuff” which is neither here nor there. The truth of the matter is, no matter what George Floyd’s life consisted of, he did not deserve to be murdered that day, by an apparently white supremacist police officer, who took it upon himself to kneel on Mr. Floyd’s neck for 9 minutes and 29 seconds, resulting in his death. George Floyd fought for his life, for 9 long minutes and 29 seconds, while the breath was being squashed out of him by a cold blooded, cold hearted police officer.

George Floyd’s tragic end of life can be a catalyst to change. As called for by Minnesota’s Governor Walz, I hope that everyone reading this, will stop today, (or any day) and take a break from the daily rush of life, to reflect and meditate on the inequality still prevalent in our world 402 years after slavery began and 156 years after it was “abolished” by the 13th amendment (which is a matter of interpretation). The 13th amendment states: “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.” It seems the truth of the matter is that slavery was not abolished but it was instead basically moved from the plantations to the prisons. The corrupt prison system is another related topic, but not the point in this blog. While there are so many good police officers, there are also, too many bad ones. White supremacy has infiltrated Government and law enforcement agencies in a big way and this needs to be addressed, yesterday. No one with the power of carrying a firearm or locking someone up, should have any bias against any person, period. Yet this behavior is highly accepted. It should not be lost on people, that the fact that someone’s life can be hard, full of struggles and unfortunate things and yes, poor choices, is not a death sentence. “Well, he shouldn’t have done this or he shouldn’t have done that” is a common argument. Who are we to judge? How do we know what he did or did not do?

There is no light without the dark as one cannot exist without the other. For the light to be shown the dark must happen first. It is possible that in the grand scheme of things, or, the birds eye view from the perspective of the universe, that this man’s life purpose was to bring light to this dark subject. George Floyd’s life purpose could have been greater than any one of ours. His soul could be of higher vibrations than any of ours. What if his purpose and his sacrifice, was to bring light to the fact that people of color all over the world are being treated unfairly and brutally harmed due to someone else’s “holier than thou” opinion of them? George Floyd’s life was callously disposed of and then left innocent children without a parent. What happened to George Floyd is a fear that all of our brothers and sisters of all colors, must live with day in and day out. Why? Why aren’t we better than that? Why aren’t we doing anything about that?

I don’t know everything about George Floyd’s life, I don’t know even a little bit about his life, but I do know that he was a troubled man who did not deserve to be murdered in cold blood by someone with hate in their heart, who decided to take judge and jury into his own hands and serve the death penalty to Mr. Floyd. Someone with hate and prejudice in their heart should never have been allowed in a place of power, taking an oath to serve and protect the people. That’s supposed to be ALL the people, not just the people they approve of. I don’t have all the answers, but I do know that this is unacceptable, and I will be spending 9 minutes and 29 seconds today to honor George Floyd and his family for the ultimate sacrifice of his life, for the greater good. I hope that as the world does the same, the actual reality of the length of 9 minutes and 29 seconds, with an officer’s knee on someone’s neck, choking them alive, will awaken the world to the fundamental wrongs of our systems in place, which currently allow for prejudice, racism, inequality, violence, abuse, and judgement of others. No one’s individual bias puts them above anyone else. We all have chosen our paths in life and perhaps George’s path was to bring attention and light to the fact that racism is not only an issue, but it is an issue that is being tolerated and often defended, in our government. It is my hope that after contemplating this for 9 minutes and 29 seconds, more of us will wake up to the hard truth of how long 9 minutes and 29 seconds is, and that this was racism through and through, and that racism is very much alive and tolerated by many of the powers that be, even today in 2021. It is time for change, it is time for all of us to do whatever it takes, to pay attention, to give a damn, and to stop tolerating racism. Let us insist on this change, help facilitate it, and promote loving and serving each other as equals, and in the light of which we were made.