2020 has definitely been a year of crisis and media-frenzy and we’re not a full 6 months into it yet! It’s been chockfull of unprecedented events (at least in my lifetime) with sickness on a global scale… where whole countries just shut-down and people were asked and/or forced to stay indoors.

This type of action was something I’d only witnessed in some Hollywood drama… that was meant to cause suspense and drama amongst its audience. But here we are… actually living this now, with the National Guard having been utilized to assist in dealing with the sick and trying to relieve some of the pressures with the amount of testing needed, for the population.

This was even evident, as a 1st, where the Michigan Department of Corrections called in the National Guard to do a mass-testing of the Michigan prison population. This following the positive test results of over 5000+ prisoners. This pandemic has been life-altering, to say the least… and we still don’t know how all of this is gonna play out or just how much of an effect it’ll have on life going forward?! It just depends on what “new normal” you choose to subscribe to and which media outlet you decide makes the most sense?!

And as the Nation and World began to see a little light at the end of this global health crisis… with businesses, States & Countries slowly moving back into the light of normalcy… our Nation was slammed with yet another senseless death at the hands of those who’ve been slated to protect our lives & liberties.

“To Protect & Serve”… those words no longer hold the same power or meaning, that was once meant for them. Then again, did they ever really?? I mean, for some in society, I guess that those words really meant something… while for others they didn’t seem to experience the same equal representation of “To Protect & Serve”.

And this has been the problem, for too many generations of people in our society… our police forces have always shown an aversion to certain races, nationalities and classes of people. This has been a story as old as this Nation itself… for generations it was legal to beat or kill a man JUST based on the color of his skin, because he was deemed less-than.

Then, when laws were changed to prevent these evil-acts… this did little to change the beliefs or actions of those committing those acts, so they continued on in the guise of law enforcements attempt “to serve & protect”… with impunity. So now society was split, with the majority seeing the police as protectors & saviors and the rest seeing them for the racist-murderers they could be.

And thats not to call ALL people involved in law enforcement bad, that would be a false statement… one that wouldn’t give the proper respect due, to the men & women who truly do use their power & position to protect & serve our communities. Even giving their lives in the process of maintaining that oath… to serve & protect.

I mean, coming from the lifestyle I chose to live… I was rarely, if ever on the same page as law enforcement. Our objectives were generally polar opposites of the other… but knowing my life and what came with it, I had the understanding of where I stood with police. And, regardless of the fact that I’m Caucasian (white), I have been on the receiving end of a knee, boot and gun-barrell… too many times! However, I also look at the situation from a civilians perspective (those of a non-criminal lifestyle), like my Mother.

Those are the people, in society, who the police are meant to serve & protect… keeping them safe. It’s just unfortunate when those police don’t or won’t differentiate due to the color of their skin or some other internal bias and something like what happened with George Floyd happens… over and over and over… this is the true pandemic that we’ve been living with for generation after generation. But this is the 1st time, in a long time where it feels like there is a real possibility of change.

I don’t know what’s gonna happen now or even how some people can ever be changed? You’ll always have some people who will hold onto those internal biases and prejudices, that have long been taught to them. And until we can address and correct that issue, there will always be those beliefs and hatreds looming under the surface. What we do need to do is create a more honest, real & transparent system of justice to deal with the atrocities committed from behind a badge.

Instead of just trying to cover-up, justify or shift-blame (to the victim of some police violence) there needs to be the same type of definitive action (if not more) taken by the justice system… as there would be against any other non-law enforcement criminal!! As I was saying, if not more… I mean we’re told to hold police at a higher standard… as they are suppose to be taught to hold themselves at a higher standard. If that’s the case, then they need to be held even more accountable for their actions, outside that “standard”… without excuse! Then maybe society, as a whole, can again look at law enforcement in the same regard as they were intended to be viewed and revered INSTEAD of feared!!

I don’t know… who am I, but a man serving Life in prison talking about the crimes & injustices that are continually committed from the law enforcement community… that continue to go unchecked and without consequence. The only difference between my situation and that of so many of those officers is that I’ve, many times, faced the consequences of my actions AND the actions of others. I was convicted with very little regard for the truth, no actual evidence and off the testimony (that was recanted almost immediately) of 1 co-defendant chasing a deal. Yet, you can have multiple direct video evidence & body-cam footage of the actual crime and STILL decide to justify a senseless murder! Make that make sense!!

So, what does the future hold?? I literally just saw on CNN, that 2 black men were found hanging in California a couple weeks ago… reminiscent to a modern day lynching. This is fucking ridiculous, that acts like this could still take place in these modern days! Then the police there were just trying to quickly close it off as suicides… to very adamant arguments by those young men’s families. NOW the police will decide to look into the basic circumstances that shoulda been investigated… day 1! Again, I ask what does the future hold and how do we move forward positively??

And just to add to all the tragedies, protests and much needed change… we still have a global viral-pandemic, that’s NOT going away like some Government Powers might wish us to just blindly believe. Actually, it would seem that the rush to return to a “new normal” may be the biggest factor in keeping more & more people sick and spreading the coronavirus. Our attempts to rush through it are forcing us to stay in it even longer! AGAIN… make that make sense!

All I can do is sit here and watch what madness the world is going through and hope that greater minds can find the path to a better world… if not for us now, then at least for our chidren and their children. Free from the grip of this virus and (hopefully) the new viruses to follow… and free from the prejudices, hate & mistrust, that have gone on to perpetuate the social & racial injustices that have continued to happen, for far too long!

Let’s try to finally make it make sense!

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