The video shared here is another of many appalling, infuriating and…heartbreaking examples of the harm that results from the racial empathy gap in America. In the video, the 43-year-old Eric Garner of Long Island, NY is handcuffed and clearly…#$@%ing…unconscious, after having been recently restrained in a *banned* chokehold by one of the arrogant pigs standing nearby. Why he was restrained by the cop is still unclear, but the voice behind the camera says that he hadnt done anything. And frankly, Im more than inclined to believe him. This is especially true for me when considering the number of times that Ive been stopped and harassed by cops for doing nothing more than: 1) driving a car, 2) riding as a passenger in someone elses car, or 3) simply walking down the street. (hashtag: racial profiling) Despite Mr. Garners clearly unconscious state, the cops continue to speak intermittently to him as if hes conscious and aware of their disingenuous efforts to communicate with him. A few minutes later in the video, when the EMTs finally arrive, one of them also speaks to Mr. Garner as if hes conscious and thus capable of responding to her verbal instruction; actions that mirror the stupidity of the (eight) police officers standing nearby. No CPR. No oxygen masks. Just utter #$@% apathy for the life and well-being of this man. Somehow it just doesnt occur to the police or to the EMTs that Mr. Garners life is actually in jeopardy, and somewhere between the sidewalk he lay chained like a dog upon and the hospital he dies. This is all the more heartbreaking when I recall another news story posted to the web the day before the the video of Mr. Garner is posted. That news item detailed how a Texas firefighter worked for 30 minutes, performing CPR and giving oxygen to chihuaha in order to save the life of the animal after it was pulled from a fire. inquisitr/1362136/firefighter-saves-dog-by-giving-cpr-brings-chihuahua-back-to-life/ In addition to that story, I also recall the recent video of children in South Africa who were used as stand-ins for dogs in a controversial ad campaign, and this flood of information re-enforces what you and I already know. To many whites, people of African ancestry are simply what singer Neil Young just recently called Americas (black) president: sub-human. And, if you find yourself cast by others into the subhuman category, its clearly better to be a little brown and white chihuaha than a big scary-looking black man. The life expectancy rates are certainly better. #TearsforEricGarner
Posted on: Sun, 20 Jul 2014 20:46:42 +0000
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