• Show Notes

Dear Listener,

The videos of George Floyd’s death are difficult to watch. One minute, Floyd is there, alive and very human and then he isn’t. His life drains away as he uses the last of his breath to beg for help while bystanders on the sidewalk plead with the officers to let him up.

Many people have said they don’t want to watch. I understand that, because it really is too much on one level. You cannot watch the video from start to finish without feeling seared—and we see the deep pain of the witnesses who had to watch George Floyd’s death in person and, in the absence of any personal responsibility for it, are consumed with grief over what they could have done to prevent it. So I don’t write to chastise or to shame anyone into watching. But I hope people, especially those whose lives don’t admit the possibility of this kind of conduct by police, will watch during the trial, despite, or perhaps because of, the pain it inflicts. 

This has happened – some variation of it – too many times. Among them, Eric Garner. Michael Brown. Tamir Rice, just 12 years old. Alton Sterling. Philando Castile. Breonna Taylor. Elijah McClain. Rayshard Brooks. Marvin Scott.