Changing Our Narrative
By: Dave Devereaux
There are those who will identify with what I am saying in this article, and those who may never understand why I’ve written this one. I have sat and simply cried lately for so many reasons. I’m not the least bit ashamed of these tears because they are warranted and yet cleansing. The reasons I express are mine, but anyone who has a shred of empathy will understand the pain and joy I share.
I got my first vaccine against COVID-19 on Friday, March 12th. I was not prepared for how emotional it made me. It has been a full year that we have lived under the fear of contracting this deadly virus. The previous government administration gave us little reason to believe that there would be any quick solutions, as they refuted the virus’ lethal status and continued to tell us, “This would go away.”
Once President Biden’s administration took over, he began to work with CDC scientists, vaccine manufacturers, state governors and medical delivery systems to make sure that this was a priority. At last there appeared to be a comprehensive plan to service the greater population. As the eligibility tiers rolled out, I waited patiently to get word that I was eligible for the vaccine.
Once I received my first dose, I made it back to my car and all of a sudden was overwhelmed at the fact that I along with so many others had waited for this helplessly. I just sat there for about twenty minutes before heading home. My thoughts kept coming back to the large number of people who never had that opportunity because they lost their lives to this deadly virus. I thought about overwhelmed health care workers who continue to risk their own lives to make sure their patients are cared for. And most sadly, all the families who lost a grandparent, mother, father, brother, sister or friend to this pandemic who never got the opportunity to say goodbye.
I personally lost five friends due to COVID-19. These were healthy people who had so much more to give in this life, but now are lost too soon. To lay blame on Trump’s inaction at this time is pointless. We must support those families and individuals who suffered loss during this pandemic and continue to look in on them to make sure they know they are cared for. I implore everyone to express the empathy so many have been denied in this yearlong era of suffering and uncertainty.
I’m saddened after seeing all the media surrounding the number of Asian Americans being blatantly attacked on the streets of America as a result of an ignorant politician who would do anything to please a constituency long bent on maintaining control. Within the past year, over 3,800 anti-Asian attacks have occurred. The vast number of cases involve women as the victims, but increasingly both men and women have been the targets. These attacks have involved shunning, slurs and physical attacks. Alarming incidents involving black people as the aggressor is most shocking. You would think that any black person would have enough empathy to know what that feels like since we have been the target of so many racial incidents in past history. To witness the attacks sometimes shown on news channels is heartbreaking. We have witnessed the attacks that have occurred against elderly Asian Americans in broad daylight and in public view.
Why is this happening? Again, professionals speculate that Trump’s racist rhetoric calling COVID-19 the “kung flu” gave zealots a platform to justify their behavior the same way he incited the insurrection on January 6th. As black Americans, we can empathize with being targets as this is something that we endure daily. To simply tell someone, “Go back to where you’re from” is really quite stupid as many times, here is where that individual is from. In our case, telling a black American to go back is ridiculous as we have only lived on this land and in this country since being forced to come in shackles. That ignorant belief that some belong and some don’t is beyond my comprehension. All this makes one really sad to think how far back we have stepped and there is always one name associated with that digression.
I’m saddened by the number of incidents that have alluded to racist behavior recently. Sharon Osbourne’s recent defense of Piers Morgan and his underlying racial denigration of Duchess Meghan Markle was proof that many white people have no clue. She kept shrieking to co-host Sheryl Underwood to “educate me” when the reality is, no black person is responsible for educating a white person about race. Blacks didn’t ask for racism, but we were forced to live under its many facets in order to survive. It is the responsibility of the individual to improve in areas they are deficient in, especially when it comes to race. If one could successfully teach anti-racism, by now there would be so much less.
As a result of Sharon Osbourne’s behavior, and apparent insensitivity, she lost her job of 10 years on The Talk and is now looked at very differently by her once-adoring fans. This is not the only incident that has led me to wonder about her level of elitism as there was a report where she demanded an assistant run back into her burning mansion in England to retrieve paintings. After she and her husband joked about the fire, the assistant did not find that to be amusing, as he stated that he suffered smoke inhalation and possible damages for life. She quipped if you don’t find that funny, “you’re fired.” She later tried to play down the incident stating that she did not actually fire him but we have no way of knowing if that is true as I am sure all employees that work for them sign non-disclosure agreements (NDAs). This demonstrates a blatant disregard for others that a story like this would even be in question.
And then there is the case of the Georgetown Law professor who disparaged black law students in her class via a video platform that was overheard by others. The real catch in that story was the fact that there was only one black student in the class she was lamenting about to her colleague. Both adjunct professors, Sandra Sellers and David Batson, were fired after being overheard via video making these comments. The dean of the school cited their behavior as reprehensible. Students from the Black Student Union were disappointed because of the timeline in addressing these matters, having previously filed a complaint about her.
Now that she is caught, the school is responsible for auditing her grades of all minority students. This severely damages the reputation of Georgetown Law along with some of the practices of its teaching staff. Georgetown already has a somewhat controversial reputation in respect to past racial insensitivities toward blacks throughout its history. Again, this comes back to why are blacks and possibly other minorities held to a different standard always? Should they find irregularities, Georgetown Law’s credibility could become even more of a lightning rod of controversy when it comes to minority student enrollment and acceptance. More importantly, how many white students may have gotten by without being held to any standard?
What’s most alarming these days is the number of cases of police officers who are involved in questionable shootings, yet they still get exonerated of any wrongdoing, despite videos demonstrating the opposite. The number of crooked judges that continue to try these cases without any feeling of remorse either dismiss the case or instruct a jury of all the possible verdicts except murder. It appears that America will never hold its legal system up to a balanced application of justice for all races.
The number of Republicans that see things that are so opposite the actual visual is astounding. Many of them are even more to blame as they continue to bend the law to suit them and their constituents. There may come a time where that level of blatant disregard for fairness reaches another boiling point and the next set of marches ends up being about them.
The most important thing we can do is vote our current legislators out and vet new politicians who will not only talk the talk, but walk the walk. Qualified immunity—protection of a government official from lawsuits alleging that an official violated a person’s rights, only allowing suits where the official violated a “clearly established” statutory or constitutional right—must be abolished for police officers. If anyone thinks they can get away with a questionable deed, they are more likely to utilize that privilege and commit that infraction, knowing that there is a high bar to reach before they can be sued. This is the real quest of police reform. In fairness, I respect police officers and hold what they do in high regard, but there are those that have taken the privilege of qualified immunity to mean nothing can or will happen to them in questionable instances, many times involving the loss of life. Eight out of ten times a person of color is involved.
As we continue to speak our truths, the powers that be see that we will no longer back down just as the 1960s civil rights actions proved the same. This generation of activism has demonstrated that young, old and all nationalities recognize the need for police reform along with improved legal rights for victims and their families. All of these issues continue to make for anxiety and anger at times. The fact that we still have to fight bigotry, racism, homophobia and xenophobia is in itself a challenge to rational behavior and common sense empathy for others.
