Could you imagine if dozens of parades took place in Virginia every summer? Not of the July 4 variety, mind you. But rather, to mark General Grant’s victory in the Battle of Appomattox? How do you think many of the locals might respond?
While we do not have this type of parade in the United States, we do have a recurring phenomenon that victims are tiring of: White police officers who injure and sometimes kill black men.
Sadly, it is almost impossible to weigh in on such matters without being called a sympathizer for one side or the other.
So let’s just stick with the facts of the late-May episode in Minnesota that led police and rioters to clash after the death of George Floyd. An arresting officer (Derek Chauvin) was recorded kneeling on Floyd’s neck for minutes on end, despite the victim’s repeated pleas he could not breathe.
Chauvin was fired and charged with third-degree homicide.
By any reasonable standard, Chauvin’s alleged behavior was excessive and unacceptable. By the way, it’s hardly OK for protestors to turn into looters and rioters, either. As the saying goes, two wrongs don’t make a right.
As a white person, it’s hard for me to completely understand the anger, frustration and sense of inequality that must accompany being black in America. I can empathize, but only from a safe distance.
What does this have to do with long-term care? Maybe not much. But then again, maybe something fundamental.
Chances are that a few and maybe more than a few of your employees are not white. How do you think repeatedly seeing black men get killed by white police officers might make them feel? Hurt? Furious? Betrayed? All of the above?
Solving America’s race-relations problem is way above my pay grade. But for what it’s worth, here’s some unsolicited advice. If one or more of your black employees currently seems a bit less pleasant than usual, this might be a good time to cut that person a little slack.
Who knows what she or he is going through? If you’re white, you probably have no idea.
From the July/August 2020 Issue of McKnight's Long-Term Care News
