A letter to H.umankind
Tags: Covid-19, Human Behavior, Racism, Covid Diaries, Humanity

Dear H.Police,

Watching you on the news, standing there in your uniform to serve and protect. In this time of Covid when standing within 5 feet of another person makes a part of me nervous, you stood strong as thousands of masked strangers took to the streets to express their feelings about how someone who looked like you mistreated others who did not look the same. While doing what is not just work, but your calling, you were surrounded with anger. As people surrounded you yelling “f- — - police”, as you and your assigned canine became targets of bottles and cans, your possessions set on fire, windows broken, and graffiti sprayed across your car, there was a part of you that absorbed it all. I want to thank you. To thank you for your restraint. To thank you for your understanding, or at the very least, to thank that part of you that was able to absorb so much of the anger of others. To thank you for your service. I get that a part of you must also feel hurt, angry, and unsure about what tomorrow may bring. I pray for your continued strength. I know it will be hard to see straight in a world that feels less safe. I understand how difficult it is to be judged on the basis of what you look like. I know the actions of others is not who you are. I pray you can continue to see that violence is not who we are either.

Dear H.Protestor,

Watching you on the news, standing there in your mask, there to demand justice and demonstrate the need for change. Even in this time of Covid when standing within 5 feet of another person makes a part of me nervous, you stood strong as multitudes of police and law enforcement took to the streets while a part of you questioned would one of them mistreat you or another because they did not look the same. While following your calling, you walked in solidarity and community giving voice to others who could not. As law enforcement began to surround you, dogs barking, officers tapping their legs with batons in unison as they marched down the street like a military unit preparing for battle, as pepper spray and tear gas began to be directed toward you, as your only transportation to get away was denied to you, there was a part of you that absorbed it all, and you walked home. I want to thank you. To thank you for your restraint. To thank you for your understanding, or at the very least, to thank that part of you that was able to absorb so much of the actions of the others. To thank you for your service. I get that a part of you must also feel hurt, angry, and unsure about what tomorrow may bring. I pray for your continued strength. I know it will be hard to see straight in a world that feels less safe. I get how difficult it is to be judged on the basis of what you look like. I know the actions of others is not who you are. I pray you can continue to see that violence is not who we are either.

Dear H.Newsperson,

Watching you on the news, standing there with your microphone and the cameraman running. Watching you on the news, standing there sometimes without your mask so that we may all be sure to hear your words, there to document whatever was to come. In this time of Covid when standing within 5 feet of another person makes a part of me nervous, you stood strong as multitudes of people took to the streets, demonstrators, law enforcement, and others just passing by, while a part of you questioned is this really safe during covid, what if something happens here. While following your calling, you helped to be our eyes so we could see, even as the peaceful demonstration rapidly evolved into something very different. As demonstrators ran toward you so you may help tell their story, as property was looted and destroyed, as pepper spray and tear gas filled your eyes and lungs too, there was a part of you that absorbed it all, and you captured what you could. I want to thank you. To thank you for your restraint. To thank you for your understanding, or at the very least, to thank that part of you that was able to absorb so much so that we too may see. To thank you for your service. I get that a part of you must also feel hurt, angry, and unsure about what tomorrow may bring. I pray for your continued strength. I know it will be hard to see straight in a world that feels less safe. I get how difficult it is to be judged on the basis of what you look like. I know the actions of others can never define a community, nor can the actions of an individual completely define that person. I pray you can continue to see that violence is not who anyone is, to help show what is without opinions, agendas or filters so we may try to take off our filters too in order to make sense of things for ourselves.

Dear H.Shop owner,

Watching your shop on the news, standing there boarded up, or not. Even in this time of Covid when standing within 5 feet of another person makes a part of me nervous, you stood strong as multitudes of people took to the streets, demonstrators, law enforcement, and others just passing by. You shut down to protect your staff and those you serve from Covid. You stood empty, and helpless as corporations sucked up millions of the stimulus funds you thought would be there to support you too. You were denied PPP loans and stood and watched in horror and helplessly as your stores were looted, vandalized, and set afire. There was a part of you that absorbed it all, and you try to move on, doing what you can. I want to thank you. To thank you for your restraint. To thank you for your understanding, or at the very least, to thank that part of you that was able to absorb so much loss. To thank you for your service. I get that a part of you must also feel hurt, angry, and unsure about what tomorrow may bring. I pray for your continued strength. I know it will be hard to see straight in a world that feels less safe. I know that some of you may not be able to reopen again after yet another blow. I get how hard it is to be judged on the basis of circumstance. I understand how you had no choice but to stand and endure. I know the actions of others can never define a community, nor can the actions of an individual completely define that person. I pray you can continue to see that violence is not who anyone is.

Dear H.Looter,

Watching you on the news, spray painting buildings, breaking windows, smashing cars, grabbing what you could, setting things ablaze all the while the cameras focused on you. Watching you on the news, standing there sometimes without your mask or hopping into cars with the license plate there for all to see, I can see this is only a part of who you are, set ablaze by the frenetic energy of the crowd. In this time of Covid when standing within 5 feet of another person makes a part of me nervous, you pressed on. I see that some of you were swept up in the moment, feeling invisible with your mask in the crowd (or because both you and the injustices against you multiplying your struggles have been invisible to far too many and for far too long). I get that some of you have been risking your life and the lives of those you love during Covid for minimum wage just so the rest of us could get our food delivered safely to our homes. I get that some of you were angry and felt you deserved this chance too to own that overpriced jewelry mined by slave workers overseas, or to have one of those new pairs of shoes. I get that most watching don’t have a clue what it has been like to walk in your shoes carrying burdens from your ancestors past that continue to haunt us today. I get that some of you had exactly this chaos as your agenda for attending the protest. I get that you are not all the same. As fireworks, bottles, tear gas, and pepper spray flew, there was a part of you that absorbed it all, and you did what you could. I want to thank you. To thank you for your restraint until now. To thank you for your understanding, or at the very least, to thank that part of you that was able to absorb so much so that we never had to before. To thank you for your service. I get that a part of you must also feel hurt, angry, and unsure about what tomorrow may bring. I pray for your continued strength. I know it will be hard to see straight in a world that feels less safe. I get how difficult it is to be judged on the basis of what you look like. I know the actions of others can never define a community, nor can the actions of an individual completely define that person. I pray you can continue to see that violence is not who anyone is, including you.

Dear H.uman,

Watching the news, looking back, what will you see? What did you learn from this experience? Will you also come to see, we were all the same H.uman? Will you also find your way to appreciate the commonalities, to have compassion even for the differences?

How will we be remembered?