The Perfect Storm

We are witnessing the perfect storm in the U.S. now where the Coronavirus pandemic meets Donald Trump meets racial violence. The flames of racial tension have always been smoldering in the U.S., and now Donald Trump serves as fuel for this fire, and the Coronavirus crisis is making a bad situation worse.

We are witnessing massive protests in many U.S. cities, both large and small. Historical racial violence against African Americans have occurred for hundreds or years beginning with enslavement, and then later through lynchings and cross burning to threaten African Americans without prosecutions or convictions of their White perpetrators. Jim Crow laws of the 19th and 20th century were local laws enacted to enforce racial segregation of African Americans in the U.S. until 1965.

In fact, racial violence is still happening in the current day in the U.S. with the recent killing by police of George Floyd on May 25, 2020. In 2019, 1099 people were killed by the police in the U.S., and Black Americans were disproportionately killed. https://mappingpoliceviolence.org/ These numbers are provided by the police departments. Here is a list of Black Americans killed by police during the last decade. A Decade of Watching Black People Die.

Then why are the protests occurring all over the U.S. now when racial violence has occurred for hundred of years? It’s simple. The White majority had little reason to protest earlier. After the Coronavirus pandemic hit the U.S., many White majority lost their jobs, and many are struggling to survive financially. Many businesses have closed, and even open businesses are struggling, with few customers with enough money to spend.

These protests are not simply about racial violence, but discontentment and anger from the White majority about the current economic conditions and the failed U.S. economy. Throughout the protests, White individuals from outside the communities have been setting fires, and damaging businesses while caught on live videos. Live videos show that protesters are peaceful, and have not set fires or damaged property.

As bleak as this scenario sounds, this is the time of awakening for Americans that the life they know is not full of roses. This awakening may finally affect the necessary changes for the U.S. when each American must take responsibility for their actions or inactions. This change must occur on an individual level by realizing that each person (with differing degrees) has turned a blind eye to what really is happening in the American reality. It is now time to wake up to what is really happening right in front of our noses for all this time! (Copyright 2020 Awakening Journey with All Rights Reserved)