Ten years ago, I had my first taste of militarized police. For weeks and months at Standing Rock, Natives and other citizens of this country were brutally treated. I wrote then about my concerns that this was the tip of the iceberg. That was under Obama. Since that time, more and more police are equipped and trained to protect property over people, and now with ICE they have been given permission to destroy families, communities and take lives, as we watch.
The police execution of Corey Ruiz in broad daylight in Madison on July 22 was inevitable if you follow the trajectory of permission granted to those in authority. Couple that with decades of killings by police and now ICE and you have a tinder box waiting to be ignited. And the refusal of government to uphold the law on murder by police is without conscience or compassion.
How long must a family wait for accountability? Emmett Till’s family waited 65 years and still there is none. How long must a community suffer the lack of dignity afforded them?
What is even more heart wrenching are the people and bots who deny the victim’s humanity with cruel accusations and chiding.
And to those who refuse to see what has always been true and is now on steroids, we are a lawless people who hide behind wealth and power. But there is hope. The marginalized and youth are not accepting our history to be our future. People are rising up, in large part due to the increased inhumanity, income disparity, and stripped safety nets. People want humanity to win. And no amount of power and arsenal will keep that tide from turning.
If you don’t like “Defund the police” or “Abolish ICE” and you’re OK with your tax dollars funding a genocide, you have betrayed yourself. It’s time to come back. Come home to your self and your humanity.
“No One Else should be hurt in Corey’s name”. Ruiz family statement:
“Corey was quiet, soft-spoken, and giving. He thought about other people before he thought about himself. He had a family who loved him. He was not alone in this world, and he was not without help. We ask that he not be reduced to a label he never carried.
“To the activists who have shown up for Corey, thank you. Keep fighting for justice, peacefully and together. Our family is not affiliated with any group, and you do not need our approval to demand accountability. Please work through our liaison rather than contacting our family directly.
“Our family did not organize or authorize the encampment at Williamson and Baldwin streets. We learned of it the day after it was set up. We were never asked, and we never agreed to the statement released in our name.
“The city cleared that intersection yesterday. We ask everyone at that corner and everyone wearing a badge to keep this peaceful. No one else should be hurt in Corey’s name.
“This family has authorized one GoFundMe, and only one:https://gofund.me/1d3ee8937. Any campaign raising money for protest or advocacy work should say so plainly, and should not tell donors the money is going to Corey’s family.
“We would welcome a respectful memorial for Corey that honors the man he was.
“We are asking for privacy while we grieve. Please work through our legal representatives and liaisons on any requests for our family.”
let kindness win 