I find myself awake tonight for multiple reasons. I watched half of World's Greatest Dad (interrupted by a call on the duty phone, and not an uplifting movie especially considering recent events) and when I got back my wife was half asleep. Robin Williams was (and still is) an inspiration to me, and that has been said many times. As a child of divorce, Mrs. Doubtfire really hit home for me. Looking back, it still does....I wish my father cared abut me the way the father was portrayed in the movie. It was him (along with a few others) that made me want to be funny. Not necessarily stand-up or acting, but someone who can make people laugh and bring them joy. He made me want to be a genuinely good person, one someone can go to for help, or one that will help someone without being asked. There have been many celebrity deaths in my lifetime, but this one seems to have a bigger impact on me. It makes me want to be a better husband, friend, family member and student affairs professional. It makes me want to listen well and have good conversations. It makes me want to challenge and educate myself as well as others. It makes me want to be better.
With these thoughts in my head I couldn't sleep so I started just going link to link on my phone, the way we all know how to do. I went from Robin Williams, to John Belushi, to Chris Farley, to ALS and then to Twitter. Twitter is where it seemed everyone was talking about the events that are happening in Ferguson right now. I find myself in kind of a dark place, the type of place where I am thinking about death, the issues in the world. Mind you I am happy with where I am not, I am happily married, I am 2.5 weeks into a great job, things are going well. However, I think sometimes, we can all get to a place where we are thinking about things like this.
In order to not disturb my wife, I moved out to the living room and started reading through the tweets about Ferguson to get a handle on what is going on. Mostly, for me anyways, what I am reading is very informative. From the protests to the arrests of journalists for just trying to cover the story. It is truly horrible what is happening there. People are getting hurt and arrested. Officers are in full combat gear as if going into a war zone, and looking at the pictures that is exactly what it has turned into. Unfortunately some of the tweets have been....rather tasteless. Blaming what has happened on Obama being elected (and this being the sole reason mind you), that the people of this town are animals, and the cops have every right to do what they are doing.
I used to be that naive...I really did. I thought that the people in power could do no wrong and that no matter what it was always the fault of the people going against those in power. Let's get something straight here...there are great cops who do a great job, there are bad cops who are dirty. We have white people who are trying to make a change and understand the world and then there are those who are overtly racist. There are good people in this world and there are bad people in this world. Let's make one thing clear though....Racism is still a huge issue in this country. Anyone who denies it is either oblivious or just choose not to pay attention. Regardless of how this turns out in Ferguson, whomever is responsible, we still have a huge issue. I am trying to wait until all the details to come out before rushing to judgment, but eye witness accounts and other reports are hard to turn a blind eye to. Reporters being arrested for no clear reason is hard to ignore.
One thing is for sure, we are not equal. From what I have seen not only today but in my lifetime, we are still a while away. I am straight, white, male and I am privileged. It is safe to assume that if I don't get a job, it is because I wasn't qualified or not a right fit, not because of my gender or sexual orientation. If I get arrested or pulled over, it was because I was committing a crime, not because of my race. If I am ever unemployed, odds are that people won't think I am lazy or mooching of the government, people will think that I have fallen on hard times and will reach out to me for help.
What can I do? I am just a 25 year old student affairs professional. I know what I can do...I can talk. I can have conversations about this. And hope that I am educating others and building for a better tomorrow. Sit down, talk, listen and learn. That is how we will grow and become equal
