One White Liberal’s Lens on This Moment

People keep asking what it is about George Floyd’s death at the hands of police that has caused so many of us to have more of a reaction than did past crimes that just as horrifically amplified systemic racism in law enforcement.

I’ve been thinking about this for over a week and I’ll tell you what the answer is for me: the juxtaposition of Floyd’s death with the other high-profile racial incident that happened on May 25.

For me, this inflamed reaction is very much about Amy Cooper in Central Park.

Because, if I’m being honest, I could have kept on being aghast at instances of police brutality and I could have kept on writing about how much I hate it, but the truth is I may have just kept on feeling helpless about it, too.

I’m not a police officer. What could I bring to that conversation? What answers or power did I have? There has always been a disconnect for me, from problem to solution, in this particular dialogue and how I might be of service.

But seeing a white liberal woman act like Amy Cooper did in Central Park, knowingly instigating and trying to weaponize those very police who could potentially manhandle, or worse, a black man in the park looking at birds because she felt inconvenienced? That egregious unholstering of privilege — and its proximity to Floyd’s death —…