Published on
Monday, September 07, 2020
byCommon Dreams
'Hurts to Breathe... to Sleep... to Move... to Eat': In First Public Remarks
Since Being Shot, Jacob Blake Describes Constant Pain
"Every 24 hours it's pain, nothing but pain."
byKenny Stancil, staff writer
Protesters held a banner during a community celebration and call for justice
for Jacob Blake that took place while Donald Trump visited Kenosha,
Wisconsin on September 1, 2020. (Photo: Daniel Boczarski/Getty Images for
MoveOn)
Protesters held a banner during a community celebration and call for justice
for Jacob Blake that took place while Donald Trump visited Kenosha,
Wisconsin on September 1, 2020. (Photo: Daniel Boczarski/Getty Images for
MoveOn)
Speaking publicly for the first time since police officers shot him in the
back seven times at point-blank range, Jacob Blake on Saturday said he is in
constant pain as a result of the shooting and-while referring to his
probable paralysis from the waist down-reminded listeners just how quickly
everything "can be taken from you."
Blake's family's lawyer, Ben Crump, shared the video on Saturday night via
Twitter. From his hospital bed, Blake told viewers "there's a lot more life
to live," but to not take anything for granted because "your life... your
legs, something that you need to move around and move forward in life," can
be stripped away in an instant.
Blake explained he has staples in his back and stomach and described the
extent of his suffering. "Every 24 hours it's pain, nothing but pain," he
said. "It hurts to breathe, it hurts to sleep, it hurts to move from
side-to-side, it hurts to eat."
Urging those watching to change their lives, Blake also called for social
cooperation and insisted on the importance of economic opportunity, which he
said would "make everything easier for our people out here."
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