I find it interesting that folks point to the Eric Gardner case but don't
mention the Anthony Baez case. Eric Gardner was killed in Staten Island and
Anthony Baez was killed in the Bronx. Lives aren't worth as much in the Bronx
I guess.
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of Roger Loran Bailey
Sent: Thursday, June 4, 2020 11:13 AM
To: blind-democracy <blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [blind-democracy] Mumia: I Can’t Breathe, Part 2
Mumia: I Can’t Breathe, Part 2
https://socialistaction.org/2020/05/30/mumia-i-cant-breathe-part-2/
May 30, 2020
By MUMIA ABU-JAMAL
(Audio available here.)
The furious struggle for justice for the late Eric Garner took years – long,
hard years by his family and friends – before a bare pittance was granted in
the belated decision to dismiss the cop who choked him to death. Uncharged, I
might add. The name Eric Garner has become a catch word for the state of black
America for decades, if not centuries, who can barely breathe free air.
The phone cam recording of the police killing of George Floyd in the street.of
Minneapolis, Minnesota, by a beefy cop putting his knee on the neck of Floyd
provides an eerie echo of Garner’s words from at least five years before. I
can’t breathe. Floyd, his breath cut off, cries for the person who gave him
life: his mama. Within minutes, Floyd is gone.
Eric Garner was approached by a police squad after a merchant complained that
he was selling loosies, or single cigarettes. Floyd was approached by several
cops. After a merchant claimed he passed a forged $20 bill.
Think about that. Two men, two fathers, choked to death because of merchant
complaints about loose cigarettes and the fake $20 bill, allegedly. This is a
statement about how, in a capitalist society, merchandise is more important
than black life. George Floyd joined the collective he never wanted to join and
perhaps never expected to join.
It is the roll call of the dead caused by the state and a system of repression
that is all-pervasive.
Does black life matter?
Not yet.
This commentary was originally published at PrisonRadio.org and recorded by
Noelle Hanrahan.
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--
___
Carl Sagan
“Every aspect of Nature reveals a deep mystery and touches our sense of wonder
and awe. Those afraid of the universe as it really is, those who pretend to
nonexistent knowledge and envision a Cosmos centered on human beings will
prefer the fleeting comforts of superstition. They avoid rather than confront
the world. But those with the courage to explore the weave and structure of the
Cosmos, even where it differs profoundly from their wishes and prejudices, will
penetrate its deepest mysteries.”
― Carl Sagan, Cosmos
