May-June News Report

I don't usually record national news on my blog, but recent current events have had such huge impacts in our country, in our home, and on my heart that I feel like I need to document a little of what has happened in the last month or so. I will likely forget lots of details and not express my emotions very well, but here is my attempt:

On May 25th, there was yet another incident of police brutality against a black person. Four policemen in Minneapolis arrested George Floyd for using a counterfeit $20 bill at a convenience store. For reasons I don't understand, the situation escalated quickly with the result of one of the officers taking Floyd to the ground and then kneeling on his neck. Cell-phone videos record Floyd begging for his life, saying, "I can't breathe." From what I've read, this is a common tactic for officers to use, but this officer kept kneeling on Floyd's neck for over a minute after Floyd became unconscious. Floyd was pronounced dead at the scene after his neck had been knelt on for at least 8 minutes and 15 seconds.

There has been some talk of Floyd's underlying health conditions that may have contributed to his death, but that doesn't matter. He never should have died for buying cigarettes with fake money! This incident was only the most recent in 400 years of American's mistreatment of black people, but it was the straw the broke the camel's back. Outrage at the fact that the four cops weren't charged with anything for several days sparked immediate protests all over the country.

Portland was no exception. Here, most of the protests were peaceful, but others turned violent with protesters lashing out against police, police retaliating, and downtown businesses being looted. I am writing this on July 3rd and there are still protests in Portland every night.

Social media has been completely inundated with posts about racial injustice with many people crying, "Black lives matter!" I read so many disturbing accounts of the the systemic and deliberate injustices black Americans face today. It was very eye-opening as I honestly had no idea that things were so bad. Having lived in almost completely white communities my entire life, I have been very sheltered and naive about racism. Reading so many accounts was also uncomfortable as they made me question and confront some of my unconscious racial attitudes and thought processes.

I don't have a big platform to make big changes and I didn't feel good about taking Spencer and Mason to the peaceful protest held in Sherwood, but here is what I can do:
-I can educate myself on these issues.
-I can acknowledge that racism is still a very real problem in this country.
-I can keep my baptismal covenant to mourn with those who mourn and comfort those who stand in need of comfort.
-I can educate my family.
-And, I can teach my boys to follow the 2nd greatest commandment: to love our neighbors as ourselves.

Even though it seems simple to be that as white people, we need to humble ourselves and take serious stock of the systemic and personal things we do that hurt people of color, there is a TON of controversy over these issues. Some people still don't believe there are problems with racism at all and that black people are just whining. There is a lot of hatred for police officers and calls to defund police departments all over the country. (I find this especially ironic since we were just celebrating police officers as heroes who had to keep working to keep us safe during the pandemic at the beginning of May.) It seems that most people believe that you either have to support black people OR the police. There is no room for middle ground. Plus, the posts I read from black activists call out white people for everything we do. It's hard to know exactly what to say or do. I haven't posted my own personal thoughts on social media because I will undoubtedly say something offensive to someone. The level of contention on social media is sickening.

In addition to racial issues, Covid-19 is still very much a part of life. All 50 states began opening back up on some level during June. Oregon's governor has been extremely conservative in her approach to the entire pandemic, but some states (AZ and TX in particular) opened up almost completely overnight. As a result, their Covid numbers have skyrocketed and they are now in crisis mode. It is scary to read accounts from hospitals there. Many states have since started mandating the wearing of facial masks. In Oregon, you cannon enter any kind of business without a mask on (unless you're under 2 years old). A LOT of people feel like the government is overreaching it's bounds and taking away our freedoms by making these mandates. Since I am still mostly at home and only have to wear a mask when I go to a store about once a week, it is not a big deal at all. I admit that it would be much more restrictive if I had to wear one all day at work, but I still think it's a small price to pay for added protection and the possibility that life can return to normal someday. Social media has been overrun by controversy over this issue as well. So much contention.

Add to these huge issues the fact that it's almost impossible to know if you can trust the media anymore and our country is in a very sad state. Most of the news on tv is very clearly biased to one side or the other. I get depressed and anxious if I think too much about it so I try to limit my exposure to news and need to be better about not reading contentious Face Book posts. I am fascinated by people's strong feelings on these issues and often get sucked in at night and then have trouble sleeping.

That was long and depressing and it's taken me several days to finish this post. I am so, so grateful for personal revelation and a living prophet who can guide us during this crazy time when there is so much controversy and misinformation. The optimism I sense from the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve gives me great hope. There is no doubt that we are in the last days and that there will be many difficult things, but, "I know in whom I have trusted."(2 Nephi 4:19)