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Saturday, September 6, 2014

Arrested for Blocking the Sidewalk

            I enjoyed a vacation to Cleveland this week.  If “vacation to Cleveland” sounds odd to you, try it before you knock it.  There are museums, restaurants, sports, and the waterfront.  The people were so friendly – at the ballpark, at the hotel, even on the street; I feel like it is as friendly a place as I have been. 
            So, I got back, and I think somewhere in the back of my mind, I was feeling relief from not dealing with stories related to Ferguson or police brutality or anything like that.  I have never had to face injustice, but I was fatigued just reading about it.  (My heart breaks for people who actually are victims of injustice).
Then I got home.   
Catching up on emails, I was reminded of the reality of white privilege.  And I was reminded of how sad and how scary the possibility of a police state can be.  A woman was arrested for standing on the sidewalk while she waited for her husband and kids to use the public restroom. 
Look at her photo.  She is a wife and mom.  Her only crime is she is not white.  What happened never would have happened to her if she were black.  Note in the story the lies the police tell her husband about women taking their husbands’ last names.  Yes, that does happen in the U.S., but a lot of women decide not to do that.  Many women decide not to take their husband’s last name.  For a policemen to say his suspicion was aroused because the husband and wife had different last names is a flat out lie.  The police terrorized a family – in New York City; in Times Square. 
What’s next?





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