Stench of the Wound(Cam Rascoe) Stench of the Wound

6/12/20

Festering then reopened time and time again so that healing can never take place. When minimal mending occurs, again the wound is stabbed with a rusty blade increasing infection and disease. Parasites make their way in gaining nourishment from the dying flesh. Some areas scab slightly in an attempt to heal but before they may mature in their rightness they are slashed open again. Leaking bodily fluid, the life liquid of the body. More come to feed off the misery, flying and crawling.

These open sores permeated all over our great nation, oozing the puss of injustice or past failures and the death of future potential. The sores were never treated, instead the causes always go unresolved, unchecked and even celebrated by the majority who would rather remain willfully ignorant, down right defiant or simply uncaring. The wound never festers in their neighborhood or on their family so why should they care about the brown that turns black as they die needless deaths. Some of them think that the ruling class and race is superior so those wounds are necessary to keep the minority in their place. If ever they cry out about their plight or the vector that brings this contagion into their lives they are shouted down and attacked for daring to say they matter.

Finally in late May of the twentieth year after the millennium a wound was caused that created such an awful stench that everyone was finally affected by it. The stench, the murder of George Floyd.

They have seen with their own eyes many times over lives being lost and wounds multiplying across America yet they always turned a blind eye or made an excuse for why it had to happen. Unpunished and dare I say victorious the perpetrators were, sometimes celebrated by the majority for their evil deed of taking a life, another sore forms. Uprisings, protest, violent outburst never made a difference. Beaten, choked or shot to death live on film made no difference because of the systematic racism and the deep belief of superiority to a perceived inferior people. Those lives weren't as important; they were desensitized to their pain and death. Those images they turned away from and pretended it never happened... but then there was George.

He couldn't breathe, neither could Eric and many others but their tormentors didn't care. No compassion was shown as their lives were taken under the guise of upholding the law, serving and protecting? No one was ever punished or jailed for the many that were killed, so the wounds grew. The sores and wounds are the injustice, racism and violation of human rights that a blind eye is turned to daily. But then there was George! Suddenly from one of these wounds an awful stench permeated that made it's way around the world. When the world got a whiff of the death on American streets an out pour of outrage ensued. Buildings burned initially as the hopeless exercised the only power they felt they had. Violent uprisings took place as they had before when gaping wounds were formed thoughts of Watts, Los Angeles and Chicago raced through the minds of the historically aware. When the angry disenfranchised saw that they were being joined by many who didn't look like them the angry actions subsided into constructive peaceful protest, resolve and reform. As I write this weeks later, the people are still in the streets around the world marching for positive change, equality and justice.

The stench of this wound was so vile that public opinion has changed and hope has been restored. People who have never seen anything done to protect them now believe that something will be done. Laws are changing, people are being held accountable, policies are being reviewed, education and training are had again having restored hope. When hope is restored and people believe that there can be a positive change for the future they don't burn and loot, they educate and recruit. A free flowing of ideas and proposals flows, people come together trying to understand one another and the wounds no longer grow. The sores slowly heal, scabbing over without being reopened by hatred and bigotry. The antiseptic is love, understanding, reason, compassion and empathy mending hearts as we grieve and work together. The amelioration is underway and I am so proud of the people of the world for finding the ability to look outside of themselves and appreciate the plight of people who don't look like them. This world is changing for us all, for the better. I am optimistic and my internal wounds are beginning to shrink. I pray we continue to grow the love as we slowly kill off the infection and virus that caused all of these wounds in the first place. I pray that no more shall die in vain and we never smell that horrible stench of the wound again!

PS.

I wrote this last night feeling good and encouraged and then I awoke to find that there was another deadly shooting in Atlanta last night and now there are more violent protests and the city is on fire again. I guess the wounds have to be bandaged one at a time as we take baby steps towards progress. I still believe we will get there but it seems we all still have a long rough road to travel.

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