My return to therapy started with an afternoon of broken plates. Fed up with another instance of my husband not hearing me, I left the room exasperated. I went into the kitchen, opened the cabinet, and began to throw plates at the floor, one by one. I am not proud of this moment, yet I still vividly recall my amazement at seeing the first plate shatter. I continued to pick up plate after plate, and when my husband shockingly asked me what I was doing, I calmly let him know that I was getting his attention.
Having successfully made my point, I swept up the glass, threw it away, and took it to the outside garbage bin.
The Domino Effect
The plate-breaking happened after a buildup of frustration over time and repeated instances of the same problem. I had become tired of trying to make my point and not being heard. While my actions are not excusable, and many will argue that there is no place for a grown woman to have a plate-throwing tantrum, this was not the reaction to a first-time argument. I understand the buildup of rage the point of explosion.
On a recent episode of The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, he described the domino effect that led to uprisings in cities across America. He identified the Amy Cooper incident in Central Park as the catalyst followed by the senseless murder of George Floyd. While I would argue that the catalyst in this recent spate of events was the handling of the Ahmaud Arbery killing and the length of time it took for the killers to be arrested and charged, Noah’s analysis of Amy Cooper’s understanding of white privilege and weaponizing of that privilege is spot on.
The 1992 riots in Los Angeles after the Rodney King verdict were also the result of a domino effect: the catalyst then was the killing of Latasha Harlins and the unjust sentencing of her killer. This occurred in lockstep with the Rodney King verdict and is one that many people either aren’t aware of or have forgotten about.
At age 15, Latasha Harlins was shot in the back of the head by the Korean store owner, Soon Ja Du, following a disagreement over whether Harlins was shoplifting a carton of orange juice. The scuffle was recorded on the store’s surveillance video, and although the shooter was subsequently convicted of voluntary manslaughter, the judge was unbelievably lenient in her sentencing. Although the jury recommended the maximum sentence of 16 years in prison, Du was sentenced to time served, probation, a $500 fine, and funeral expenses. Judge Joyce Karlin also stated, “It was a time for healing.”
With this decision, the value of Ms. Harlins’s life was diminished, and the only “healing” was for Du and her supporters. Further, on April 21, 1992, a state appeals court upheld the sentencing decision, and on April 29, 1992, the officers in the Rodney King case were all acquitted.
When you review the dates, you can see the buildup of frustration:
- March 3, 1991 — Rodney King is beaten by police officers, and a witness videotapes it.
- March 16, 1991 — Latasha Harlins is killed by Soon Ja Du, and it (too) is recorded on surveillance video.
- November 15, 1991 — a jury finds Soon Ja Du guilty of voluntary manslaughter. Du’s sentence is minimal.
- April 21, 1991 — A state appeals court upholds the sentencing decision.
- April 29, 1991 — A jury acquits the officers in the Rodney King case, and the Los Angeles riots begin.
We naively believed that the videotape of Rodney King’s beating was irrefutable evidence of the officers’ guilt. Surely the world could see that an unarmed black man was unreasonably beaten and that the excess of the force used was unwarranted. We thought the same when we saw video evidence of a girl having been shot after having placed the orange juice on the counter and turning to walk out of the store. We expected then, nearly thirty years ago, that this time things would be different.
Systemic gaslighting
How is it that we all saw one thing while the system produced a disparate outcome? Even with the very first police brutality viral video, the proof that the Black community had been awaiting, the system repeated the same narrative that had been happening for decades.
Is it that the system is not designed to be questioned? After all, isn’t law enforcement made up of a combination of the courts and the police? How does one police the police impartially and fairly?
Gaslighting refers to a pattern of undermining behavior by the abuser. Put more simply, when someone tells you that what you know you saw isn’t what you actually saw, it fucks with your mind.
Every single time that a Black person’s life is taken without acknowledgment or apology, we, in the Black community are left to wrestle with the question of how we can possibly and effectively shift the narrative to a different result. We wonder whether it’s even possible. And with each setback, the rage is fueled further and further. We can call bullshit on the gaslighting, but where does that leave us?
When the outcome systematically reinforces the narrative that black lives don’t matter, how do we fight back?
In the face of the blatant, unjust murder of a citizen, at the hands of a government officer, the response should be at least equal to dumping tea in the harbor to protest tyranny.
When the dominoes fall
The United States of America was founded on the idea of freedom including the freedom to fight for justice. Riots were at the very foundation of the establishment of the United States of America. The patriotic of Americans, those who believe in the indivisible nation of the Pledge of Allegiance, cannot choose to apply the principles to a mere subset of its citizens. In the face of the blatant, unjust murder of a citizen, at the hands of a government official, the response should be at least equal to dumping tea in the harbor to protest tyranny.
But that’s the thing, the people condemning the rioters don’t feel this outrage because George Floyd is not a citizen of their “indivisible nation.” Theirs is a nation divided, with Black people on the other side of the tracks. We are reminded of this with each dismissed case or failure to convict killers even in the face of overwhelming evidence. We are reminded of this when the indignation over broken windows and lost merchandise is more volatile than the disgust over a police officer who has abused his power.
We’re tired of the tallying of bodies of our brothers and sisters with no one to answer for the crimes. We are exhausted by the burden of proving our humanity. We are confused by their failure to understand. Our voices are fatigued from screaming injustice into a vacuum.
On most days we hold our composure as well as we can. But when the dominoes are precariously stacked this closely together, the resulting cascade is inevitable. The domino effect of Ahmaud Arbery, Amy Cooper, and George Floyd is the latest illustration of this, and as long as this story repeats itself over and over, so will the riots.
With each broken plate on my kitchen floor, there was a cathartic release of rage. In my case, my rage was heard, and we have worked toward more positive solutions. I can only hope that the riots and fires of 2020 will be met with open ears.
Until then, no justice, no peace.
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Previously published on “Equality Includes You”, a Medium publication.
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Photo credit: Ivan Vranić on Unsplash