“At the end of the day, we just want to all go home to the people we love.”
The message doesn’t get clearer than this. It’s what we all want, right?
These are the words of an African-American protestor in downtown Minneapolis where 150 peaceful George Floyd protesters were arrested on Sunday night. You can see in this clip that the African-American man, and young woman, are standing shoulder to shoulder with their arresting police officers. Their hands are tied tight behind their backs but their words are a balm of peace.
”We are human,” he says. “We are citizens first. He’s got a family, I’ve got a family… We can connect.”
”I’ve no hate towards these police officers,” she says — moments before she was resting her head on the shoulder of one of the arresting officers.
Our shared humanity
I’m sure many of you have been watching the scenes unfolding across America this week with horror, outrage, and fear about where it could go next. The divisions in society are searing. The polarisation toxic. The pain and grief palpable.
Then there are scenes like this, of courage — and humanity.
The MSM reporter Mike Max is gob-smacked at what he’s witnessing. “It was incredible to see and in a strange way quite uplifting.”
Clearly, it would have been better if the police officers had cut the protestors’ handcuffs and let them walk free. But this story, in a sea of violence and excessive police brutality, grabbed my attention and I wanted to share it with you.
Stories help us find our shared humanity. They provide a common language that overrides our differences. They open our hearts.
Over to you:
- How can you bring out the humanity in a conversation today?
- How can you ask questions to find out what’s really going on for someone?
- Where can you take a step back and drop your own story to truly connect with another?
The young woman says it true: “I just want everyone to come together and treat each other equally.”
P.S The full video is here.
P.P.S More on my new website coming soon.