Can We Breathe Now?

The Civil Rights Movement went through a tortuous journey in this country before the Civil Rights Act was adopted. On the way to achieving justice for the African-American community, many leaders and activists were assassinated, such as Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Medgar Evers and others.

But what we discover now is that while the laws may be on the books, one cannot legislate behavior. Racist attitudes take a long time to dissipate and they rise to the surface every time a conflict erupts.

In the current political climate, the very top leadership of the country is using racist dog whistles to call to arms fellow believers against minorities in the country. It is a convenient way to manipulate them for a win in November: Sow fear and reap votes.

Former President Barack Obama’s recent statement struck a sensitive chord when he said, “We have to remember that for millions of Americas being treated different on account of race is tragically, painfully, maddeningly ‘normal.’”

Demonstrators can be broken down into a few categories. Certainly the looters who rob the stores and destroy cash registers are not motivated by any noble ideology. However, there are people — white and black — who stand up for human rights.

All the protestors are not looters and all looters are not protestors.

President Trump also blamed Antifa and other leftist groups, when the nation needs compassion from the highest office. President Trump instead chose to add a few remarks to his speech from Cape Canaveral, during the SpaceX launch, where he stated that he loved blacks and that he had called George Floyd’s family. Then he lashed out at all his detractors, announcing also that Antifa would be banned as a terrorist organization. He also threatened that “when looting starts, the shooting starts.”

Two weeks ago, a group of protestors marched to the capitol in Lancing, Mich., to protest the lockdown. Those protestors, all white, were armed to the teeth, carrying automatic assault weapons and even spewing hate speech. At that time, President Trump advised Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to level with those thugs. “These are very good people but they are angry. They want their lives back. See them, talk to them and make a deal,” he said.

Earlier, dismissively he had called Michigan’s governor “that woman.” The reason for that treatment, or rather mistreatment, was that Ms. Whitmer is on the list of Democratic vice presidential candidates.

Now, victims of racist crimes of the past decade are resurrected. The mothers and other family members of Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, Ahmaud Arbery and others appear on TV screens to lament the fates of their loved ones and remind every- one of their losses, rendering the situation even more complex.

Joining the crows of mourners is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the former Los Angeles Laker, who is an eloquent writer and intellectual. Writing in the Los Angeles Times opinion section, “African Americans have been living in a burning building for many years, choking on the smoke as flames burn closer and closer. Racism in America is like dust in the air. It seems invisible — even when you’re choking on it — until you let the sun in. Then you see it’s everywhere.”

America claims to have created a model society for the rest of the world to emulate. Yet in this land of plenty, a large swath of society suffers from hunger, depravation and injustice.

Armenian Americans should be among the first people to empathize with the plight of the underdog in society because generations of our parents and grandparents also experienced the thrust of the same racism. They were denied entry to grocery stores and other facilities, which often carried signs that Armenians, Jews and dogs were forbidden from entering.

Social and economic upward mobility should not rob us of our humanity. When the demonstrators warn “No Justice, No Peace,” that holds true for everybody, including the Armenians. Do we not say that we want justice when we protest the lack of recognition of the Armenian Genocide?

The unrest is continuing. Later, the country will begin to put its house in order and clean up the debris, contemplating what had transpired and questioned what lessons could be gleaned.

The name of George Floyd is one more casualty on the list of race victims.

Already, a mural marks the location where Floyd was murdered with a sign which reads, “I can breathe now.”

Can we also breathe now?