This blog is about personal injury law and related issues, but remaining silent in the face of the current racial unrest in our society seems wrong. So, I’m taking some time to comment on the recent death of George Floyd (and countless others like him) and the unrest that has followed.

I represent people who have been injured. They are in physical pain. But there is also emotional pain that comes with any injury. Part of that emotional pain involves a feeling of injustice. Injured parties often feel a sense of having been violated, and it is a hard thing to get over.

Oftentimes, it takes a year or more of litigation before my injured clients are ready to move on from that injustice and seriously consider settlement. Some people never move on.

These are the very valid feelings of folks who are injured by the negligent actions of fellow citizens. Now imagine the sense of injustice you might feel if you were purposely injured by an officer of the peace. Imagine what sort of outrage you would experience if you watched a loved one beaten (or worse) by the people who are paid to protect the citizens of this country. This is what our African American brothers and sisters experience on a routine basis, and they have been going through it for years. Their bodies are violated by those meant to protect them. It is a grave and tragic injustice.

Of course most police officers are good men and women who want to do right. Of course rioting and looting bring their own set of problems. But the overarching message on all our lips at this time should be, police brutality against people of color is wrong and it must stop. We must look this problem square in the face and address it as a nation. It is, perhaps, the most profoundly gruesome symptom of the systems of racial inequality that have existed in this country from the time of our founders.

Racism is our original sin, and if we do not acknowledge and address it, we will never root it out. Fixing this will take all of us. We can’t all be activists, but we can all express support and empathy for our African American friends and colleges. We can all call out racial injustice when we see it. We can support programs and institutions that further the cause of anti-racism.

George Floyd was murdered in cold blood. There is no doubt in my mind, the color of his skin had everything to do with his fate. I don’t accept living in a society where that happens. I demand change and I seek to be an agent of it.