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Let's make this more basic: 1. Murder is wrong. Full stop. 2. Bigotry is wrong. People who might be different than you are in some way are still PEOPLE. Do not abuse or mistreat them. 3. Right now, black people are being targeted by government employees acting in MY NAME. If I don't speak up, roll up my sleeves and ACT to stop it, then I am complicit. I refuse to condone state-sanctioned murder. 4. Diversity is a STRENGTH. How rich is our culture because of all of the different people from all walks of life who immigrated here? How lucky are we to be able to experience such diversity, right here at home? How much better is our country because of it? THAT is the definition of being "blessed." We need to celebrate our difference as much as we celebrate our unity. 5. We need to be here for each other. We're all we've got. We need to stand up for our fellow human beings. Sometimes the oppressors are our friends and family -- we cannot hide, slink away or bury our heads in the sand. We need to challenge their bigotry and work to change hearts and minds. We (as white people) need to CLEAN HOUSE. Tolerance is complicity; just as the cops who stood by as their colleague murdered Mr. Floyd. Don't stand idly by. Speak up. Educate. And, for pity's sake, HELP. Make your representatives know your name! (Do you know theirs?) Let them hear from you weekly, if not daily. BE A PEST. 6. Make it about LOVE. Don't shirk the word. We talk a lot about "hate crimes." It's easy to hate. We hear that word a LOT. So where's the love? Don't we ALL want it? Don't we all crave it? And doesn't it feel SO much better to GIVE it? WHY can't life be about love? Why can't we help, nurture and lift up our fellow human beings and help them achieve their dreams? It costs nothing to offer words of encouragement, or simply staying the hell out of someone's way. Even though I'm an atheist, I've always liked the "do unto others as you would have them do unto you" ethic., but I also add the other half: "do NOT do to others anything you do NOT want done to yourself." Think of the person you love the most. What would you be willing to do for them? Now think of a stranger and ask yourself, why WOULDN'T you do the same for them? We're never going to make it as a species if we cannot learn to love one another and see and accept the humanity of EVERYONE. Right now, it MUST be about black lives matter. The killing must stop. The situation is untenable, and injustice cannot be tolerated anymore. Maybe one day we can ALL look back and say, "those were dark times, I'm glad that's all behind us." But that time is NOT now, nor is it anytime soon. Not without work. Not without unity. We need to be relentless: as the Marines like to say, adapt, improvise and overcome. And, frankly, I don't care WHY some people or groups ally themselves to this vision. If they do it out of guilt, pride, virtue signaling, anger.... whatever.... as the old saying goes, "the enemy of my enemy is my friend." Welcome aboard. We love you, too. Just my thoughts and ramblings. If you've gotten this far, thanks for your eyeball time.