Today I’m rambling about the killing of Jayland Walker.
- The killing of Jayland Walker, by any definition, was a truly awful event.
- Regarding this event (and many like it), many things are true at once. Let’s look at a short list.
- As a city we grieve for his family and for all affected by his loss. I, for one, didn’t feel like celebrating too much yesterday.
- We ask questions regarding the amount of force used by authorities to take his life.
- As a nation, we grow weary of seeing young black men gunned down by police.
- We await a full investigation, which means none of us can have the answers we want right now. After all, we have grown accustomed to getting information quickly.
- We cannot adequately put ourselves in the shoes of the police officers who acted. Those charged with doing so must take their time. But we must wait.
- The video released Sunday does not answer all our questions.
- We ask: does this mean all police reek of evil? We want to trust our police and will watch closely to measure their level of accountability in regards to distributing information.
- I personally know some officers on Akron’s force. In their case, I find them respectable and worthy of honor in their service.
- We say he shouldn’t have run, shouldn’t have led police on a chase. We say he shouldn’t have fired a weapon.
- From your perspective, you may add other things you find true about this incident.
- But herein lies the difficulty…
- We often focus on the fact or truth which makes us feel the strongest. We have a difficult time holding many things to be true all at the same time.
- An example: Because we have concerns about policing and the use of force, we irrationally arrive at distrust of all police personnel. Do we think all teachers are evil because some commit crimes against students?
- Another example: Because we focus on this young man’s negative actions, we can therefore see no redeeming qualities in him and don’t believe it when teachers, family, and friends describe him as a good person. Like good people don’t have bad moments? Like a young man may be in an awful spot in life just after losing his fiance? Maybe your bad moments and mine don’t end up on the news…
- Some say: “Oh but he had a gun. He had to be a thug!” Yes it matters whether he obtained the gun legally and no you don’t get a pass for firing at police, but I know lots of delivery drivers who carry guns.
- Let this brief rambling serve as caution. We may never know everything about this incident. We may find the outcome of the investigation to our liking or disliking.
- We will encounter people with many similar concerns, some different than our primary concerns.
- I hope we will pray. I mean seriously pray.
- I hope we will speak and show gratefulness for the freedom we have to do so.
- I hope the remainder of protests remain safe and don’t compromise downtown businesses.
- I hope you will consider listening rather than walling off people with different concerns or viewpoints.
- When we fail to hold many things as true at once, we leave ourselves ripe for division.