July saw the consecutive shootings of Alton Sterling, Philando Castile, and 12 police officers in Dallas, TX within three days. Larry Mizell Jr.’s “My Philosophy” column that week is one of our staffers’ favorite stories this year and is republished below.
Every time I try to write something about this week, this goddamn week, there’s something else going on. But ain’t nothing else going on—just the same shit, the same war, people over here, people over there. By the time you read this, who knows?
I hope you’re safe, I hope your loved ones are safe, I hope you and they stay that way. Not that it feels like safety really exists. Not for a Muslim person walking to pray, not for a queer or trans one trying to kick it, not for a black one trying to do anything, not for a woman trying to live! No safety for your heart, your empathy, your childhood. No chance for your good mood or your resolve to not watch the latest moving pictures of no longer moving people—if you are trying to be on social media long enough.