Hey everyone, welcome to today's word of encouragement. Please allow me to give you my perspective on what's happening in our communities and around the world currently with the death of George Floyd and the subsequent protests, riots, and looting in many cities across our country specifically. Some may think that I'm a little bit late to the party, but I thought it was important for me to get my thoughts together and speak words of truth and life that build and edify and not to just pop off saying things that are hurt for or touch without really thinking too much about them. With that said, I'd like to start by saying that I love all people and as a Latino man, I have good friends who are black and white.
I also have friends that are police officers. There are many reasons people are rioting and protesting in our streets, and I'd like to address just a few of those reasons of why I think things have boiled over. I want to talk about two specifically, and the first reason I think things have gotten this bad is because our generation now has something to say on behalf of all the previous generations. Listen to me, the pain of racism is real.
The pain the black community has struggled with for generations is real. I believe we're in the middle of a generational shift. We're in a moment in time when the pain of past generations is converging with the experience and the pain of a new generation. Violence is definitely not the answer, but one thing that we need to think about is do we understand the reason for it?
Have we asked the hard questions of racial inequality? Do we empathize actively or do we sympathize quietly? People of color are wounded and wounded people react in different ways. I think the best thing that we can do is try to understand the reasons why.
Another reason is because I think our current generation wants to make absolutely sure that their voices heard this time around because this is nothing new and it's been happening for hundreds of years. People do things for many reasons. Children cry when they need something and can't express or communicate their needs clearly, teenagers. I have to pout, shout and isolate themselves when they feel misunderstood.
And in the same way, I think some people are acting out in the only manner that they know how. Or in the only way they think that they're going to drive their point across or be heard. I'm not defending looters or people burning things down. I don't think that's the way to solve anything.
But I do think that we need to listen and this generation is acting out in a way that they want to make sure they get their point across, that they are no longer going to put up with this racism. I obviously think the death of George Floyd should have never happened. But the fact that it did during a worldwide pandemic, when people have been confined to their homes for months, when people are dying already all around us, when some people have been struggling financially and others with mental health, I think this is only added to the rage and the anger. That's why I think more needs to change.
The saying history repeats itself. This couldn't be more true of 2020. This is not the first time things have boiled over. But you know what, until there's some real change and some real reform, I'm afraid to say this very thing will undoubtedly happen again in the future.
The same is true of this COVID-19 pandemic. There will be another one after this. We must be better prepared to face these issues in the future and that begins with preparations and reform right now. We can't brush off what's happening.
These riots and protests will continue in our country until we see widespread reform and change. In 1958, Martin Luther King said, true peace is not merely the absence of tension. It is the presence of justice. It's not just about hoping things get back to normal and the rioting stops.
It's about real, effective change. And I think that's what's going on here. People want to make sure this is not just another protest. This is not just another riot.
They want to make sure their voices are clearly heard this time and that enough is enough. I'll be back soon with another word of encouragement on this topic. God bless you.