All Lives Matter, The Legacy of Sandra Bland

Sandra Bland was an eloquent spokesperson for Black Lives Matter. She knew that all lives matter. Her tragic death reminded us of that. Her arrest video was painful to watch because it was a classic example of bullying. I have known too many bullies in my life.

Everyone dislikes bullies, but we all bully sometimes. Some people are easy victims. We can yell at the store clerk for mixing up our order; we can yell at the waitress when the kitchen burned our steak. We justify our bullying. He did something stupid. She should have known better. Bullying is often misdirected anger.

We are frustrated when things go wrong. We need to take it out on somebody. Kick the dog; scream at the kids; pull a trembling woman from her automobile and label it resisting arrest.

We all have power over someone, and when we misuse that power, the technical term is bullying.

Let’s find find other ways to deal with our frustrations.

Otherwise we might end up on candid camera like that policeman and the beautiful and eloquent Sandra Bland.

Sandy, we need you back to stand up for what is right. We need you to be our spokesperson again. You stood up for what was wrong. You died showing us what was wrong.