I got a news alert at 12:30am telling me that Georgia executed Troy Davis. I should have just rolled over and went back to sleep, but I lay awake, staring out of windows and wondering what could have prevented this.
I was not personally affected by this case – heck, I only really got involved after hearing the stir around his upcoming execution. But there is something about Troy Davis that hits me right in my core. It is those words that have oft been repeated after his death: “We are all Troy Davis.” We are all subject to the same unchecked corruption that our government puts forth. We are all guilty until proven innocent. We are all affected by forces that we cannot directly influence nor change – everything from systems of oppression to judicial realities that prevent us from hearing the full story. We don’t want to hear it sometimes; sometimes it shocks us. Like this case, like the DSK rape case, like the woman who got pulled off a plane for being brown on 9/11. This is the world that we live in. So what do we do?
Stand up for your voice in this system. Fight the oppressive forces that push us down and silence us. And offer up prayers/good energy towards those who are affected by such tragedies which occur not far away, not in a distant land, but right here in our country. Right now.
RIP Troy Davis. May you teach us so much.
Read more about the case at Colorlines and the New York Times.