All Of Us.

I first learned about the situation with Jacob Blake on Twitter earlier this week, maybe Sunday or Monday. One of my favorite sports media personalities, Nick Wright, quoted a tweet depicting a video of the shooting that I still haven't watched despite its frequent appearance on my timeline in the days that have followed. If you recall in my blog from May about the major acts of intentional and necessary disruption taking place worldwide in response to the killing of George Floyd, I talked about my willingness to say a prayer and scroll along when faced with such a numbing and all-too-constant reality that another unarmed black person was shot by the police. This time in Kenosha, Wisconsin, I believe. The next morning, I made a call to the Kenosha City Attorney and left a message that I wanted the officers responsible held accountable.

However, I must admit; it was one of the most uncomfortable feelings I have ever felt.

Also, in my aforementioned blog post, I talked about the pressure to be an activist from your phone and the social risk you take by electing not to. Before I called the number of the City Attorney (262-653-4170) (credit: @antiracismdaily on INSTAGRAM), I shared a post that included that number along with the contact information of the Kenosha Mayor and City Administration, the Kenosha Police Non-Emergency Line and the Wisconsin Department of Justice.

But, I couldn't escape the feeling of helplessness I felt after I hung up the phone. What could my measly passive-aggressive telephone message do in the quest for Justice for Jacob Blake, much less the goal of equality and equity in America? I felt the same way I did about my 'to tweet or not to tweet' dilemma three months ago.

Even last night, while praying with some of my good friends from school over Zoom, I prayed for the families of Jacob Blake, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd, and the countless other souls taken over senseless violence regardless of race or noteworthiness of their first and last name.

Then, during a meeting I had today, the National Basketball Association, the apple of my attentive eye for the last twenty or thirty evenings, chose to boycott their games in light of the shooting of Jacob Blake and the ensuing intentional acts of disruption in Kenosha, reminiscent of Minneapolis not too long ago. My initial reaction was "Why? What will that do?" First, it was the Milwaukee Bucks, which made sense because it happened in their state. Then, while I was outside, shooting basketball ironically, I thought "I know Lebron and my Lakers can't still play if the Bucks are boycotting." By the time I was done with the meeting, all games had been postponed and by the looks of it, they won't come back anytime soon. While scrolling through Twitter, I frequently found the phrase "No NBA until the police officers who killed Breonna Taylor are arrested as well as those that shot Jacob Blake" I was astounded, scared, and confused. I was also emboldened.

During my prayer time with friends last night, I told them about a book I am reading called Radical by David Platt and a section I read on Sunday (coincidentally) about how God calls us all to spread the Gospel to as many people as possible. Platt continued, saying that "we choose to send off other people to carry out the global purpose of Christianity while the rest of us sit back because we're 'just not called to that'" And I believe this is what I am being faced with now. The tweets I send and the blogs I write will not change the world by themselves, nor can I do anything to change the world by myself.

But I say all of that to say this; sacrifice is the true measure of activism. The NBA players that we are mesmerized by because we haven't watched sports for so long have heard these constant calls for the arrest of the cops who killed Breonna Taylor (and they have publicly called for them too). But, they are willing to potentially sacrifice a big chunk of that platform for what we all, without that platform, are clamoring for.

My bottom line is this: we all have a responsibility. I believe it is up to you to figure that out and your story will be judged on how fully you executed that responsibility. Examine yourself, think deeply about what it is you want for yourself and EVERYONE ELSE. Not just your family and those who you like. What do you want for those that aren't in the same position as you? I pray that your heart tells you that there is a disconnect between reality and justice. It is our responsibility as humans to bridge that gap. All of us.

By Billy Listyl

August 26, 2020

Revised: August 27, 2020

Credit: @antiracismdaily