Just last week, I wrote that I would not get political on the website. I hold to that idea, however, times demand a reaction, a response, to the recent and tragic death of George Floyd. This is why I’ve chosen a real life monster this week.

It is cliche now to state that monsters are real and blend in with the rest of humanity. Sometimes, they are the one who should be protecting us from said monsters.

I have several friends in law enforcement. They are good people who work to serve and protect. As a teacher, I’ve had the pleasure of working with student resource officers who make an actual difference in a student’s life. Not because the SRO brought the hammer down and punished the kid, but because he/she took the time to understand the situation this child was in and acted compassionately.

With that said, reforms are desperately needed. Too many young people of color have died tragically and unnecessarily at the hands of police officers using their power to menace and intimidate. Perhaps one of the most impactful statements I’ve heard over the last few day has been “Good cops don’t let bad cops get away with it.”

Black lives do matter, and a fundamental systemic change is needed to make sure that these lives are not taken because of police brutality, gang violence, poverty, and a myriad of other systems put in place to minimize an entire segment of our population.

I don’t consider this post political for simple fact that this is about humanity, dignity, compassion, and justice. These should be traits that appeal to both sides of the aisle. In America–a democratic-republic, the land of the free, a beacon of liberty–we have to do better. We have to be intolerant of abuse and support the just cause.

The monster of the week is not just the man who helped murder George Floyd; it is all racism, prejudice, discrimination, and hate.