— from Sheriff Ron Krebs —
Over the last few days we have all witnessed the unfolding events in Minnesota, and around the country, spurred by a tragic death that occurred in Minneapolis involving the police and a black male who was in custody. The actions that resulted in the death of George Floyd are disturbing and saddening. When these events happen, it affects all of us in some way, shape, or form. San Juan County may be an isolated set of islands, but we are not immune to the effects of what goes on in the rest of the country.
Last night as I watched the news footage of the riots in Minneapolis and in other parts of the country, it broke my heart. The relationship between law enforcement and the communities we serve are once again strained to the breaking point of riots in the streets. A relationship which law enforcement nationwide has been working diligently to repair.
The San Juan County Sheriff’s Office is entrusted with keeping the peace and protecting the rights and safety of all citizens. The Sheriff’s Office has a culture of accountability. We will continue to hold ourselves, as well as the public, accountable in doing the right thing with dignity, compassion, and respect. We are dedicated to providing the highest level of service with
commitment to our communities and the people who live and visit here.
I could not be prouder of the quality and character of the men and women in the Sheriff’s Office and the job they do maintaining the close tight knit relationship that we enjoy with you each and every day. We continue, day in and day out, to foster good relationships with our communities we work and live in and the partnering agencies we work with.
From all of the members of the Sheriff’s Office, our hearts go out to the victims and the citizens of Minneapolis and everyone affected by the tragic events that have and are currently taking place there. We pray that our nation can heal from this tragic event and get back to building stronger bonds as we move forward.
**If you are reading theOrcasonian for free, thank your fellow islanders. If you would like to support theOrcasonian CLICK HERE to set your modestly-priced, voluntary subscription. Otherwise, no worries; we’re happy to share with you.**
Here’s a nice synopsis of why we’re seeing all this outrage:
NYC birdwatcher threatened with having the police called on him. Can you imagine Amy trying to say she was going to call the police and say a White guy is threatening me by videotaping?
Atlanta jogger shot to death in a botched citizen’s arrrest.. Nothing taken. Not their house. Video footage of a number of White men and women going in to the same construction site and looking around. None of them were chased down, never mind shot to death during a botched citizen’s arrest.
Cambridge, MA professor questioned by police for being in his own yard. I’m 65, from Boston, and never heard of a White professor in this college centric town being questioned about what he’s doing on his own property, especially one in a tweed jacket.
Guys in a shared private gym threatened with the police and their photos taken because they refuse to allow themselves to be interrogated by him.The White tech ceo actually saw the Black guys come in with a key card but still accosted them for using a gym to play b-ball.
White guys with semi-automatic weapons protest a health lockdown and hang an effigy of the Governor in front of police. No problem.
White guys with semi-automatic weapons break numerous government orders while occupying a state house and scream in the face of police officers who stay calm.
Police officer kneels on the neck of a handcuffed man for over 10 minutes, refuses to change to a safer hold when asked to by fellow officer and keeps that position for an additional 2 minutes after being told the man has no pulse.
Fred, yes exactly, combined with fact that no matter how blatant or egregious the conduct of the officer, he’ll walk, and get picked up by some other department somewhere down the road.
It’s not surprising that the word murder doesn’t appear once in Krebs’ letter of “heartbreak” nor does he actually condemn the actions of officer Derek Chauvin.
Fred–Exactly. Tragically and exactly.
I trust and believe that our police here in the islands would not have murdered a man in similar circumstances. It is appalling, yet does not mean that all policemen or policewomen are murderers. Thank you for reaching out and speaking.
Martin Luther King, Jr. “I Have a Dream”, 1963:
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
I have a dream today!
I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of “interposition” and “nullification” — one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.
I have a dream today!
I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; “and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together.”2
This is our hope, and this is the faith that I go back to the South with.
With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.
And this will be the day — this will be the day when all of God’s children will be able to sing with new meaning:
My country ’tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrim’s pride, From every mountainside, let freedom ring!
And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true.
And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire.
Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York.
Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania.
Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado.
Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California.
But not only that:
Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.
Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.
Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi.
From every mountainside, let freedom ring.
And when this happens, and when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual:
Free at last! Free at last!
Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!3
Sad Reflections, Fetal Position
I feel so conflicted about what to do, say, not do, not say…Coronavirus on the forefront, the constant executions of our black brothers and sisters in broad daylight happening nearly every day. Being on FB is weird enough I’m finding, but so much more right now.
Even making a post like has me feeling vulnerable. Not as thick skinned as I might present but gotta let the voice out.
My black friends are shattered, angered, stuck in a cultural fetal position due to the constant, constant, constant massacre. There is no ‘back to normal’ and never has been a ‘back to normal’ when this happens every day and has for generations, in different ways, seen, unseen, day, night, now, in these terrible times, 24/7.
Some white friends up in arms too-awkward in their expression of anger, or standing tall and hurting too-PEOPLE, HUMANS no excuses…
Some people drop right into whatever the same-o same-o of the day is. Insulated. Not effected. Out of sight, out of mind. This is what hurts so much. They might not even be racist-might be naive, who knows, just not touched by such blatant outright violence because it isn’t happening to their own or in their ‘hood.
Over the past few days The Dalai Lama, in response to such outrageously disconnected times, is offering what is called an Avalokitesvara Empowerment , Avalokitesvara the deity of Compassion. This is basically a Tibetan Buddhist blessing that we all live more compassionate lives, a watering of the seed of goodness in all of us, cultivating a warm heart, can we just get along, WHY CANT WE JUST GET ALONG?
Last night HHDL in the preliminary teaching, even mentioned George Floyd’s horrible death, the images circulating of the knee on the neck, and the other violence at the hands of so called law enforcement-mentioning this as such an unprecedented low point in humanity, leading to him offering this mass effort to empower humans to be more compassionate.
Yesterday when I was debating whether or what to write, I kept thinking about 2008-a tough year for Tibetans, who, after over 50 years of annihilation and extermination by the Oppression, had finally had enough-triggered by a few pinnacle events including the shooting gallery like killing of a group of refugees escaping Tibet through the Nangpa-la pass. The video circulated of the execution was as if the shooters were in a carnival gallery. One by one the refugees fell in the snow…No one cared. The world went on. There is more and more and more to this story of course.
Point being that in 2008, with the world still basically silent to the massive human right violation by the Oppressors, one by one-they took it into their own hands and began lighting themselves on fire.
Yes. Terrible. To date there have been over 150 who self-immolated with their last burning words “Free Tibet” or “Long Live the Dalai Lama.” The frustration beyond the human capacity, of not being heard, of not having this tragic wrong of our species be righted.
The evening of the first self-immolation, I had a gig. My good friend and partner, a Tibetan, was glued to YouTube watching what was going on with his people. I talked him into coming with me. He couldn’t sit upright in the car. He lay in the back in fetal position. He couldn’t talk. His family still lives there and he’ll never see them again. He escaped. Not without scars.
There was no way I, as a white person, could feel what he felt. Even having dozens and dozens of Tibetan friends, loving the culture and history of this great people and country my whole life.
I drove to the gig with hot tears streaming down my face and a knot in my gut. I have spent a good 40 + years working for the Tibetan cause, still am, and still, I’m aware that if I wanted I could just stop. I remember asking “Why was I born a white person? What is the point? I wanted to feel that pain. I didn’t want to be able to walk away. I vowed then to use whatever privilege I had to NOT walk away, to walk towards, the best I can. It hurts. To not do it is easy. If walking away is the way privilege works, it is wasted. So wasted.
They can’t. Same like my black friends. Fetal position. Over and over. Can’t get away. How to make it right. The world watches then turns the channel no matter how many times the images are circulated.
This is how I’ve been feeling lately. Screaming through hot tears, the knot in my gut. Fetal position. Not knowing what to do. What to say. What not to do. Pray. Screaming through hot tears, the knot in my gut. Fetal position.
Thank you Sheriff Krebs for that statement. This is leadership the county needs as we see trouble caused by an officer and those who did not offer aid to the one in his custody. It is heart breaking as you state. You have a great team that serves our community as I know our Orcas deputies, many very well and a few on San Juan Island. Keep up the excellent work here in our islands.