Below is a post I wrote on 06/13. I wrote it when Rayshard Brooks was murdered. I wanted to try and point out the difference of experience I had when I was about his age as a white man at a Stone Mountain Krytal maybe 30 minutes from where he was. I went down there that morning to see it myself and then that Wendy’s burned that night. I went back the next morning and saw the community turn it into a beautiful memorial. Pics below.
I’ve acknowledged my privilege for a long time now, but this one hits me harder. Being literally so close to home and happening to someone who had fallen asleep at a drive-thru. That was a story I had been telling as a sort of joke for years. It’s part of my recovery story now. I wrote this prior to seeing Rayshard’s body cam interactions with those cops. I don’t think I can describe in words well enough the difference of how it was handled between the two of us. And before anyone replies with anything about fighting back – I just watched a naked white man suspected of murdering his whole family chase an officer around his yard like a chicken with its head cut off.
Yes, I’m carrying guilt with me on this. The least I feel I can do is keep sharing my experiences in hopes of some people finding relatability or challenging old ideals. Anyone who knows me knows that I’m no stranger to fighting this fight. The difference now is I hope to do it with more of an open mind and heart and stay principled. Focused on healing and not destroying . So below is what I originally wrote , thank you if you take tine to read 👇❤️🙏
I too fell asleep drunk in a drive-thru line (Krystal). When they banged on my window I drunkenly reached a $20 out the window to the cop (its in the report). Before they gave me field sobriety tests they gave me multiple avenues to explain my way out of it. I had mentioned that I had worked all day and my blood sugar was probably low and that was why I had passed out, so they quickly went into questioning to see if I was diabetic. I was “hangry”. After I failed multiple field sobriety tests they allowed me to call my mom to prevent my car from being towed away. They even moved it for me. Honestly, they were nice guys.
There’s more to come from this report and I’m not interested in arguments from anyone on this. I just want to point out that falling asleep in a drive thru line can escalate to an entirely different situation for some people. Rayshard Brooks ended up being shot and killed, I stumbled around doing an impromptu tight 5 routine with the police and got to call my mom to prearrange bail and not have my car towed away.
Thoughts on Healing Hearts 