Precious Breath

I woke to the calm rhythm of the trees swaying to the summer breeze and took in one deep, refreshing breath, as the cool gentle breeze brushed past my face. As a matter of habit, and a part of a mindfulness exercise called pranayama, I took in a couple more deep breaths. This kind of breathing is normally a great start for my day. I ordinarily continue with a few more minutes of breathing, which leaves me feeling energized by the sequence of the deliberate exercises. I can focus my rested, ready mind towards the day’s events and intended tasks.

But that morning my mind was restless with the thought of how a fellow human being had been deprived of the very breath that I was taking for granted as a part of my existence. The vision of the man imploring his captors, who held him in a chokehold, “I can’t breathe”! And right there, for millions to see, the very people who are meant to protect civilians, deprived him of the precious breath he needed to stay alive. I was engulfed in the helplessness that creeps in time and again, when one hears of the racial profiling and police brutality that went unpunished.

It is frustrating to see a country that touts “liberty and justice for all”, struggling to find a balanced, even ground so its law abiding citizens are not crushed because they look a certain way. As racial profiling is continually justified by how cops are in the line of fire and how it is imperative for them to act unless they want to get shot, it is a cause of alarm that only 5% of African Americans feel more secure when they see a cop, 60% feeling less secure.

So that morning, as my heart went out for the atrocious death of George Floyd, it brought a little glimmer of hope when my daughter asked about going into the town center in support of the “Black Lives Matter” protest. At least this time I felt some hope for reform! Even as people grappled with covid - ironically, a disease that causes shortness of breath - they followed their conscience to stand up for the guy whose right to breathe was taken away. Taking safety precautions with masks, keeping a distance, and post protest hygiene and quarantines, folks known to me joined the peaceful protests against the police brutality they had witnessed on camera - that of a helpless man held in a chokehold pleading for a breath, until he couldn’t anymore.

Thousands of cities across the country were organizing protests, which brings hope that there would be some police reform to bring community trust and police accountability. The introduction of Justice in Policing Act of 2020, a promising legislation that bans chokeholds, carotid holds and no-knock warrants among other common sense laws, was passed by the Democratic majority House but has slim chances in the Republican majority Senate.

The bill proposes reform to “qualified immunity” (which is a doctrine that currently shields police officers from civil lawsuits brought by victims of police violence on grounds that the victims' constitutional rights were violated. Critics of “qualified immunity” have called it catch-22 as cases are thrown out due to not having a “clearly established” precedent. The doctrine was meant to allow “breathing room” for police mistakes that involve split-second judgements in tense and dangerous situations). The Republicans proposed The Justice Act which the dems blocked in the senate as it does not address the issue of consequences for police violence via a reform to qualified immunity, which their bill does. The US Supreme Court has refused to re-examine the doctrine.

While the two parties thrash out how much reform is needed, in a recent poll two-thirds of Americans, up from 41% in 2015, feel the justice system is too lenient on police violence that causes injury or death. From where I stand, I see a ray of hope, and increased awareness and empathy across the board.

As if right on cue, my iWatch sent me a notification to breathe. I tried to bring my mind back to my breathing - each breath feeling more precious.

Image credit : Statistics (Vox)

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