Time to Change the Story: Inequality Needs to End

I am at a loss for words today. Watching the news about some white racist piece of garbage and his three complicit fellow pieces of garbage take the life of a black person is horrific. Watching the news about the ongoing destruction of private and public property that has nothing to do with the crime as an outcry of anger is demoralizing and beyond infuriating. The outcry is necessary and justified; the shameful destruction of property effecting innocent people by an angry, out of control mob is not. Merely posting a photo today with some blah blah blah commentary related to that photo seems a bit meaningless right now. I feel small and powerless as I watch my country, OUR country, fall into an all too familiar abyss of trouble, anxiety, and violence regarding race once again. What are we going to do about it once and for all? I am sick of this same lousy, divisive, sad problem. Somehow, yet again, our country is devastated by the unlawful killing of a black man at the hands of a racist, power hungry white officer of the law who hides behind the power of his badge. How did we get here? No, wait, how did we get here AGAIN? How is it that this all too common ugly story has yet another tragic, disgusting chapter? Seriously, WTF! We, as a society, are smart enough to launch a rocket into space yesterday with human lives on board to spend time living together in space, but somehow, right here on earth, that same society is home to too many that can’t live together and are stupid enough and cruel enough to treat others differently because of the color of their skin. Seriously, WTF? One of the most impactful gifts that photography has given me is how I see people and how I treat people. I am not a model citizen and I am far from an angel, but as I travel and meet people and photograph them I simply see people. Most look different than I do; so what. I guarantee most of them want the same things from life that I do and we separated only by culture and opportunity. Period. Along the way I have met some extraordinarily great people and, yes, my journey has also included some not so great people. Frankly, in both scenarios, I don’t recollect the color of their skin because it truly does not matter. Maybe I am wrong, but, in my opinion, the world is populated with two kinds of people: there are good people and there are bad people. Both come in various shades of color, different sizes, and from every walk of life imaginable. It is our individual responsibility to sort out who those good or bad people are in our lives, but I can assure you it has zero to do with their skin color.

Photograph What You Feel

Photograph What You Feel