Breathing is such a natural activity that we do not even pay attention to it most of the time, unless of course, we are practising pranayama or yoga. What is more, breath is free! For the rich as well as the poor! Yet, there are tyrants who stop us from breathing by choking us to death. This is exactly what happened on that horrible day in Minneapolis, USA, when a white police officer strangled to death a handcuffed and prostrate black man, George Floyd, by pinning him down to the ground and clamping his knee on his neck for 8 long, horrifying minutes, even as his victim desperately pleaded: “I can’t breathe! I can’t breathe!” Heart-breaking! Sickening! Outrageous! In the “Land of the Free”! Forget the Declaration that “all human beings are created equal.” It looks as if some are always more free than others. And they have the gall to preach about freedom, justice and human rights! The killing of George Floyd was senseless and brutal, a sin that cries out to heaven for justice.
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The author is a retreat preacher and counselor at Xavier Sadan, Mysore.
