Sean Ardoin Releases Powerful Song, “What Do You See”
Imagine your child walking into your room and seeing a story on the news of a Black man being murdered by a White man. Now imagine this White male being a policeman. What if your child turns to you and asks you, "Why did he kill this man? Aren't the Policemen suppose to be the good guys?" What is your answer to your child going to be at that moment?
As long as I can remember, my mom would always tell me that if I got lost, to find the nearest policeman and tell him my name so he could help me locate her. I wasn't told that I had to be dressed a certain way or that I had to alter my voice or tone in order to be helped safely. I wasn't told that, because I am Black, that he or she might feel unsafe around me and might try to take my life because I walked up and asked for help. I was told this was a good person and that they would help me and not hurt me. This was someone who I could trust to make me feel safe in moments of uncertainty.
Unfortunately, as I look at the news daily, all I am seeing is young Black men being harassed for what seems to be no more of a reason then being Black. I come from a family where some of my aunts and uncles were on the police force, and I remember the confidence they had when they put that badge on. However, I never looked at them as being any more then my relatives and didn't think of them doing any wrong to those who didn't deserve it.
We are living in trying times, and men and women who look like me with the same complexion and characteristics seem to be hunted down like animals. Regardless of what a person does, whether it's jog, write a bad check, or drive with an expired tag, we are all to be treated equally and without prejudice, regardless of the color of our skin. When I saw this new music video from Sean Ardoin, I had to sit down and take a deep breath. The lyrics to the song, while simple, said a lot to me. What do you see when you look at me? How is it that I can see a father, brother, son, and a man and others see a thug, a threat or a criminal?
Take a listen to this song and share this post so others around the world will be able to hear something positive, and hope that this could possibly help to inspire change or give a wake up call to those who need it. We need an alliance of our counterparts to join in with us. To many, we look like we're mad or making a big deal out of nothing. However, if those who see no wrong in this see us all working together from every nationality and race, what we look like then are a group of people in unison, working together to help right many wrongs
This is not a me problem or a you problem. This is an us problem, and we need each other to speak out and show others that these killings of unarmed Black men and women are not natural. They're not right and should not be happening like this is a normal thing. Racism is real and very relevant, and it needs to be dealt with head on.