Nobody Deserves to Die This Way
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
August 31, 2020
UFCW LOCAL 888’s President Max Bruny releases the following statement in
response to the shooting of Jacob Blake in Wisconsin:
First and foremost, it is most important for UFCW Local 888 to express our deepest condolences to the families and friends of Jacob Blake, an unarmed Black man viciously assaulted and nearly murdered at the hands of police yet again. In the most miraculous of ways, Mr. Blake is still fighting for his life but has been paralyzed from the waist down. While we are wishing for his speedy recovery and mental strength, the most heartbreaking factor in this, is that his innocent children bared witness to this horrific event. This is exhausting.
It is outrageous that here we are yet again. Just a few months after the horrific murder of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, here we are again mourning the loss of another unarmed Black person. We cannot allow this to become the new normal. We cannot be desensitized to the inhumane treatment of Black life. While our entire nation is on edge, we must stand up as a people and change this course. America can do better. We deserve better. Our children deserve better.
Even if your life has not been personally touched by these incidents, do not be complacent. We are ALL impacted and are slowly being forever changed as a country if we don’t say ‘Enough!’ Enough IS enough, and we DEMAND JUSTICE and POLICE REFORM! Now is the time to stand together and hold politicians accountable to address the issues that affect our everyday lives every time they are running for re-election. Now is the time to VOTE, because our lives truly depend on it!
We must realize that now is the time to protect one another. There is no time to waste. We all share in humanity with one another. We are all someone’s child, someone’s relative, someone’s friend, someone’s neighbor. We need to understand that the solutions are not just for others to act on, we have to take personal responsibility to love one another more and to show care and compassion. We must no longer sit back but speak out, act, mobilize and do everything in our power to stop these senseless tragedies.
Our union representation transcends race, gender, sexual orientation, culture and borders. UFCW Local 888 has a duty, to our countless members of color, to fight for their human right to LIVE. We urge all of our members, regardless of their personal feelings to come together and in unity, help to bring mutual respect, fierce determination, and empathy to make a change. We must stand up for those that have been murdered by the grotesque police violence that plagues our country. No one deserves to die that way.
We say “No More. Not one more death.” We hope you will join us.
In Solidarity,
Max Bruny
President.
