Most of our nation and much of the world stood by and watched the video of George Floyd's last moments. The video was played on tv, news broadcasts, and in our memory almost daily since the death of Floyd on March. We have that video because of the witness of a brave teenager, Darnella Frazier. We reflect upon standing there and being a witness.

A satirical twist on this famous saying usually makes us smile: “Don’t just do something – Stand there!’ It’s been attributed to Dwight D. Eisenhower, Clint Eastwood, White Rabbit in Alice in Wonderland, Macrina Wiederkehr, and others. Macrina Wiederkher (d. 2020), friend and Benedictine writer, urged us to pause – to stand there - throughout the day to allow our soul to catch up with our body.

For whatever reason, 17- year- old Darnella Frazier stood there on the curb in front of Cup Foods. She stood there gripped in the gaze of Derek Chauvin. She stood there holding her phone as it recorded George Floyd’s last pleas and last breaths. Because Darnella Frazier stood there, her 10-minute video might change the course of history.

We don’t know for sure what was going on in Darnella’s soul, but she believed, as she told the jury, “He was suffering. He was in pain. . . . It seemed like he knew it was over for him. . . . He was terrified.” Darnella said, “The world needed to see what I was seeing,” So she continued to stand there.

What do Darnella, Macrina, and the White Rabbit, have in common? They give us advice, “Stand there!” Allow the Divine One to guide us. It could even possibly save our soul – or affect the soul of a nation.

The English verb “witness” can mean both to perceive and to testify. One of the definitions in Webster is “to have personal or direct cognizance of: see for oneself.” In other words, to witness is to pay attention.

There is an old joke about a police supervisor who arrives at a crime scene. The supervisor asks an officer already there, “Are there any witnesses?” The officer replies, “No, sir. There were many bystanders, but no witnesses.” In other words, there were plenty of people nearby, but no one was paying attention.

Or maybe they were paying attention but are simply unwilling to speak up. To witness, in its fullest sense, is both to pay attention and to report, to announce what one has seen.

There is much ugliness in our world, much pain and suffering, cruelty and injustice. Many of us would like to turn away, to close our eyes, to distract ourselves; in one way or another, to not pay attention. And sometimes, that may be necessary for our own spiritual and mental health.

But let us never forget that we honor as saints many people down through the ages – from Frances of Assisi to Dorothy Day and Mother Teresa – people who paid attention to suffering and injustice, and never stopped bearing witness to what they saw.

Please share Reflection freely by forwarding any issue (forward in its entirety), but remember to respect copyright laws by not altering, copying, or reproducing Reflection, text or photos, whole or in part, without written permission.

Copyright (c) 2021 Soul Windows Ministries