Yesterday, I read an open letter written by Seattle Seahawks defensive-end Michael Bennett. In this letter, he described the kind of police brutality that often ends with a Black man losing his life. “He [the officer] placed his gun near my head and warned me that if I moved he would blow my fucking head off.” Over the next few lines, I quickly realized that the normalcy of these events has left me numb to the negative outcomes that these encounters often produce.

In reality, the police brutality that Bennett experienced in Las Vegas on August 26, 2017, is not an isolated incident, it is not an enigma, and this will happen to another Black man, it’s the American way. It’s an unavoidable component to Black life and events that cause trauma.

Ironically, the racially charged and oppressive event, rather than the trauma demands national attention. Inexplicably, Bennett will stand in front of cameras and say he’s lucky to have his life; as if his life impacts trauma more than trauma will impact his life.  The crime and burden that most Black men commit and carry by being Black at the wrong time and in the wrong space is highlighted by Bennett’s letter and should have been highlighted by his national anthem protest.

It is important for the people on the outside looking in to not conflate the trauma caused by oppressive systems and abusive police officers with the symbolism of kneeling athletes and/or hashtags. Though they are related, they are very separate. It’s okay to disagree with the action but it’s not okay to ignore the message. The plight and mistreatment that Black people face almost daily; in almost all institutions; through all generations is more than an anthem protest. It's more than a raised BLACK fist.  It’s more than a self-hating Jason Whitlock segment on ESPN. It’s more than Colin Kaepernick being black balled. It's more than the disproving Alt-Reich rabble-rousers. For Black people, especially Black men, IT IS REAL LIFE… Just ask Michael Bennett.