Day 301: We mourn the loss of a beloved… wendy’s

Rayshard Brooks was murdered by police. Murdered isn’t quite a strong enough word for what the police did, but we’ll go with it. He was murdered. I don’t know the man, but I can tell you he had three daughters and a step son. I can also tell you he was murdered for being responsible. He was murdered for celebrating his daughters 8th birthday. He was murdered for doing the right thing. But today we mourn the wendy’s that was burned down.

We don’t know the full story, but we know enough to know that Rayshard Brooks was murdered because there is no justice. He was murdered because the police don’t care. He was murdered because the police knew they could get away with it, not because they feared for their lives. He was murdered before he was even able to celebrate his daughters birthday. Someone (by the video evidence a white woman) set fire to the wendy’s where he was murdered.

The wendy’s will come back. The owner will be okay, in fact the owner is probably doing better than any of us ever will, I mean they own a fucking wendy’s and that isn’t cheap (here’s how much it costs to own one). The owner needs $2 million in liquid assets to buy a wendy’s. That’s $2 million in fucking cash. Let me just dig around my fucking couch cushions for that because as someone on twitter pointed out it’s owned by a regular fucking person. A regular fucking person with $2 million in the bank BEFORE and separate from buying the damn wendy’s.

Today we mourn for the lost over cooked, tasteless, square patty that will never be eaten. Not for the daughters who will never know their father. Not the 8-year old little girl still in her birthday dress waiting for her dad to take her out. Not for the step son who will never get to know the kind of man that would take on that responsibility. The kind of man that says you’re my son even if we’re not blood. The kind of man all men should strive to be. Instead let’s take a moment to think of all the insurance paperwork the wendy’s owner will have to deal with now that the building has burned down.

We don’t know the whole story, but we do know that Rayshard Brooks should’ve gotten an award, yet he was murdered. Instead of trying to drive after having some drinks to celebrate his daughters birthday, he was sleeping it off. That’s a smart fucking man if I’ve ever seen one. The police came and he failed a sobriety test, not surprising since he was trying to sober up before seeing his daughter. He was scared (and as we know, not sober), somehow got a taser from an officer and ran. He was running away from them and they murdered him. Yet, you wouldn’t know this story if it wasn’t for the tragic loss of a wendy’s.

This is a man who was ripped from his family. A man who, based on the fact he had a family and was doing right by them, was better than most of us. This is yet another in the long list of black people murdered not because the police were fearing for their lives, but because it was easier. Because there is no justice. Because they knew that, even with the worldwide protests going on as we speak, they would walk away unscathed. Because they knew the system would protect them above anyone and everyone else.

Today we mourn for the wendy’s who will never see another customer. Yes, it will be rebuilt. Yes, the person who owns it will suffer no financial hardship because of this. But, it won’t be the same. Think of the paperwork. Think of the condiments that have been wasted. Think of all the people who will never get to eat at that original wendy’s again. Instead they will be forced to eat at a new, carbon copy in the same place. Rayshard Brooks isn’t coming back. His family will never be the same. We didn’t know him and maybe that’s the problem. We know what a fucking wendy’s is, Rayshard Brooks is just another in a long list of black people who were murdered by police. Why should we care when we didn’t get our breakfasts, lunches, or dinners from him?

Do you see where I’m going with this yet? Why do people value the loss of a wendy’s more than the loss of a human? Maybe it’s because you don’t know him personally. Maybe you have more fond memories of the wendy’s than you do of Rayshard Brooks. Or maybe, you just don’t care about Rayshard Brooks. His death doesn’t affect you personally, so why care? In which case, we are here to say our goodbyes to the wendy’s you may be gone, but you’ll always be a burger king. Fuck you.