Sound-Off: ‘I Watched A Man Die On the Internet’

Daniella Gibbs Léger writes about watching Eric Garner's death on the Internet.

I am a certified news junkie, as most of you know. Some of it is the nature of my job, but it all started when I was a little kid. My parents would sit us all down and we would watch the evening news together (local NYC CBS and then the national news). For as long as I can remember, being informed about what is going on in the world has been a key part of who I am, and my parents stressed the importance of knowing what is going on around you. But these last few weeks have been hard. Between what’s happening overseas in the Middle East, in Ukraine, Syria, the refugee crisis on our border, the Ebola endemic, and the recent police brutality incidents, watching news has been a challenge.

I’m sure by now everyone has seen that deeply disturbing video of Staten Island resident Eric Garner being placed in a choke hold by the New York Police Department and then dying. I’ve seen some awful things on the internet, including violence like this, but there was something about this video that stopped me in my tracks, aside from the horrific ending.

The above excerpt was originally published in ESSENCE. Click here to view the full article.

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