Feidin Santana, a 23-year old originally from the Dominican Republic, was more than simply in the right place at the right time. By now everyone has seen the now infamous cell phone recording of the police slaying of Walter Scott in North Charleston, South Carolina. Most folks also already know that it was Feidin Santana’s iPhone that captured the chilling encounter. Santana explained to MSNBC’s Craig Melvin that immediately following the incident, he wasn’t sure what to do. He said that he considered deleting the video and even leaving town. But once Santana saw the local coverage of the crime describing a totally different scene, he knew what he had to do and the rest is history.
Perhaps the most poignant part of Santana’s story is his honesty about the inner-wrestling that he experienced before coming forward with the damning evidence. It is precisely this type of bravery that makes him a patriot. He felt the fear and did the right thing anyway. That’s the very definition of courage. Scott’s family has referred to Santana as a “hero” and a “brother”. Certainly, Feidin’s camera is not the first to capture a brutal injustice and, thankfully, his will not be the last. What sets this recording apart is the notion that Santana’s impetus to act seemed to be less a voyeuristic thrill (that thing that makes train wrecks horrifically mesmerizing) and more an organic sense of duty to document the truth. He is just like the rest of us. He’s seen the Mike Brown and Eric Garner stories unfold. So as he walks to work and bears witness to yet another Black man being gunned down by a cop, he takes out his phone and presses record. He is almost the millennial version of Rosa Parks. In fact, given Ms. Parks’ training and activist background at the time that she bravely refused to give up her seat, Santana’s act may be seen as even more naturally patriotic in its origin. Mr. Santana wasn’t a Black Lives Matter operative or activist. He was really just a guy on his way to work.
Being plucked from obscurity the way that Feidin Santana has been cannot be easy. He will have to get used to television cameras being shoved in his face, perfect strangers recognizing him in the street, and he may well end up being the star witness if the case goes to trial. If Santana’s deliberate choice to endure the pressure of unwanted fame so that Walter Scott’s death would not be in vain isn’t the embodiment of a patriot, I don’t know what is.
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