Station 19
Thursdays 10:00 PM on ABCStation 19 Season 4 Episode 12: "Get Up, Stand Up" Quotes
Sullivan: I was so desperate for a promotion that I was going to try to stop Miller’s lawsuit, which is the best shot we have of anything changing.
Andy: Robert.
Sullivan: This demotion has been humbling. It’s been humbling, and I’ve had so many dark thoughts. Sometimes I doubt my own goodness.
Andy: No one is just good. We make mistakes, and we learn from them, and we do better next time. That’s how goodness works. It’s not about purity. It’s about growth.
This one was different. It wasn’t just another video of an innocent Black man being shot by police. This wasn’t an officer making a split-second decision that resulted in another Black man losing his life. This wasn’t fight or flight or panic-induced impulse or unconscious bias or unnecessary escalation. This was the unarmed murder of a defenseless compliant Black man in the middle of the street in broad daylight right in front our eyes, all of our eyes.
Sullivan
Jack: I’m afraid to talk to anyone right now, not just you, to anyone. I’m afraid to talk to my best friend.
Diane: Miller.
Jack: I’m afraid I’m gonna get every word wrong or even one word. I know I’m not a racist…
Diane: Oh, you do realize ‘I’m not racist’ is kind of the club slogan of racists, and that’s because we live in a culture built on white supremacy. So the racism is baked in, and we can’t begin to undo it until we name it and own it.
Jack: OK, see this is exactly my point. I’m damned if I do and damned if I don’t. Cops take a knee, join the protests, they’re called hypocrites. And Dixon, he is a hypocrite. He is racist. But it can’t be that across the board?
Diane: You come to see me twice a month, so I have to assume that you like me, right? You like that I give you tough love and don't pull punches, and you came in here today, looking for some clarity. So, here it is. I know what you mean when you say you aren't racist, and I believe that you do not have the hatred in your heart, but you also aren't damned, not even in the least bit. You're blessed as hell. I know you grew up on the streets, and the system, and I'm not diminishing your hardship, but you are…
Jack: I'm privileged because I'm white, I get it.
Vic: I like to fix things. I see a fire, and I put it out. But we have been having this same fight for so long. For so long. My grandma used to tell me about the sit-ins and boycotts she used to do in the ‘60s, and we’re how many movements and marches later, and what do we have to show for it? And to see so many people act like this is news, like this is just some brand new information they’re waking up to. Do you know how many white friends texted me or emailed me out of the blue, right? Just everything under this guise of just checking in and asking how I’m feeling, you know? I knew they meant well, but I also knew what was behind it: guilt. So I don’t know how I’m… how are you feeling? Because as much I couldn’t fix this problem, at least I knew it was there and for a better reason than I was just stuck inside my house this time, and I couldn’t look away.
Diane: I know the past couple of months can't have been easier for you either. Hate crimes are hate crimes no matter the race.
Travis: My mom got… well, she was spit on at the grocery store the same day that George Floyd. My mom was leaving and a crazy woman was like, “If this kung flu is real, it's because of people like her. The woman both didn’t believe COVID was real and was blaming my mom. When my mom told me, it actually felt like my organs were melted. I was so hot with rage now remembering the times when I was a kid and you know people would say stuff to us, and then we would just go home and never to be discussed again. And I didn’t say anything to anyone here about it because you know it didn't feel appropriate, this giant massive thing was happening, a hate crime, an atrocity so much more brutal and egregious. Other people were hurting so much more.
Diane: You’re not grieving? You had a happy little firehouse where everyone was best friends and racial disparity was not a hot topic, and now…
Maya: Everything has changed.
Diane: Everything and nothing.
Maya: I know fire. I mean I’m the person who studies them for fun.
Diane: But this fire…
Maya: This fire is beneath our feet. It’s built into every foundation, our history, language, news coverage. It’s everywhere. We vent fires to let out the hot smoke and gases so we can contain the fire, but I don’t see how we can contain this, let alone put it out.
Ben: How do you do it? I know you have to be as shaken up as I am, so how do you…
Diane: How do I do my job?
Ben: Yeah.
Diane: You fought a fire this morning. How did you do that?
Ben: I pushed my pain aside and did what had to be done.
Diane: Same.
Maya: I asked her to come. There’s been a death, and you’re all grieving so I asked her to come.
Vic: I'm sorry…
Ben: You’re talking about George Floyd?
Dean: You brought in a therapist to help us process the death of George Floyd?
Maya: I did. I feel powerless to help and this felt like something I could do.
