I can’t breathe! I can’t breathe! I can’t breathe!” These were the last words of Eric Garner as Policemen choked him to death on Staten Island, New York. I can’t breathe has become a rallying cry across the country and around the world concerning police murder.

“I can’t breathe” adorned LeBron James’ pregame sweatshirt. He caused a real stir, but he wanted the world to know that black lives matter and police murder of unarmed black boys and men must stop.

“I can’t breathe” was the rallying cry in New York as thousands upon thousand marched, closed down traffic throughways and protested in other manners. They said in various ways that black lives matter and police murder of unarmed black boys and men must stop. “I can’t breathe!”

“Hands up! Don’t shoot!” became a rallying symbol across the country and around the world. Even Selma had a rally of over 100 people on the Edmund Pettus Bridge.

I can’t breathe and hands up, don’t shoot demonstrations not only occurred nationally but internationally. Demonstrations occurred in London, Hong Kong and various other cities. They were saying black lives matter and police murder of unarmed black boys and men must stop.

For they have sown the winds, and they shall reap the whirlwinds. This biblical saying from the book of Hosea just keeps playing itself over and over in my mind.  These widespread demonstrations are evidence of the whirlwinds produced by the winds of injustice sown by those who did not prosecute the deaths of Michael Brown, Garner and others. These deaths are not occurring just in big cities but in Selma with the death of Ananias Shaw and Emerson Clayton, Jr. in Alexander City here in Alabama.

It appears to me that the District Attorney Dan Donovan of Staten Island, New York, felt he could do the same thing DA Robert McCullouch did in Ferguson, Mo. with impunity. He sowed the same winds, but reaped the whirlwinds.

There were five elements that he did not account for: (1) many people felt that Brown was murdered in cold blood but gave the benefit of the doubt to policeman Darryl Wilson; (2) there was no video in the Brown killing but there was video in the Garner killing; (3) they were not able to demonize Garner in the same way they demonized Brown; (4) they underestimated the compounded effect of the Brown murder, the Garner murder and other police murders with no indictments; and (5) they heard Garner saying his last words – “I can’t breathe! I can’t breathe! I can’t breathe!”

Unjustified killings and failure to prosecute were the winds sown. I can’t breathe! and Hands up; Don’t shoot! are the symbols of whirlwinds reaped. It is impossible to predict how much fruit will be produced by the seeds we sow.

All we can do is sow good seeds, so we have an opportunity to reap good fruit.