I have been thinking for quite some time about what unsettles me about the phrase, “He was no angel.” Variations of this phrase have been used to essentially justify (mostly but not only) killings of often people of colour or people who stand for racial justice. George Floyd is a notable recent instance. After he was killed by Chauvin, Candace Owens said, “George Floyd is being uplifted as an amazing human being … Everyone is pretending that this man lived a heroic lifestyle when he didn’t.” Basically, we are only allowed to mourn perfect people. But this type of justifying speech has a very long and much broader history. For example, in the 1960s, media and politicians in the West, in light of Patrice Lumumba’s belief in the right of the Congolese to political, social and economic self-determination, characterised him as insane, arrogant, overly ambitious, and even satanic. He was assassinated against the backdrop of this description of his character. And many thought that that was justified. Ultimately, he was no angel, and then he was no longer with us.
In essence, this type of statement invites onlookers to blame the deceased for their own death. What has always been interesting to me is how absurd it actually is for anyone to say this. Unless they are angels. But there are no angels on this planet. There never have been. Only human beings. All our heroes have disappointed us. All our idols have clay feet. Everyone we have looked up to has been brought down by their own humanity. And that should be OK. It should be OK to be human. It is OK to mourn humans. But maybe that is what the facade of “He was no angel” is actually hiding. Who is ultimately allowed to be human. In his acclaimed 2023 Edinburgh Comedy Award-winning show Ends, comedian Ahir Shah expresses a desire for a future where people of colour can simply “go without saying”. This is a hope for a society where a person’s imposed racial identity is not a constant, defining factor in their experience of life… or death. I second that: I work and write for a future where racialised people do not need to be angels to survive this present darkness.
‘He was no angel,’ said the man
And though he is dead we will just do what we can
No one needs to cry for it
No one needs to fry for it
No one needs to die for it
‘He was no angel,’ said the man
‘He was no saint,’ said the liar
But now he is dead; be it on his head
No one needs to weep for it,
Let’s not look too deep into it
We may even reap from it
‘He was no saint,’ said the liar
‘He was no hero,’ said the zero
But now he is dead, we will not lighten our tread
He was nothing to speak of
He was no one to think of
Someone we loathed the look of
‘He was no hero,’ said the zero
There are no angels on this plane
Here no saints on aspiring heights
No heroes with excellent feats
There are no angels on this plane…
But there are monsters and demons, and vampires and goblins
Dragons and werewolves, devils and bloodsucking urchins
All dressed in human clothing
Yet, they are also nothing to speak of
We do not even think on them
We barely even look at them
These demons in human flesh.
They are no angels.
But we never needed to be angels.
“Human” was always enough.
No matter what the demons say.
We are enough, human as we are.
We are no angels.
