I have been trying to find the right words to express the feelings of what has happened over the last few days. It is difficult with the amount of disgust I have in my body right now. Quite frankly, I am sick of it. Even during a pandemic, racism is not under quarantine.
It is sickening to watch a black man shot and killed while he is jogging through a neighborhood because he looks suspicious. It is disturbing that a white woman feels threatened and calls 911 because a black man politely asks her to her dog on a leash. It is disheartening that police raided the wrong house, unloading countless gunshots and murdering an innocent black woman late at night. And it is gut-wrenching to see black man hand-cuffed and having the knee of an officer choke the life out of him for nearly 10-minutes by police officers, having his last words be "I can't breathe."
We have seen footage of all this happened within a matter of days. And this is not the first time. There is no need to research the victim's history to try to find some dirt on them. There is no need to figure out what occurred before the camera started filming to attempt to justify these murders. What it comes down to is that none of these people deserved to die the way they did.
The videos of people marching the streets across the country in favor of Black Lives Matter and wanting social justice does not mean black lives are better than others, or that all other lives do not matter. We know that every life matters! It is pent up frustration and anger that the life of a black person means so little in America. We are not thought of as people. Hell, we were once seen as 3/5 a person. It is the fact that senseless killing is justified because of the color of our skin. We protest the racial injustice and racist acts we receive every day and wanting to be treated equally like our white counterparts and for justice to be upheld in favor of us. But sadly, that seems too much to ask.
Colin Kaepernick decides to take a knee during the National Anthem in a silent protest for racial justice; the narrative is turned about the flag is blackballed from the NFL. Our peaceful protests turn to riots as racists set fire and loot businesses and blame it on us. Police take action by firing rubber bullets and throwing tear gas at protestors to get us off the streets. Having no reason to use excessive force because they can. Bystanders decide to run over protestors and hold a bow and arrow in our faces. You can't sit there and tell me that it is justified.
Last month we saw protests across the country be against the stay-at-home orders. People marched to their local governments upset about how it was against their rights and un-American they couldn't get a haircut or go to the salon and had to wear a mask. The reasoning of this was to save lives and lower the spread of COVID-19. While police officers secured a blockade around and even inside the government buildings, protestors were putting their hands on police officers and acting violent, even as to carrying guns down the streets and getting them inside the buildings! The police do nothing but stand their ground. So tell me, how is that okay, but when we protest, it is looked down upon and our voices do not matter, and excessive force is taken upon us when we do not initiate the contact?
And of course, President Trump needs to put his two cents in. Tweeting about the "thugs" rioting across the country and stating "When the looting starts, the shooting starts." And there lies the problem. It is the mindset that you can kill a black person and create a probable cause. It is the idea that we are expendable. It is a part of the long history in America that black people are not valued. It is the racism, systematic and non-systematic, that America has rooted in its history that is desperately swept under the rug.
Let me make this clear. I am not a thug. I do not come from a thuggish family. My black friends are not thugs. BLACK PEOPLE ARE NOT THUGS. We are beautiful, intelligent, important people in this world that is to be valued more in society and seen as equals. Because I grew up in a suburban neighborhood, it does not mean less I am less prone to racial injustice. I've had more share of racist run-ins and I've dealt with them. It does not sperate me from others who live in more urban areas. I am still treated differently and have fewer opportunities than non-people of color. Sometimes I don't feel comfortable going to certain white neighborhoods. I get nervous if I drive by a police car and I tense up if I am pulled over. This is a small window of being black in America. So many people love our culture and want to act and dress like us, but don't want the issues that come with it. You cannot love black culture and say how much you admire LeBron James and Beyoncé but be racist at the same time.
By the time I wake up, to when I fall asleep I am black. You can bet money and win I will wake up the next day and I'll still be black. Never had I wish I was not black because I am proud to be in the skin that I am in. You know where I draw the line. I'm standing up against racism. I suggest you do the same.
I understand that this conversation is not an easy one. But realize that our reasoning for wanting justice is perfectly valid. Everyone in this country should want people of all races to be treated equally. However, some do not think this way and will try every possible way to see that black people are to stay mistreated. We cannot have that anymore. I am tired of seeing news reports that another black man or woman was killed for no reason. That unlawful use of force which caused that person to lose their life.
And I know that you're tired of reading the same headline as me. It's exhausting having to go through this but it will never end unless we take the right measures and vote the right people in to end such bigotry. This isn't a Democratic vs. Republican issue. It is a racist problem. It is an infringement of our human rights.
If you are white, please understand that you have privileges that we don't have. You didn't ask for this, I know that. And you will never understand what it is like to be black in America, but be an ally. Stand by your black co-workers and friends at this time. If you're in a relationship with a black person, this is your fight too. Positively use this privilege to see change happen. Call out and stand against racism. Reach out to your friends of color to see how they are during this time. Make sure that they have support behind them.
Do I believe that all police officers are racist? No. I understand that your job is dangerous and stressful. But it is just more than just a few bad apples. More has to be done that just removing the racist officers. Photos and videos are surfing social media right now of officers do good in the black community, treating them with respect and compassion, and wanting to talk it out with protestors. Standing beside us in uniform wanting to come together as one. This is more of what we need. More understanding. Violence only leads to more violence. The hierarchy institution of how to approach us needs to be dismantled. I should feel safe if I have to call the police, and not worry if I will make it home or not.
Do not care about this issue and go out and protest for the likes and to make yourself look cool on social media. If you truly care about this issue, if you want to see social justice prevail in America, then you stand by those who are oppressed and condemn those who are for racism.
I do not have all of the answers but this is a start. Looting does not solve anything. Rioting and burning down communities does not solve anything. Stop being an instigator and blaming it on black people. We have to do better. Show more love. And don't let the victims' names be forgotten.
If you don't think this does not affect you, it does. Ask yourself this. How would you feel and react if this happened someone you knew? How would you feel and react if this was ME?
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