These past few weeks have been filled with blood and gore on the national news. Two black men, Alton Sterling and Philando Castille were killed at the hands of white policemen within two days of each other. Videos have appeared on the Internet of their deaths, videos that are painful to watch but are important nonetheless. In these videos you can see Alton Sterling as he lays on the ground not moving and yet he still gets shot multiple times; you can see Philando Castille as he lays in his car dying, his girlfriend and daughter watching the whole time.
The injustices which have become apparent through the 400 plus deaths of black people by the hands of the police within the last few years NEEDS to be addressed.
It is wrong to tell a group of people that the injustices that they have faced for centuries do not exist, that their pain is not valid. It is wrong to tell a group of people that the inequality which they witness on a daily basis is not real. The Black Lives Matter movement is important, real, and valid. An entire race is being made to feel less than, they feel threatened by the police who are meant to protect and serve the people, they feel scared for their friends and family everyday.
The problem with the BLM moment does not lie within but is faced from without. As a result of the faults in this nations judicial system people become passionate and angry about the blatant inequality that remains unaddressed. It is not the BLM that shot 11 police officers in Dallas and killed five. It is not the BLM that begin riots and cause hurt and destruction. Just as it isn't all police that are bad and racist, it is not the BLM that has committed crimes for their cause. One man chose to set up a sniper above a peaceful protest, and yet the whole group will now face the consequences for his actions. It was one man who shot Philando Castille and one man who shot Alton Sterling, and yet people will now feel threatened and scared by the entire police force. Every life matters, and no person deserves to face death at the hands of another. Innocent men do not deserve to be killed for the actions of few, just as innocent men do not deserve to be shot multiple times by a police officer while laying on the floor, not resisting arrest.
Police are meant to apprehend through non lethal force, and yet people are constantly dying at the hands of a scared police officer, an angry police officer, or even a racist police officer.
We should not be fighting each other and trying to diminish the pain and hurt which others are feeling. We should be fighting together to make a change in the system which allows men to walk away unscathed after committing murders just because of a blue uniform which they wear. We should be fighting the system which allows a mans records to be released after his death and point to it and say, "this man was a criminal, this man had it coming." We should be fighting the system which allows a white BOY to face a short sentence for a rape he committed because the poor white Stanford swimmer would be negatively affected by a longer sentence. We should be fighting the system together, instead of creating rifts within our nation. The more we fight each other, the more pain and hurt that will be caused and the more likely we are to be stuck in this same vicious cycle of bloodshed.
Take action to make change, because one person alone may not be able to do much, however, United we can change the inequalities we've witnessed. This upcoming election, vote for the person who can bring about change, who will be the voice of the people. Be smart and be strong and do not diminish the reality of the circumstances we are facing as a nation.
