Philando Castile was gunned down by a scared police officer this week, even after following directions, laying out his intentions, and having his baby in the backseat of his car. None of that could stop a police officer from deciding it was a good day to take someone's life and become a murderer. It was probably a picturesque day, anyway.

A few hours before that, Alton Sterling had his chest blown wide open by a police officer that already had him pinned and subdued onto the ground. It was more than one shot, as it usually is, that was fired from the officer's gun at point-blank range. Sterling's only crime was having a gun in the open carry state of Louisiana. And, of course, he was black.

As if these cases weren't enough, just a few days ago, a black man decided to take matters of payback into his own hands. He armed himself with bullets of death, took his place, and fired from a sniper at 11 police, killing five. Five innocent officers, with nothing to go on aside from the supposition that perhaps they were "bad cops," were killed. They could've been good ones: fathers, sons, community leaders. They could've been among the nicest people alive, as a young boy who attended Philando's school wrote that Philando was.

If there is anything that is certain, it is that police and black communities do not and have never had good relationships. With the recent outbreak of shooting deaths related to race and the police force, this unfortunate sentiment doesn't look like it's going to go away anytime soon without some serious work being done on both sides. Even now, protests are going on all over the country, as people are looking for retribution for their just causes. They are tired of pandering for solutions, and are willing to do nearly anything to get them.