I’m sorry, if this is a little long or if this offends you. I just feel like I am not the only person feeling this way and I need to say these things, it's eating me up inside and what a better place to vent than the internet. I’m so scared. Scared for me, my family, my friends, and my future children. So many terrible things have been happening in the world, and namely, in the USA. I’m scared for my future, but maybe not for the exact reasons you’re thinking.
Police Violence
I know there is so much to say about this and why I am afraid of this. But, let’s start with Freddie Gray. He broke his neck as a result of being handled roughly while being hand-cuffed and thrown into the back of a police vehicle while calling for medical attention. This is awful. It should not have happened. The police were not doing their job properly and they all are facing charges for it. I am not scared because of this, I am scared because of the uproar it caused about racism. Did this happen because of the color of his skin? I cannot answer that because I don’t see color like that. I see a young man who was in the wrong, and getting arrested, and who was severely mistreated and ultimately killed by six police officers (three of whom were black). I know, so surprising, a privileged 21-year-old white girl who ISN'T a racist. I, personally, don’t think this was about race at all, I think that we MADE it about race…and that scares me.
http://nypost.com/2015/05/21/all-6-baltimore-cops-...
Police - Hating
Now, all of the talk is about the sad, sad story of a woman named Sandra Bland. I have read multiple articles and watched her arrest tape. Yes, the policeman was wrong in the way he handled her. Yet, in his defense, you ALWAYS need to listen to an officer, talking back and being sassy is not going to do anything but result in your arrest, and this is common knowledge. I am not making an excuse and he is currently reassigned to a desk job because of his actions. In jail, she committed suicide. It is proven by autopsy and backed by many people that there was no struggle and all of her wounds were consistent with suicide. This is so sad, and suicide is nothing to joke about. I pray for her and her loved ones. But, it has been PROVEN she was not killed. Why there is any negative talk about it confuses me. Once again, I do not believe this was about race at all. I’ve been pulled over for failure to signal also. He handled it a little rough, and he is getting reprimanded for it. She committed suicide and that is so tragic. The jail should have had a closer eye on her and been on suicide watch. But, that is it. I am so scared looking at my Facebook at all of the posts saying, “Why do we even have cops anymore?” or “Pigs”. You know what, stop it. Remember 9/11? I do. I’m sure the police and the emergency teams were much needed there. How dare you talk bad about them because of a few mistakes. We need the police. Enough is enough.
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/07/24/us/autopsy-of...
Shootings
Just writing this gives me chills. The shootings at the church, at the movies, at the recruiter’s office. This is so scary as it is. I am scared of the crazy people like the rest of us. Yet, I am also scared about the blame we are trying to place about why these awful things happened. I’m sorry to tell you that even if these men did not have a gun, they would have found a way to harm people, and themselves, just the same. This is not an issue of gun control, because guns do save peoples' lives. We may not always see it on the news, but they do. Even if we ban them these people aren’t normal, they would get their hands on one either way. This is not an issue of gun control, it’s an issue of mental illness in our country. Let’s stop focusing on the fact that we need to take guns away and start focusing on the fact that instead of drugging someone up with pills, or just completely ignoring their mental illnesses we need to find a way to deal with THEM. This is not an excuse at all, and I believe these people have a special place in hell, but I’m trying to say this isn’t a gun problem, it’s a people problem, an America problem. Muhammad Youssuf Abdulazeez, this is the name of the man who did the Chattanooga shootings. It has been reported that he was ‘normal’ to everyone. Yet, it has also been reported that his father was looked at for terrorism, and that his senior quote was ‘My name causes national security alerts.’ Wake up America, it’s nothing to joke about.
http://theweek.com/speedreads/566965/chattanooga-s...
The Rebel Flag
I get it, I understand why it is related to racism. Yet, I also understand why some people continue to fly it. I’m scared of some of the videos I’ve seen of people’s reactions to it. I’m scared that we aren’t teaching people a better way to handle their feelings than to throw a brick at a truck with a rebel flag, then, stealing the rebel flag, cussing the man out, and waving an African Flag out of their window. I’m scared that people think that it is funny or okay to do that. Imagine if there was a child in the car, and that brick went through the window? I’m scared of America’s lack of education.
Iran
I’m sorry if you aren’t scared of what’s happening with Iran. I suggest you look into it. That is all I have to say about that.
I’m scared for America. I want my children to know the land of the free home of the equal, loving, fair, rational, and safe, BECAUSE of the brave. America is going to fall, we need to make a change. I am scared of that. I am scared that we have already lost our values so much that we will never be able to get them back. History keeps repeating itself.
