Black Lives Matter Movement, Dallas Cops, Alton Sterling & Philando Castile -- taking over news and social media like a swarm of bees. What is also taking over like a swarm of bees is hidden racists, slowly creeping out of their little bee hives, ready to voice their opinions. Sure we have a freedom of speech, but where is our morality -- our humanity?
Black Lives Matter -- it's not about cops, its not about black people being superior. Its not about saying all other lives don't matter. It means that we are going to talk about the black lives right now. Its about racism and bigots, some who happen to be wearing the blue uniform. But it's not just cops -- there are racists doctors, managers, handymen, hair stylists, lawyers & bankers. Cops aren't the issue, and murdering them won't solve anything besides "Daddy isn't coming home tonight, cupcake."
The real, raw issue is that we still have women in this country who scream "Rape!" when a black man approaches her. Why is he approaching her? To confront her, peacefully. She is using binoculars to spy on him and his family barbecuing. Why is she doing so? Because his family has been out suspiciously a long time and she feared her safety. Can you see where I'm heading? A racist old lady, probably raised in a hateful environment, who convinced herself that a black man approaching her peacefully meant that he was going to rape her. That poor father could have been convicted for that. The real issue is the people who still call black people "monkeys" or "niggers" and other hateful names because yes, those kind of people exist. There are viral videos everywhere to prove it. Up until the recent police brutality incidents, I had no idea there was people out there who shout "My ancestors kicked your ass!" to a black family walking by. I had no idea how many people hang the Confederate flag outside their home. I had no idea what black people went through in this country. I had no idea these kinds of scenarios go on in this country. I was naive, I was blind. Nobody told us this. Social media told me this -- viral videos that opened my eyes.
To those who say otherwise, to those who say those cops don't deserve punishment -- I'm here to prove you wrong. Racism exists, there is and will be a race war, and yes -- cops who murder black men (or any human for that matter) out of pure fear deserve to lose their license and be tried for murder. These types of cops went into the force for the wrong reasons. I know of well respected police officers who would never whip out their weapon out of pure fear. These cops who murdered Alton Sterling, Philando Castile & the hundreds of others do not deserve their profession as a respected police officer. You do not murder a black man in front of his fiancee and daughter and shoot him four times because he was reaching for his wallet. The argument isn't that all cops are terrible -- it's that some of them lack the training, skills and mental capacity it takes, and yes, they deserve punishment for acting wrongfully in a profession that was meant to protect, preserve and support every citizen, including black people.
"But all lives matter, all people are equal in my eyes." No, we are not all equal. And obviously all lives matter -- nobody said that they don't. However, black lives matter, too. Black people are still suffering in our country, along with people of other races and religions. We throw eggs at a Muslim woman walking out of a target because she is wearing a head scarf. I mean, come on! Where is our humanity? All lives don't seem to matter -- you dont throw eggs at somebody who matters. You dont point blank murder an innocent life of somebody who "matters." All lives don't matter. It is sickening that not many people, like myself, knew how relevant racism was today. It's alive and it's thriving more than ever.
"A cop's job is difficult, how about I see you try to do it?" Of course a cop's job is difficult, but they signed up for that. They swore into it and they promised to protect us; to serve us. They promised to remain mentally stable, strong, and skillful to protect their fellow civilians with the utmost passion and without any prejudice. The wrong people are going into the wrong profession for the wrong reasons, and now lives are paying for it. The fact that racist people are still alive and breathing today disgusts me. As a cop, patience is very valuable and yes, a cop needs to risk his or her life at times. Maybe Philando was reaching out for a gun -- but maybe he was simply reaching for his ID. Patience would have saved Philando's life. All this because the "suspect" was black. Somebody tell me otherwise.
It's like a surgeon saying "I didn't even try to perform the risky surgery, because the patient seemed like they were going to die anyway" to protect himself from being sued if he performed the risky surgery. A surgeon's first priority is to save lives. A police officer's first priority is to protect lives.
We will never be able to change a racist adult's mind. A racist has a brain mentally wired to be hateful, judgmental and close-minded. All hope is lost. What we can do, is teach our children. Starting now, we can teach our children and adolescents the meaning of love, the meaning of peace, the meaning of compassion. We can teach them that racism is a thing of the past, we can show them how much it hurts to be racist against somebody. We can teach them how much better it feels, to love somebody. We can teach them, and grow them to be beautiful, peaceful, open-minded adults who will change the world.
