So here we are again, another day, another black man gunned down by people paid to protect him. For the very few who might not know what I'm referring to, on Tuesday, September 20th, a black man was gunned down in the middle of the street. Don't know which person I'm referring to? I can understand that, seeing as there seems to be another unreasonable shooting every week. Well, this man is Terrence Crutcher.
Apparently, Crutcher was on his way home when his car broke down in the middle of the street. Someone called the police to report the car's obstruction of traffic. Upon arrival, instead offering to help Crutcher or even try to direct traffic around the car until it was working again, the officers decided the only logical thing to do at that point was to shoot him.
Police officials would try to have you believe it was because he was either reaching for or was in possession of a firearm (which is completely legal, by the way) but that, to no surprise, was not the case. In the video taken on a police dashcam (which was actually working, I guess they got those fixed) Crutcher was seen with both hands in the air following the commands of the officers right before he was killed. The officers were called to help with the obstruction of traffic and ended up killing an unarmed man with his hands in the air. This is New Age Justice.
We watch these videos of black men and women being killed so often that we start to become numb to them. It starts to feel like the norm like that's what should be happening, and that is just not the case. We are not a barbaric society, there is no reason I should see public executions of innocent men and women at the hands of police every other week. Once there's a trend, most places would try to fix the problem, but we just give the problem a slap on the wrist and tell them never to do it again.
I am so sick and tired of seeing black men and women gunned down without the slightest reason. I am sick and tired of living in fear of doing the most mundane tasks, like driving or walking. I am sick and tired of the fact that murderers get a slap on the wrist and paid leave just because they're in a uniform. I am sick and tired of people digging up any piece of information to tarnish the reputation of the victim, rather than focusing on the punishment of the perpetrator. I am sick and tired of hearing 'not all police officers are bad' instead of people talking about getting rid of the ones who are. I am sick and tired of explaining why these things are wrong. Lastly, I am so sick and tired of these hashtags. The intent is good but they don't help anything or heal anyone. Hashtags don't change policies, people do, and as long as people continue to make excuses for people who commit murder while collecting a paycheck, nothing is going to change.
