“They have nothing to protest.” That's what one man said live on air during one of my radio shows. He was referring to the Millikin athletes who were at the center of the national anthem controversy. His reasoning was due to the belief that the athletes were all privileged students with full ride scholarships. Tells you what he knows. Some of those privileged athletes grew up in poverty and had to work their way into college.
I've heard people say that they have nothing to protest numerous times. It always baffles me. Just because your life is all peachy, doesn't mean everyone else's life is. Not everyone has a privileged life. There are people who don't even have the luxury of walking down the street without being harassed or targeted for their skin color or religious beliefs.
That's the reality of the world we live in. We have people dying in the streets every day and being persecuted for who they are. You’ve seen the stories. It's pretty hard to ignore. Headlines such as “US police killed a 12-year-old boy with replica gun” and “Unarmed teen killed by neighborhood watchman” have flooded the news. Both Tamir Rice and Trayvon Martin’s mothers have been in mourning and at a loss since their sons were taken. So tell me this. Would you tell those mothers they have nothing to protest?.
People don't want to admit that racism still exists but it is clearly still an issue in our society. Racial profiling is evident. Just think back to this summer. Alton Sterling and Philando Castile were both killed by police officers, and both unjustifiably targeted. Alton Sterling was selling CDs when he was violently tackled by police officers. While faced down on the ground, police officers noticed he had a firearm in his waistband. A video captured the whole event and what happened next still leaves many in shock. An officer yells gun and then shots are heard. Pinned down, face down on the ground, Sterling is shot multiple times and just like that, a life is gone, simply because of CDs. The tragedy during the summer didn't stop there. Philando Castile was driving with his girlfriend when he was pulled over. The officer asked for his license and registration. As Castile reaches for his license, he relayed to the officer he had a firearm in his waistband. Castile was licensed to carry, but all the officer heard was "I have a gun." The officer told him not to move after hearing he had a gun. Castile raised his hands and the officer shot him four or five times in the arm. Castile would eventually die from his wounds. So now two men are dead. Sterling’s five children are now without a father. Castile was not a father but served as a mentor to hundreds of children at the public school he worked at. Two men who impacted so many lives now have no life. So tell me again how there is nothing to protest.
I am a young black woman, who fortunately has not faced much discrimination directly in my life. Although I have not been targeted for my skin color, I have many friends and family members who have been. I heard the racist remarks. Remarks such as black people are scarier than white people and all black women have big hair and speak loudly. They say it's just words, but it's much more. Those simple words are the proof that racism still exists. I have been taught that police officers are mostly good, but that there are still some bad apples. I've had the talks with my parents that many while children will never have to have with their parents. I have been told how to act if pulled over. I have been taught that even if I do everything right, I can still be in danger. These are the talks that my siblings will never have to have with my parents. They are mixed, yet because their skin color is white, people see them as white. They don't have to worry about these things. I will always need to be worried. At times I have felt afraid when near police officers. Now I am no longer scared but I am afraid. I still worry though. Once again is there nothing to protest?
Recently NFL quarterback, Colin Kaepernick has taken to kneeling during the national anthem in protest of police brutality and the injustice in the U.S. This has brought up mixed emotions, and a lot of hate Kaepernick has been threatened and ridiculed for taking this stance. Signs with sniper shots targeting Kaepernick have been displayed and the racism continues. Kaepernick has been called derogatory words on multiple occasions. People seem to have a problem with a man taking a stand for something he believes in that causes harm to no one, yet have no problem with him racially discriminated and persecuted for his beliefs. So, again I ask, is there nothing to protest?
Obviously, there is something to protest. Maybe if I were to state all these reasons for protest, the caller would recant his statement. Maybe he wouldn't. The truth is I can lay out fact after fact, and people still won't change their ways of thinking. The point isn't to get people to change their views but to accept others who had a different viewpoint. So, he might not believe there is anything to protest, but maybe for someone else, there is much to speak up against.
