We are halfway through the year 2016, by far the worst year I have witnessed in terms of national and international tragedies. This past week brought with it not one, not two, but three separate tragedies all across the United States. The first was the shooting of an innocent black man, Alton Sterling, by white police officers in Baton Rouge Louisiana, which was caught on video (warning: graphic). The very next day, almost the exact same thing happened, this time in Falcon Heights, Minnesota, to a man named Philando Castile. Castile’s fiancée, Diamond Reynolds, livestreamed the aftermath on Facebook, all while their 4-year-old daughter watched from the backseat (warning: graphic). Before the week’s end, however, one outraged individual decided to take matters into their own hands and began targeting police offers at a Black Lives Matter protest rally in Dallas, killing five. In a country in which slavery has not existed for over 150 years, these incidents are shocking reminders that racism is still rampant.

Racism is the intolerance of other people’s differences and the use of predetermined stereotypes in the judgment of others. Unfortunately, for whatever reason, society has concocted and established a negative perception of black people, a perception that might make some people feel uneasy or unsafe when they are around them, and it is a burden that black people must carry with them every day of their life. From Michael Brown to Treyvon Martin, to Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, the Black Lives Matter movement is contingent on the fact that these people are irreplaceable human beings who were blatantly and glaringly misjudged because of the color of their skin. It is outrageous that these innocent lives were lost because of the color of their skin, and no amount of justice can ever replace them.

Similar to the deadly Orlando club shooting in which 49 people were killed, there exist people who are angered by someone or something and lash it out on people who are not deserving of it. Five innocent police officers, men who put their lives on the line to ensure the safety of ours, were lost. Blaming all police officers for the mistakes of a few is just as wrong as racism is, and responding to violence with more violence is never appropriate. Amidst all the chaos, it might be hard to find the silver lining, but if there is one, it is this: These three successive tragic events that occurred might finally bring us all together to take action against it, and might finally unite us in our common goals towards peace and prosperity. It is important to never forget to hold onto the hope that has done great things for us in the past, including and especially towards those civil rights movements.

This seemingly endless string of disasters has at least begun a much-needed conversation on how we can put an end to racism once and for all. My hope is that these incidents open our eyes to the world around us, and that we at least have a conversation with someone before forming an opinion about them. I hope that we can discuss, highlight, and accentuate the things that unite us, and be more open-minded and considerate of our differences.