This is the first of a series I will be writing.
Warning: I am most likely about to offend some people. The things I am writing about have a lot of potential to incite rage. Read at your own risk.
Trigger warning: shootings, terrorism and rape.
In 1992, L.A. was torn to pieces by angry protestors. These six days of looting, fire, anger and protests would come to be called the L.A. riots. The riots began after the acquittal of three police officers. The riots would go on to kill 55 people and injure 2,000 others. They began after Rodney King was in a high-speed chase with the LAPD and was filmed by a witness taking a beating from the officers who caught him. As the tape spread, so did the concern for the treatment of minorities in the United States.
On September 11, 2001, the U.S. watched in horror as a plane crashed into the side of one of the Twin Towers. For minutes, there was silence as people watched on their TVs while another plane hit the other building. Fire and smoke billowed from the World Trade Center. People watched as people in those buildings jumped from the Towers to escape a fiery death. The nation watched in shock as police officers and firefighters and EMTs raced toward the building in an attempt to save lives. At the end of the day, the country was left feeling like we had been brutally and irreparably damaged.
In January 2015, a young woman attended a party. She got drunk, not realizing her alcohol tolerance had dwindled since her college days. She doesn’t remember anything about the evening. But she woke up in the hospital the next day where nurses and doctors poked and prodded her. They did a rape kit on her and found that she had been sexually assaulted. She couldn’t remember anything that had happened and only wanted to go home. A year later, America would watch as her rapist received six months in prison.
It’s the seventh month of 2016, and it’s been a weird year so far. It started off fairly normal; although, a few celebrities did died: David Bowie, Alan Rickman, Prince. And while these were sad events because people we loved died, we moved on.
But, 2016 has gotten progressively worse, and I thought we had seen the worst of the world in 2014 and 2015. But I’ve been wrong before, and I’m wrong again. But before I jump into all that, let me begin at the beginning.
I was born in late 1995, and the five—almost six—years of my life prior to September 11, 2001 I don’t remember much of. I remember where I was from, the dogs we had, the preschool I went to, my teachers and vaguely, some of the things my parents did. But I don’t remember much else of those years. And I don’t remember 9/11. I wasn’t in New York or on the East Coast. It didn’t seem to really affect me.
But I do remember my mom having the news on. I remember seeing the images and relatives calling and everyone making sure everyone else was okay.
Following 9/11, in what has been a span of almost 15 years, has been the War on Terror. I comprehend the terror that people went through on 9/11 because every time 9/11 comes around there are video clips, TV shows, movies and newspaper articles which keep feeding us the image of the terror of that day over and over again. And I understand why we initially went after the people we thought caused 9/11. It’s essentially the first time since Pearl Harbor we had been attacked on our own land, and we had no idea what to do about it. Thousands of people died: police officers, firefighters, EMTS, etc. It’s horrifying, and when I watch the videos, I can understand why we wanted to retaliate. However, what I can’t understand are the rippling effects 9/11 has had. Not only for people in America, but in other countries, especially for Muslim-Americans and Muslims.
Because the thing that 9/11 has generally caused is this extreme hatred toward a religion. The thing that bothers me so much is that people seem to associate ISIS, ISIL, IS, Al-Qaeda and Boko Haram with a religion. We know that the KKK is mostly Christian, but we don’t call them “radical Christianity.” But ISIS is considered “radical Islam.” They are not Islam, not any more than the KKK is Christian. It’s things like that that cause me to sit back and finally break my silence.
The War on Terror—the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan—have created this weird thing for me. I’ve had cousins, friends and staff who have fought in those wars and who do things I can’t even imagine doing. And then they come back and have PTSD or major depression. They're injured and we don't do anything about it and that right there bothers me so much. But then you look at the rest of America and I'm saddened.
Between 1995 and 2014, 510 terrorist attacks had happened in the U.S. according to START (national terrorist tracking org). 510 in the US. Since Jan 2016, by month, here are the terrorist attacks in the world. 97 in Jan, 68 in February, 108 in March, 150 in April, 197 in May, 218 in June and so far in July, 54. In July. It is the 11 of July and we have had 54 terrorist attacks. What is happening to our world?
And then you look at specific years. 2015 was a horrible year. They're were the Paris attacks, Lebanon, Beirut, Baghdad and so many other countries that I can't even name. And it's things we just don't hear about.
But when we look at just America itself, there are so many problems we have that spread beyond the war on terror and beyond terrorist attacks. It goes into shootings, rape, education, health care or anything else I've forgotten. And the thing so many people seem to spout about is how great we are, how free we are. OK, there's roughly 193 countries on this planet and like 89 of those are free. We are not the freest country. We are a free country.
Have you ever seen that Newsroom clip where the character says America isn't the greatest place in the world anymore and he starts listing all these facts? Well, buckle up, because here's Newsroom 2.0.
As of 2015, the U.S. is ranked 14th in education. According to the WHO, the U.S. is ranked 37th in health care. Our literacy rate is 45th. According to PEW, as if 2012, the USA is ranked 35th in math and 27th in science. So we're not exactly making leaps and bounds in our education and health care systems. And I think that's very evident (at least for health care) when one of the things we always seem to debate about in politics is abortion. Why are my reproductive rights so darn important to everyone in this country? Because, I'm going tell you something straight up, if I want an abortion, I'm going to go get one. If I don't, I'm not. And you shouldn't care what happens in my uterus or my ovaries or my Fallopian tubes or my god damn vagina because that's me. And until you have experienced the things I have, you don't get to tell me how to control my body. So let's drop the damn abortion debate.
And the other thing that we talk about so much in this country is guns. I can understand this one, and I know we're not like other countries. Australia had the largest mass shooting prior to Orlando in June 2016. Australia probably thought to themselves: “OK, let's get rid of guns.” And you know what? Everyone was OK with that. I get it, we're not Australia. So you might cite France. “Well, France had all these strict gun laws and then the Paris attacks still happened.” And I can't judge France... I'm not from there nor have I looked up their laws. But America is a little bit different with our guns. We all cite the Second Amendment and you know what, I'm going to do a little Jim Jeffries here.
The Second Amendment was a great thing when it was created, when the only weapons that people had were muskets. It takes forever to reload one of those. I think the thing people forget about the Second Amendment is that "well-regulated militia" part. We have a standing army, here in America. It's probably the world’s best military. We outspend so much on military budget, it's ridiculous. Fifty-four percent of the U.S. budget goes to the military. That’s $598.5 billion. Our budget is roughly the size of the next seven countries combined. These percentages and facts come from nationalpriorities.org. Secondly, we don't need well-regulated militias anymore because there have been so many technological advantages (drones) that it no longer matters if we have guns. The government could shut down any uprising we had because they have drones and the military which has bombers and planes and high-grade weapons.
When shootings happen, the government always talks about control. "Well maybe we'll just take away the big guns" and everybody goes, No. You can't take away my guns.” So the government says OK. So the argument is that "I need it for protection." (Pulling a Jim Jeffries again.) OK, cool. Are you always prepared if someone is breaking into your home? If your gun is in a safe where your kids can't get it so they don't shoot themselves or someone else.... Are you really safe because you have to go get the gun? So protection is a little debunk.
According to gunviolencearchive.org, there has been 176 shootings in 2016 in the U.S. alone. I tried to figure out how many mass shootings there have been in this country since 1995, and I couldn't find that info. A mass shooting is when three or more people are shot and killed. So here's some of the most deadly mass shootings from la tithe L.A. Times, in no particular order.
San Bernardino in July 2015 where 14 died and 22 were injured; Planned Parenthood, Colorado in November 2015 where three died and nine were injured; Umpqua Community College in October 2015 where nine died and nine were injured; Chattanooga in July 2015 where five died and three were injured; Charleston church in June 2015 where nine died; Isla Vista, CA in May 2014 where six died and seven were injured; Fort Hood in April 2014 where three were killed and 16 were injured; Washington D.C. Navy Yard in September 2013 where 12 were killed and three were injured; Santa Monica in June 2013 where five were killed; Sandy Hook in December 2012 were 27 were killed; Brookfield, Wisconisin in October 2012 where three were killed and four were injured; Minneapolis, Minnesota in September 2012 where six were killed and two were injured; Oak Creek, Wisconsin in August 2012 where six were killed and three were injured; Aurora, Colorado in July 2012 where 12 were killed and 58 were injured; Oikos University in April 2012 where seven were killed and three were injured; Tuscan (Gabby Gifford shooting) in January 2011 where six were killed and 11 were injured; Fort Hood in November 2009 where 13 were killed and 32 were injured; Virginia Tech in April 2007 where 32 killed and 17 were injured; Columbine in April 1999 where 13 were killed and 24 were injured; Orlando in June 2016 where 50 were killed and 53 were injured; and Dallas in July 2016 where five were killed.
And those are only the mass shootings that I could stomach to write down. L.A. Times went from Orlando to shootings in 1984. I don't have words for that because its ridiculous the amount of shootings we have.
I'm not saying take away people's guns, but we've had that many shootings and 176 in 2016 alone and people say there's not a gun problem in this country. I have two solutions similar to Chris Rock and other comedians. One: have your guns but have bullets be like $7000 for ONE. How many people are gonna go out and buy 20 bullets? That's $140,000. No one is going to spend that kind of cash on 20 bullets. Two: get rid of guns. You say, "The criminals can still get guns." Well, according to Jim Jeffries, in Australia, a gun in the black market costs $34,000. If you have that kind of money, why are you a criminal? Have a single shot musket like the second amendment originally meant, make bullets too expensive or get rid of guns like so many other counties have done because the black market is going to make it so expensive no one is going to have a gun. The military and police officers should be there only ones with guns.
And now, Dallas. I go to school at UNT, which is an hour north of Dallas.
I have the utmost respect for police officers and firefighters and EMTs and military because of the things that they do, I can't even imagine doing. I can't imagine going out and risking my life on a daily basis like these men and women do. And as a white person, I don't feel police officers when they pull me over or when I walk down the street.
In 2016, we've had 57 in line of duty police officers deaths. Twenty-seven were from gun fire, one was accidental. And that's heartbreaking. Five police officers died in Dallas. I'm not saying that their lives don't matter, because their lives do matter. If you're one of those people that is upset by Alton Sterling and Philando Castile but not the police officers, you are part of the problem. If you are upset by the police officers’ deaths but not Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, you are part of the problem. You're promoting hatred. Hatred begets hatred. The lives that were lost in Dallas are horrific to me. The lives that were lost in Louisiana and Minnesota are also horrific to me. Because none of those people deserved to die.
I'm not a police officer. I don't know what you go through or the training or anything. I can understand the fear you may have in your job. What I can't understand is why the immediate reaction is to go lethal. I won’t mention too many deaths here, but: Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, Eric Garner, Sandra Bland, Philando Castille and Alton Sterling.
I can understand doing the maneuvers you were taught and doing those first, I can understand you asking them to follow your directions. But when you still feel threatened, I don't understand why you go lethal.
You could shoot someone in the leg or he shoulder and that would probably incapacity them. I've never been shot, but I imagine getting shot in the leg, arm or shoulder pretty much in capacities you. And I get shooting someone after you done a maneuver on them or razed them but I cannot understand especially in Mr. Castille’s case, why they went lethal. Or with anyone.
I don't know what police officers go through. I am not discounting the police officers lives that were taken in Dallas or other people. But at the root of this is Black Lives Matter. They do not discount All Lives Matters... What they mean is that their lives matter too. But if you say all lives matter and not black lives matter, you're missing the point. Because fundamentally in America there is an institutionalized racism problem. And that is why Black Lives Matter is happening. We need to underhand that there is an issue with the amount of black lives that are taken in this country.
And now, onto a different, horrific topic. In 2016, a young woman was reading a newspaper. She was reading an article about a rape. It talked about how unconscious was, how she was saved by two cyclists, and as she read it, she realized it was about her. She gets to the end and it mentions the man who had raped her's swimming times. If you don't know what I'm talking about, look up the Stanford swimmer.
In America, 28.6 per 100,000 people are raped. A majority of rapes go unreported. Accodring to National Violence Against Women, 1 in 6 women are raped and one in 33 men are raped. In 2013, 173,610 reported victims of sexual assault or rape occurred in the U.S. There is a problem when a woman is afraid to walk alone at night or be around people she knows because they are the ones most likely to rape her. There's a problem.
I think the biggest problem with the Stanford case is how the media handled it. I'm an aspiring journalist, I know the rules. They didn't tell us her name or info. What they did do wrong that is so heinous is that they mentioned his swim times. Here's my problem with that: what in the world do his swim times have to do with the fact he raped someone?!? Two: media put up his yearbook photo and not his mugshot. Why? Because he's a young, white athlete. And that sickens me.
The fact of the matter is, that in this country there is a problem with how we handle victims of sexual assault. It's a thing called rape culture. We victims blame: what were you wearing, how much alcohol did you have, were you alone? Did you ask for it?
From the perspective of a woman: she is never asking for it unless she gives you a clear, concise and repetitive 'yes.' She will never be asking for it no matter what she's wearing, how much she had to drink, if you think she was flirting with you. It doesn't matter. That is not permission for you to stick your penis or fingers into her vagina, anus or mouth. It is not permission for you to touch her. And the fact of the matter is it is terrifying to be a woman in the U.S. and even more in other countries.
So you wanna sit here and tell me America is the greatest country in the world? I call BS. I'm very happy to be living in this country, and I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else. I'm very fortunate that the War on Terror hasn't affected me here because I don't live in war torn countries.
I am so tired of the America I am seeing. 2016 has been a terrible year so far and it's not even close to ending over.
I was a freshman in college when Michael Brown was shot, and I remember talking about it in my classes. I remember the outrages and protests. And I sat there thinking, based on the info that we know, why are we letting this happen in our country? I remember being in my journalism classes while Mizzou was happening and I thought, something horrible is going to happen on that campus. And then Paris happened. And I just felt my stomach and heart and soul drop and fall to pieces. So many people had lost their lives and this happens to me every single time a terrorist attack or a shooting or a rape occur. I sit there and I wonder do I really want to be a journalist? And then I remember that I do because this is intolerable.
The institutionalized racism, sexism, hatred for Muslims, for blacks and women is sickening. Hatred begets hatred. MLK said something along the lines of that the only way to concur hatred is to fight back with love. So I ask: where is the love? With our nation reeling, where is it?
Something needs to change in our country, and it needs to start with my fellow Millennials.
