As the world continues to spiral into chaos, I wonder daily what justice really is. We now live in a world where we have become desensitized by the violence and deaths around us, so much so that I wonder if life would feel normal if we were to go a mere month without news of a tragedy. Just within the past week, we have heard of tragedies from ISIS bombings to police brutality and killings. Do you ever wonder why this feels normal to us? Why do we live in a world where tragedy and injustice is expected?
As a matter of fact, my college has a mandatory course for seniors called Imagining Justice, but I highly doubt I will find the answers to my questions there. The answers to these questions have to be looked at within context of history, the event itself and our own morals.
Why is it that when we hear of a tragedy that occurs in a country that is not primarily Caucasian or Christian, we do not send that country our Facebook prayers and change or profile pictures? Are the citizens of Istanbul, Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh, Baghdad, and Iran not worth our prayers? Where is the justice in that? Innocent people are innocent people no matter the religion, the color of their skin or the country in which they were born. Can we not recognize that any death of an innocent soul is a tragic loss to humanity? Or are we too wrapped up in ourselves to recognize what other people are worth?
Was it justice for 20-year-old Brock Turner, who raped a woman behind a dumpster, to be sentenced to only six months in jail because there is a chance he may do good one day in his life? What about the woman who suffered that night and had her life irrevocably changed by a man never taught not to rape and to take responsibility for his actions? Where was justice in the time leading to that trial when the victim was blamed while her rapist was put on a pedestal for his swimming times? Now that the trial is over, there are rape apologists and Brock Turner sympathizers that continue to tell us that Brock was not at fault for his actions and that this woman should not have had so much to drink or it would not have happened. In my opinion, that is pretty far from justice served. We have allowed our society to deem it appropriate to not punish a rapist only because he can swim—when a Hispanic man committed the same crime a year earlier, he was sentenced by the same judge to a far lengthier amount of time. It's rape when you're a Hispanic immigrant, but it's only "20 minutes of action" when you're a privileged, white athlete.
Now, I would like to discuss our recent cases of police shootings. Many people would like to say that police only shoot out of fear for their lives, or only use excessive force when people are resisting. In most cases, this is the truth but life is not always that black and white. There are cops that make mistakes and there are cops that are plainly not suited to wear the uniform and abuse their power. I have a great appreciation for police officers and have cousins that wear the uniform, but I hold accountable those officers that do not use their place of power properly. There is no justice in tossing a teenage girl across a classroom. There is no justice in tossing a pregnant woman to the ground because she would not, and, without just cause, was not obligated to, tell you her name. And there is most definitely no justice in shooting and killing a man that you have handcuffed, subdued, and straddled on the ground. This man was not a threat and he had not attempted to pull the weapon that was in his pocket and you were sitting on. Many people of color will now do whatever a cop says because they just want to make it back to their families alive. And for two men this week, they will not have that opportunity. A young boy watched his father get shot in the chest at a traffic stop where he was asked to show his ID and concealed carry permit. Since when is compliance with an officer considered a threat? There was a 4-year-old in the backseat. Nothing about that shooting situation was called for, just or even remotely safe for the others in the vehicle.
It's time that we stop saying that #bluelivesmatter and #alllivesmatter every time people say #blacklivesmatter after tragedies such as these shootings. Everyone matters, but that's not the point — the point is that every day, the black community feels more and more unsafe because they are demonized for the color of their skin. And yes, cops matter. But when a cop screws up, then it's OK to say that the cop needs to get fired or reassigned. The problem is that we will not admit that there are bad eggs in the system; that needs to end or the killing will continue. 
There is no justice in death and the scales of justice are supposed to be blind. There is so much to be learned in this world and much of it from our past mistakes. Let us learn from past hate and death to turn this world into a better and more just place. We shall not forget those that have been lost in the tragic events of the past years. After all of this, I hope that they are all able to rest in peace, whatever their religions may be.
Like the late Elie Wiesel said, "Wherever men and women are persecuted because of their race, religion or political views, that place must — at that moment — become the center of the universe." The world will only get better when we stop seeing aspects of ourselves as superior to others and we stand together against the hate that surrounds us all. 
