When Are These Killings Going To Stop? | The Odyssey Online
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Politics and Activism

When Are These Killings Going To Stop?

Who do you call when cops murder?

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When Are These Killings Going To Stop?
Black Lives Matter pushes ahead

I am going to rant because I am angry at what’s happening in the country. This is supposed to be the country to freedom and opportunity, but all I see is cops taking the opportunity to take away freedom from these innocent people who just happen to be of color. Don’t tell me there is no racism in this country! Police brutality has gone on for way too long since historical times. This isn’t a new topic of discussion; it’s the continuation of the brutality in the modern era. I’m not saying that this is supposed to happen; what I mean is that it’s time for a new evaluation of not just the criminal justice system but also in the cop mentality. Cops are supposed to protect the public good, not aimlessly kill innocent people. I'm not saying that all cops are bad because that's not true. There just needs to be a re-evaluation in which the police force makes sure that every cop knows precisely what every oath taken means and what it's not. The weapon cops carry is meant to protect them against actual criminals who are threatening them, not an unarmed man of color at a traffic stop.

In the first six months of 2016, at least 136 people have been killed by cops including the two most recent, Alton Sterling and Philando Castile. This is an astonishingly high number compared to 2015 with 102 cases, and out of those 102 cases only two officers were given jail time for the killings. If only two out of 102 cases had convictions, that already shows the severity and the necessity of a new justice system. They kill these innocent people and just walk away laughing as if nothing happened. That’s White Privilege right there. White Privilege is not just for officers but for the white citizens who threaten officers and get away with it. For example,if the police officer sees a white armed man threatening to shoot, he doesn’t fire six warning shots, he tells the man to put his gun down like nothing. Then maybe he’ll fire one warning shot to slow him down and that’s about it. The scenario screams white privilege!

So many families are losing their loved ones because nothing is being done to fix the problem, it’s just being pushed aside like if it’s just part of society. People have protested when Michael Brown died or used the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter for Eric Garner, but that hasn’t done anything whatsoever. The victims are mostly men of color regardless of age. Remember that little boy that was killed because he was playing with a BB gun in a park or even Trayvon Martin who was aimlessly killed by George Zimmerman because he was wearing a hoodie at night? I don’t know about you, but that is no reason to take someone’s life away. Police are acting like some kind of gods who can decide when someone should die; that’s not what they signed up for.

Human life is such a precious thing, it shouldn’t be taken away so quickly because of somebody’s color. Race is the only thing being targeted here because black lives aren’t seen as valuable to these officers. We cannot use #AllLivesMatter when black lives aren’t being taken into account as humans. What happened to the “liberty and justice for all” in this country? The country’s beliefs say one thing, while the actions demonstrate something entirely distant. We the people of the United States of America need to come together to change this country otherwise it will keep getting worse. We must stand together against the forces! No more killings and more justice!

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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
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