Milwaukee recently experienced the most recent police shooting in the United States as 23-year-old Sylville Smith (pictured below was shot by a Black Milwaukee police officer as Smith fled on foot after a traffic spot while carrying a stolen handgun. The officer was wearing a body camera but the Milwaukee police department has refused to publish the video to the public at the time of writing this article. This shooting has spark severe riots within the streets of Milwaukee with calls from both Smith's sister and mother to continue the riots and "protests" directed towards police officers.
Milwaukee's police department has stated that Smith had a very lengthy arrest record prior to his death, dealing with marijuana, cocaine possession, robbery allegations, and heroin dealing. Suffice it to say, this man was no saint. None the less, his death has given further inspiration to the group Black Lives Matter, who's actions and behavior across the nation have created further tension between police departments and Black communities. All of these shootings and subsequent riots lead me to ask the question, how does it end?
Black Lives Matter highlights the violence that police officers direct towards Black individuals, but statistics show that in 2015, police officers killed nearly twice as many whites as they killed Blacks, that Black and Hispanic police officers are more likely to shoot at Black individuals that White police officers, and that Blacks are more likely to kill police officers than to be killed by officers. Blacks also commit more crimes against each other than any other demographic, according to the FBI. All of these statistics point to one simple truth: Black lives don't matter to Black Lives Matter. We've all heard these words before and I'm definitely not the first one to say them. But why do the Black communities riot and revolt when a Black police officer shoots and kills an armed thug when he is breaking the law and has a means to kill the officer, but they remain silent when their sons and brothers are killed in gang shootings and violence? The number of gang shootings and killings far outweigh the number of police shootings within this country, so why aren't we trying to change that?
In my opinion, Black Lives Matter is only a movement to inspire violence and hatred within our country. And in my opinion, there's a difference between a peaceful protest where individuals stand on the side of the street at the police station with picket signs and a full blown riot where cars are being lit on fire and groups of Blacks spread throughout the streets calling for the death of Whites and police officers. And it certainly doesn't help that our President, Barrack Obama, has openly supported this movement, stating that the movement has the right to protest given to them by the 1st Amendment. But the 1st Amendment doesn't call for violence, destruction, and hatred, which is exactly what this group is advocating.
I fully support the individuals who spend their time serving and protecting us day in and day out. While there are "dirty cops" out there, the vast majority of officers are not like this at all. These are the officers I support.
