When I look at social media nowadays, all I see are people postulating racism and a war that had started unspoken between African Americans and the police force. But something that seems to be bothering me the most is that a majority of those people are not seeing where the real problem lies: within ourselves. We have people that are living lives in a way they believe is right, but isn’t. We have people selling cigarettes and CDs knowing that it’s a petty crime and "it’s not drugs" so they use that as justification to be left alone by cops. Without a permit in the United States, you cannot sell anything for profit on public property. It’s just the law.

If people aren't educated on the matter then how are they supposed to know that? The unfortunate killings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile seemed to worsen the hate for police by minorities. As a minority myself, I prefer to have a police force that corresponds properly with the communities they have sworn to protect and serve. The police are not getting that job to kill people, they are simply citizens who are risking their life to protect your own. Now their job is not easy and there are a small amount of crooked cops that may be breaking the law, this is present everywhere we look. We must stop pointing the finger and putting blame on a person’s melanin or a lack thereof! People who have grown up in living conditions that lead them to see a life where illegal activities are the only way to make a living hasn't been taught the other side! They can only see life from their own frame of reference. I believe that the educational, as well as the judicial system must be revamped before we even begin to point a finger of blame in this country. We have liquor stores on almost every corner of every block in neighborhoods with a population predominately made up of minorities. The government is trying to kill us! The middle class is diminishing and the rich are only getting richer! These are facts, not made up statistics for an article.

According to The Guardian, 574 people have been killed by police in 2016 alone, with that number jumping to 1,149 in 2015. In 2016, most people believe that blacks are the main victim of police shootings. 281 whites have been killed in contrast to the 140 blacks. This should show that it is not a race issue, this should in-fact show that this has nothing to do with racism at all! We should see this as a systematic issue among our communities. We as a whole community must band together and want to change these systems. If you are one of the many that have posted a status or tweet about the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter, then you should probably try to do something about it instead of pointing the finger and worsening the divide that we as a people are creating ourselves.

Social media has only over-saturated us with information that fuels the fear and anger created by the graphic videos, such as Alton Sterling, and the many others from all over the country. We turn this fear and anger into terror and hate for the other group that seems to be the villain in each situation. There has always been a deep rooted hate for minorities but we as a society must remember that racism is something that is taught! We are not born racist, you must remember that people learn the history of America, and America almost seems to embrace its history instead of being ashamed of it. America glorifies it’s past saying that it was built on agriculture (aka slavery) and candy coats this dark past in textbooks by leaving important people out of history. We are the key to unlocking a more united future. The police are not our enemy, if you break the law, they have a right to arrest you! Simple as that. I mourn for the families who have suffered from police killings and shootings. Their voices and cries can only be heard if we as a people band together to change these systems and educate ourselves on the real problems that have been deep rooted in this country before the birth of our grandparents.

These protests like the one in Dallas is not a protest. but in fact an organized riot. Protests have lost their true meaning! It seems now as if you are for something, then you must be against something else when this is not the case at all! Just because I care for the people of my community and I am protesting for the people of police killings, does not mean I don't care for the lives of police. I feel like authorities tend to see these events more like an organized hate group and that should not be the case. We should not use force or violence against anybody, we must use our voices since we have a right to do so!