I am a small, white, blonde girl who has never wanted for anything, never known oppression and never went without white privilege, and I just officially moved to Milwaukee, WI. Milwaukee has been cited as the most segregated major city in all of the U.S., and as I’m sure many people have recently heard, there was an uprising from its African-American citizens this past weekend.

Though I don’t find their tactics abominable as many do, it is definitely one of the scarier things I’ve ever experienced. Sunday, August 14 was the very first night I ever slept alone in my bed in my new apartment. On my way up, I knew nothing of what was going on that night (though I had heard about the unrest the night before), and I certainly didn’t know that my exit to get home was very close to Sherman Park. When I finally got all of my things inside, I talked to my roommate for a while, who got an alert on her phone that there were more riots going on. We half jokingly discussed where we would go if it came close to us, empathized with one another about how terrifying it was, and went our separate ways to bed.

I couldn’t sleep. Every new little noise I heard had me convinced someone was breaking in. I think I got a total of four hours of sleep all night.

However, I understand.

Well, quite frankly, there is no way I could ever really understand. I get that I have never been in their position, though, which means I do not have the right to judge. I have never had so many of my brothers and sisters murdered by people who signed up to protect them. Though Sylville K. Smith — the African-American man whose death sparked the Milwaukee riots — is said by police to have been armed and fleeing the scene, it doesn’t matter.

So many people can’t fathom the destruction of Sherman Park and other African-American neighborhoods as worth the effort for someone whose shooting was supposedly "justified." But the black population of the city is sick and tired of the discrimination they are receiving at home and throughout the country, and rightfully so.

America is a mess. I don’t think anyone will disagree with me on that, no matter race, religion, gender, political belief, or any other moral standpoint. It seems ironic to me that a country built on supporting differences and encouraging debate could have such a gargantuan fear of accepting others.

If we are truly a free country “with liberty and justice for all,” then we should be able to support and accept anyone and everyone. It is not the same to pick and choose who you are okay with and who is allowed to practice what they believe in. If we are going to claim to be the “land of the free,” we have to allow everyone to be free, not just the ones we personally agree with.

This goes for race, ethnicity, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, political beliefs, financial stability, age, diet choice, pet preference, style, favorite colors and whether or not someone likes coffee. Just because you do not agree with someone does not make them wrong, just as it doesn’t make you wrong. As a country, we need to understand that other people can have completely opposite opinions from us, and that’s not a problem. That’s what our country is supposed to be about!

Everyone has their own idea of what’s right and what’s wrong, but the sooner we all get together and realize that the way other people choose to live their lives really has nothing to do with us, the better. We all need to work on being a lot more openminded and trying to understand that everyone is going through their own struggles. It’s not up to us to judge their actions; it is up to us to try to understand and help in any way we can.

The burning of gas stations and destruction of cop cars may not have been the most effective way to fix anything. To be quite frank, it didn’t fix anything at all. As a pacifist, I don’t even personally agree with it.

But I’ve never been in their position. I have never felt like there was absolutely nothing I could do and no one to help me. I have never watched my friends and family be arrested and frequently murdered because of their color. So I will not hold it against them. I will not judge their lives and their choices. I will do my part to turn the city of Milwaukee into a loving, accepting community, and all I ask is that you do the same for your city. Our country has seen enough hate.