The United States of America represents a melting pot of cultures, blending them as one. Unfortunately, even though we are all citizens, we are not treated equally. Due to years of anger and frustration that has been built between communities, it seems impossible to completely eradicate these emotions. Across all forms of media, some of the most disturbing stories becomes even more unsettling as they ignite the torches held by the righteous: those who are fearless and will do anything to strike back. Although the media exercises its first amendment right, it has created a racial divide, breaking up this supposed united people within each community, state, and even our country. How? Plain and simple. It is how the stories are told; these stories could be a cry for help, pointing out those who do not uphold the law, not a shout of anger that leads to the attacking of all of those who do uphold the law. Justice can be brought to every citizen when the focus is on the true injustice of the issue. To quote Martin Luther King, Jr.: “The large house in which we live demands that we transform this world-wide neighborhood into a world-wide brotherhood.” When an innocent civilian is taken down by anyone, communities need to join hands and work together, not pick a side and accuse each other of unseen prejudices. Imagine this: a police officer pulls over a civilian in their car, approaches the vehicle to do a routine traffic stop and is then notified (by the driver) that he/she has a weapon located in the car. Directly after that, the driver is shot by the police officer. How does this make you feel? Now, what if I said that the police officer was black and the civilian was white. Does this change the way the story made your feel? Even further, if I switched it again and said that the police officer was white and the civilian was black, how does that make you feel? Instead of letting the stories speak for themselves, media and even the readers themselves have limited the incidents to black and white, forcing a choice upon its readers. The incident in Minnesota revolved around a couple that was pulled over to the side of the road by a police officer. When the said police officer approached the car to do a routine ticket stop, the male told the police officer that he had a license to carry a weapon and that his weapon was located in the car. After this, the police officer shot the male driver, and the incident is now being investigated. The police officer that shot the innocent man, robbing him of his life, needs to be brought to court and justice must be served. By putting away a corrupt cop, it shows the other corrupt people, that the United States of America does implement judicial procedures for those who are guilty, of abusing their power to enforce the law. But, across social media, this story was summed up as “white cop shoots black man.” Again, forcing the communities to pick a side. This divide sparks an anger that is illustrated in the history books and sends chills all over the community. The injustice of racism has been around for a very long time, which indicated that using this form of kindling as a means to bring about change, only results in burning anger that should be well dated.
Marches have been proven by history to help raise awareness of an issue; marches that turn into violent riots, go against what these marches are about. The marches that escalate into riots, and violent out bursts protesting against the violence of innocent lives, has not accomplished the ultimate goal. Instead it defeats the purpose of the protest which then creates a bigger divide, burying the real issue and giving birth to another. In order to bring about a positive change, the nation has to start taking steps forward, not backwards. In junior high school history classes, students are taught about a form of protest called sit-ins. This form of protest was very popular in the early to mid-1900s, as a part of the African American freedom movement. Yes, those who participated got arrested, bullied, beaten up, and bruised. But this brought attention to the issue of segregation, sparking a flame that spread its way down the rope that strangled the whole country, eventually loosening the knot so much so that the rope was weak and useless. The ones that participated in protests like this one, did not use violence nor did they make others fear them. Rather they acknowledged that those against the idea of integration were people too. How does this all tie in? The absence of violence when protesting against violence, strengthens the power of the protest. The collective idea that white people and black people are human and stand on the same ground. The collective idea that the separation of people, due to their appearances, is injustice. Throughout history, cultures have struggled to become one nation in the United States of America. So, when someone has hurt one of our own, we all stand up and make our presence known so that change can happen. Who is the real enemy? What are we fighting? When society decides on focusing on an injustice instead of the categorization of the people involved, justice can be served to those who, by law, rightfully deserve it. But until then, nothing can get done. The louder you yell, the harder it is to be heard.
