If you're reading this, chances are that you found this article via a social media site, and the chances of you hearing the news of the recent series of shootings between police officers and black men are higher than not. Between video responses, status updates defending and blaming both sides of the issue, and even video clips of some of the incidents, the stories have been exploding all over the internet. In the past week, I've seen violence go viral in a way I never have before, and until now, in a way I never knew I would.
I'm honestly not even sure where to begin writing this. It's so overwhelming to think about, and attempt to comment on, an issue so much bigger than yourself. For those of you who might read this and think to yourself, "Who does this white girl from Jersey think she is thinking that she is a part of or affected by this issue?" you are looking at this entire scenario in the wrong way. You don't need to be a police officer, a family member of a police officer, a black man, or black at all to be affected by what is going on in this country regarding these shootings. We are all inevitably affected by this issue. Let me explain why:
Whether or not you personally know any of the victims, or anyone who could be a potential victim, these people are all human, and from a humanitarian perspective, all people deserve equal respect and to be shown humanity. This is not happening on either side of this problem. Neither the innocent, black men nor police officers who lost their lives at the protests have been granted what they deserve: the ability to continue living their lives. They all have that in common; none of those people wanted to lose their lives when they did nor in the manner they did.
Many people have been defending the police officers responsible for firing the shots that killed both Alton Sterling and Philando Castile claiming that, "We don't know the whole story of what happened, so we should assume that the police were doing the right thing, doing their job, and protecting others by killing these men." First of all, you're right; nobody knows the whole story, not the people on Facebook passing judgement whichever way they choose, not the families' of the victims, not even those who were there during the incidents. There are always two sides to every story, and although there are videos of the shootings of these two men, one side of each story has been forever silenced due to their deaths.
My parents always told me, "Don't assume anything; it makes an ASS out of U and ME." It has stuck with me over the years, and I feel like it is extremely relevant in these circumstances. Why would you assume that someone is completely innocent in their motives if another person ended up dead as the result of their actions? Whether an average citizen is the person behind the trigger or a police officer is behind the trigger, if someone ends up dead, shouldn't the story be examined? Isn't that one of the main purposes of the American justice system that everyone loves to talk so highly of? Even though we may not know everything, how many deaths of both black men and police officers must occur before something serious changes? I mean, violence that kills these two groups, especially black men, is far from a new problem.
I would like to point out that I do not have all of the answers, nor do I believe that any single person does. (Although, if one person could change the ideas, belief systems, and practices of such a vast percentage of the world to move towards peace, I would personally love to meet them and pick their brain for a few hours.) However, I do have a few ideas that have surfaced in my mind after combing the internet that I believe could start the much needed reform that could lessen, and hopefully eventually cease, these violent acts of both black men and cops.
The first is absolutely the most likely to sound like a pipe dream, but much of this problem would be solved if prejudicial biases and racism were eliminated from the picture entirely. In many cases that have been broadcast in recent years, namely now in the case of Philando Castile, these men were shot in situations where they were not placing anyone in harm's way; they were going about their days. Castile was reaching for his license after being pulled over for a broken taillight as he was told to do. Alton Sterling was selling CDs and DVDs outside of a Food Mart. Although he was in fact armed, he never reached for the gun while on duty according to sources near the Food Mart. (People close to Sterling say he began carrying it after he was mugged.) In 2014, 12 year old Tamir Rice was shot because he was holding a toy gun that police believed was a real weapon. Also in 2014, Michael Brown was shot and killed after a call informed police that he stole a pack of swisher cigars; he was shot and killed walking down the street. Although he may have been guilty of theft, did that warrant his death? There are obviously numerous other unfortunate incidences, but these are some of the more household recognized names. (Please, I encourage you, look up a list of how many African American men and women were killed by police officers. It will, hopefully, alarm you.) But like I said above, if the prejudicial bias against their skin color hadn't come into the picture, many (or perhaps all) of these young men might still be alive.
Additionally, those responsible for murder (whether of a black men or a police officer) need to be properly tried in a court of law. The officers who shot these men should not be pardoned simply because of their uniform. They should be pardoned only after an unbiased jury reviews the situation and deems them worthy of returning to their positions. After all, a gun is just as deadly in the hands of a police officer as it is in the hands of a criminal. The intentions behind the actions as well as the personality of the person responsible for pulling the trigger should be carefully examined in order to prevent the same person from creating a similar situation.
I'm not saying that all cops are bad cops by any means, but those who create bad situations shouldn't be exempt from this process because of the uniform they wear. Recently, I watched a video posted by a black, female police officer named Nakia Jones that I entirely agreed with. In the video she says, "How dare you? You ought to be ashamed of yourself. If you're that officer and you know you have a God complex and you're afraid of people who don't look like you, you have no business wearing the uniform. Take it off," as well as, "If I wasn't a police officer, and I wasn't on the inside, I would be saying, 'Look at this racist stuff. Look at this.' And it hurt me. There's many of us who would give our life for anybody, and we took this oath and we meant it." And she's completely right: so many officers go above and beyond the call of duty in order to protect and serve, but just like many other aspects of life, there are a few who taint the image of the whole picture as a result of their actions. She also urges those officers who do their duty to call out others who do not serve as honestly. If the police really do have a brotherhood, shouldn't they urge their brothers to do the right thing instead of fearing the ostracizing behavior they believe will come if they speak up? To watch her entire video, click here.
People need to speak up (PEACEFULLY) for what they believe in. Protests by both black and white people possibly have the most potential to change the way this is all being handled. If people come together, it shows how vital the importance of these situations are and that people will not stand divided. With that being said, I feel the same way about the shooter who killed the police officers in the Dallas protest as I do toward the officers who killed the men listed above because he chose to take the lives of others. If he had not been killed via a robot with a bomb, he should be held accountable for the lives he took. Remember that the way he chose to combat the situation is not the method that will sink in most with those who have the authority to make the changes to the system as a whole; speaking rationally and protesting peacefully will yield more rememberance than fighting violence with more violence.
Simply put, all lives matter. (I know that phrase is loaded because it didn't appear until after the black lives matter movement began, and it's seen as an opposition to the black lives moment as a whole, but it is true.) I personally believe that all people should be allowed this ability to matter until they do something inconceivably terrible (like become a serial killer.) But if you want to go around just saying all lives matter, that means that black lives matter, the lives of police officers matter, and everyone else's do too; and they all matter equally. The recent events have been negating the true meaning of lives having meaning.
