We've all seen the headlines highlighting all of the violence throughout the world. The shooting of five brave Dallas police officers has been plastered all over the news recently. What many people do not realize is how divided our nation has become and all of this violence is not going to mend it back together, it will only drive us farther apart.
Dr Seuss once said, "A person's a person no matter how small." Though he was not necessarily referring to minorities, we can apply it to these events anyways. People are people, whether they are black, white, gay, trans, old, or young. Instead of hating each other for our differences, we need to come together and appreciate the things each one of us has to offer.
People have begun to take sides. I respect that we each are entitled to our own opinions, however I do not have respect those who choose to protest in violent mannerisms. We can take a nonviolent stand and help in our own ways. We each have our own story and something to give. For instance, what many people do not realize is that the Dallas police chief David Brown, has experienced his own personal tragedies aside from the recent slaughtering of five of his police officers and the injuries of several others. He has had to tell his former partners family that their beloved husband and father had been shot and killed. He had to experience the death of his younger brother who was shot and killed by drug dealers. His own son was shot and killed in a shootout with police, one of which was killed in the shootout.
David Brown's personal and professional experiences have helped him become a better police officer and despite his personal tragedies involving the police, he has worked harder to become a better officer and to help the Dallas community have a better relationship with the police as much as he can. Dallas police chief David Brown is a prime example of someone who is taking a stand against violence and trying his best to make a difference. We can all choose to take a stand that does not include violence. Not all people agree with him, but he only worked harder to show that his ideas were worth a shot.
I understand the anger and outrage, but there is no need to point fingers at the police. Unless you were there, you do not know exactly what happened. Instead of speculating and assuming, we can each take the steps to properly become informed about what is happening. We have the right to speak what we want, but I challenge each and every one of you to become more informed before choosing a side based on bias. This does not only apply to the recent Dallas shooting. It can apply to all of the violence that takes place against bisexual or transexual people. The Pulse Nightclub shooting was an act of violence against these people. These are people too, despite who they prefer to be with. These people each had friends and families that loved them very much, and they were most certainly devastated when they heard of what happened.
Next time you are about to be rude, I want you to think of the harmful effects your words may have. Each person who has been killed in these instances has a family and friends. Each person had a job and a life. Each death was caused by a person filled with hate. We need to realize that these people aren't just statistics, they were once alive. We can stand to make a nonviolent change. We can voice our opinions, be heard, and even work in our own expertise to help the world come together again. We need to revert back to being one unified nation, helping each other, and getting along despite our differences. We each have something to offer and we can each learn something from one another. We need to show respect because we are all human.
