I can't stand it.
It's this time in our country's history where one too many black men are harshly and unfairly treated and then killed by the people that are hired and paid to protect them and everyone. Everywhere I go, I always hear of a black man (and not just any man) being shot and killed by a white police officer (and not just any police officer).
The latest to lose their lives to unjust excuses of public defenders are Alton Sterling (of Baton Rouge, LA) and Philando Castile (of Falcon Heights, MN). Because of their killings, the number of black people unjustifiably killed by white police officers has risen to 136. That's more blacks killed than there are days in a year. It's shocking, disgusting and even confusing.
Alton Sterling was selling bootleg CDs at the parking lot of a local convenience store. Sure, bootlegs are illegal to some, but he didn't do anything wrong there; just what he wanted and need to do. Then someone called 911 and reported it.
Police arrive and, as shown at the start of a video taken by a costumer in the lot, quickly threw Sterling to the ground. One officer then drew his gun and shot the man four times, while the other officer still held him down forcefully.
Here is video of the traumatic and tragic incident (IT IS GRAPHIC).
What hurts me at first is that the officers didn't hesitate to read him his rights, or even let his raise his hands. They just took him down, because they already believe that he's armed. Yes, he is armed; but read this: the officers didn't know or prove Alton was armed until after they took his life. One of the officers took his weapon out of his pocket after the blasts. Also, even if he does carry a weapon, what's the problem?? In the state of Louisiana, a citizen is permitted to carry a weapon without a permit. He was within his legal right, and yet the police still killed him.
And the worst of the significant reasons is this: Alton Sterling is the father of five children. Five children who will no longer, forevermore, have their dad in their lives. And will now live in contempt, loathing and fear of the group of people who were PAID to protect them.
I can't wrap my head around this. I lost my father years ago, but that was from a natural illness, and I said "I love you" to him. This kids will never spend a day saying the same phrase to their now-slain father because he was taken away from them. And the fact that his eldest son cried his eyes out mourning his dad's passing during the press conference drives it all home.
--
The latest (and sadly possibly not the last) death-by-police victim is Philando Castile.
He and his girlfriend Diamond "Lavish" Reynolds were driving to a location in Falcon Heights, MN, when they were stopped by police during a traffic stop for a broken taillight.
What happened next was unspeakable. His girlfriend recorded a video stream on Facebook Live revealing that Castile was shot four times by the officer Jeronimo Yanez (who was actually Hispanic, in case you're wondering). He died at the scene.
There's so much here that grabbed my attention.
First off: There was a little girl in the backseat. That little girl is Philando's daughter. She is no older than 6. And she doesn't understand what's happening. My heart aches for her; now that her father is now gone.
-Reynolds' reaction and behavior throughout all of this situation was calm and quite nuanced. She revealed everything during the Facebook Live broadcast while keeping her composure and exposed the cop for the scum that he is. If I were there, I would lose it while recording.
-In the exchange, the cop clearly was the opposite. He was manic, unethical and clearly tried to justify his actions, but knew his intentions were god-awful and unfounded.
It's here that the officer did wrong, but didn't know he would get himself into a live stream on Facebook.
Admittedly, when I learned Yanez was Hispanic, I was shocked. I didn't see his face in the video, and I wouldn't make out a dialect if I tried (or think of trying), so this was a different turn-out than I thought. But the end is still the same.
The police are abusing their power to protect the innocent and take down the guilty. Every time a police officer crosses paths with a black person (man, woman, even child), it almost never ends well.
Of course there is a pattern here; a pattern where a black person dies a "criminal" and the white police officer is a "hero".
-Black person caught doing something
-White police officers respond
-It goes very bad, very fast
-The black person is treated horribly
-White officer abuses power
-Black person almost immediately shot and/or thrown to the ground
-Black person also possibly taken into custody; most likely then killed in custody
-Victim falsely (or-if true-foolishly) claimed as a victim to alleviate the shooting situation
-White officer calls it a job well done and is celebrated
--It continues on as an endless cycle
Some say that they were just doing their jobs. I need to ask you this: Is taking down someone without giving them a chance to speak their defense or peace "just doing their jobs"? Is drawing their guns at the wrong time, if not at all, "just doing their jobs"? Is racially profiling black people (and maybe other people of color too) for no other reason than because they're black "just doing their jobs"? Maybe you'd answer that if you take a deep breath and think about what you want to say next.
And back to the "he was a criminal, so he must be shot" argument. I bet you know what crimes these black men have committed to deserve looking like a second-class citizen and be treated like one, right?? Of course you don't. Even if a black man committed a crime (like it was revealed that Sterling really did commit a few crimes in the past), your argument still simply boils down to "Hey, he's black so he has to be a criminal. And if he's a criminal, he deserves to be shot and/or killed". It's terrible, poorly-created and very clichéd.
There's a reason Jesse Williams gave that powerful, brilliant and very deep speech at the BET Awards. He wanted our people to stop living the disgusting misfortunes and consequences of racial profiling, wrongful arrest and inhuman treatment of all other people (and not just police). He knew that what he said would and should be spoken to give this nation the wake up call it needs to stop the bullshit and become a more racially blended and emotionally and mentally sound nation. And yet, racist and/or ignorant idiots refused to listen to Williams and tried to take him down. They failed, and Williams' words have still resonated deep and hard many days later. And after these two injustices/abuses of power, it needs to resonate harder to separate the powerful from the truly weak, the smart from the stupid, the bridge menders from the bridge burners.
There are always people who don't AND won't get the message and still sand behind their ugly words.
Like Fox News' resident coon Stacey Dash, whom called Williams a "Hollywood plantation slave".
(He may be a "slave" to you, but at least he knows to stand up to horrible and unintelligent, speaking the real truth that people like you (or people you pretend to be like), you near-brain-dead hypocrite-ass coon. This is why all of the African American race disowned you for a reason)
Also, there's The Blaze's pretty blonde dimwit Tomi Lahren, who made a retarded rant about the shooting, turning the story to herself and what her ancestors did to free our ancestors or some shit.
And if that wasn't enough, she also released this tweet that makes me wanna uppercut her to Venus.
"Meet the new KKK, they call themselves "Black Lives Matter", but make no mistake, their goals are far from equality. #Dallas #bluelivesmatter"
(I'm sorry. When you mean by "#BlueLivesMatter", who are you referring to? The Smurfs?? [I'm sure they can handle themselves against Gargamel any day] Skeeter Valentine?? Lapis Lazuli?? Blue?? Bloo?? Whom?! Keep them out of this!)
Of course, she means the police officers, in reference to the officers who lost their lives in the tragedy. But even they wouldn't want to be reffed here.
(Listen. You need to shut up. Forever. Being the protégé of that dumbass loudmouth Glenn Beck somehow isn't enough is show how much the word fool is illuminated across your pretty little head. It's not that you don't know what you're taking about, but that you know what you're saying will only go over with the old and wildly unwilling to understand. Do us all a favor and please speak in public when you have something smart and constructed to say [which is probably never].)
--
Another thing that strikes me is this: Many pro-gun supporters are always speaking up to protect gun use and ownership against people who want tighter gun control to protect innocent bystanders. This is after when a mass shooting happens. Yet when they learn that the black person was taken down had a weapon and a permit, they immediately keep quiet.
I'll just let this comment I wrote on Facebook speak for itself:
"It's very clear that bias at the NRA is at work. [And] it's sad that not only did a white dude get away with killing nine black people, he also got a fucking meal as a treat.
I can't get more furious from here."
(That last part is in reference to the Dylan Roof shooting)
And speaking of Dylan Roof, there are true criminals out there who are white. They deserve as much as the Blacks who didn't commit major crimes, and yet because of their color of their skin, they essentially walk away technically unscathed.
-One of them, Brock Turner, sexually assaulted (fingering) and almost full-blown raped a woman behind a dumpster near a campus party at Sanford while unconscious. He got six months in county jail (not prison, county jail), and half should he leave on good behavior.
-Another, Roof, shot nine African Americans in a local church in Charleston, North Carolina. All the victims did was welcome him with open arms, and he returned the favor by taking their lives. Not only did police not treat him like the shit he is, they also gave him a meal at fucking Burger King (I AM SERIOUSLY NOT MAKING THIS UP). A picture of him brandishing a Confederate flag is enough to make him despicable.
-George Zimmerman. Enough said.
-And all of the police officers who got away with murder with the deaths of innocent people via the constant abuse of power, horrible judgment of character and distressingly deplorable level of violence throughout. It's disgusting.
So whoever say that those killings and that "All Lives Matter", you all need to shut the fuck up. You not only don't know what you're talking about, you also don't care about what you're failing to talk about. Saying "All Lives Matter" is just a way of saying "I don't care about this national issue or enough to lay my arms to show care, solemn or support for this race of people looking for true equality in this country. But I care about bolstering my image to mention this get me in the news or social media feed."
And of course, some of them are eager to paint these men as criminals.
NEWS FLASH:
Martha Stewart was a criminal.
Robert Downey Jr. was a criminal.
Charlie Sheen was a criminal.
Lindsay Lohan was a criminal.
Justin Bieber was a criminal.
Phil Spector was a criminal.
George Zimmerman was a criminal. (and you know this)
Hell, even Charles fucking Manson was a criminal.
But you won't shoot any of them for just being at a convenience store and carrying a licensed weapon. But you wouldn't want to start stroking like Bob Ross, right?
The reason for all this rambling of mine is this: I wanted to get in my thoughts and sleep tonight. Because I'm sick and tired of seeing and hearing about something that's sadly becoming more and more commonplace in this country. Since when should "shooting black men" become as American as Apple Pie and Baseball?? And since when should instances of such come closer to each other than pregnancy contractions?? There's nothing black men have done to deserve this. And yet, here we are.
And yet, it seems to get even worse--from the other side, because as of the release date of this post, 12 police officers were shot in Dallas. Five of them were killed. The shooter was killed by police hours later via a bomb robot after a long standoff filled with taunting, singing and creepiness.
Let me please say this; those police officers did not deserve to die. They only did their jobs (and I really mean this) and did indeed protect the people protesting the deaths of the black men we've lost. These guys (assumed-ly) served their city well and some of them have families as well. And the killer's plan to take them out (because he's furious at white people--and especially white police officers--for killing black men) was disgustingly horrifying. What he did is the epitome of what is wrong with Black Lives Matter. Black people not peacefully protesting, instead ravaging an entire city, stealing things from businesses and destroying police vehicles, stores and buildings like an 8-year-old kid throwing a temper tantrum because he's not getting a trip to Chuck E. Cheese's. It's disgusting and pathetic. And this man took it further by killing cops because he's tired of white people (from different states) killing black men (who are not related to him). If you want racial equality in this country...don't do that. It makes you look just as racist as the cops you're furious at. And it not only doesn't solve a damn thing, it erases every good thing we've tried to come closer to racial equality.
My condolences to the families of the 5 deceased officers and the victims who survived the tragedy.
So in recap, I'm sick and tired of Black men getting shot and killed by police for little to no reason, and getting away with it to faint praise from ignorant idiots. And I'm sick and tired of police getting hurt or even killed by black people just because one of their own (who isn't even related to them) is killed by a police officer (IN ANOTHER STATE).
You cannot have it both ways--and that's because you're not supposed to have it either way. It divides racial equality in this country even more and makes us look like savage laughingstock to other countries on Earth. And that is the opposite of what is supposed to happen in the name of Black Lives Matter.
I want to end this post with this:
I want you to please do something, when you're done reading this...please hug you family. Hug your family long and tight, and tell them you love them. If you're away from your family, call them or message them or tweet them, and tell them you love them. No matter what situation you're in with them, at least know that they're there for you and need to show it back.
This nation is going through so much crap from this week. And I cannot deal with it any longer.
No comments:
Post a Comment