Another day, another divisive issue. But why do we insist on remaining divided? When will we start having conversations with people who are different from us so that we can better understand their perspectives? When will we agree that we can (and most people already do) care about black lives AND care about police lives AND all loves.
If you have black friends that you actually talk to, you will find that many grew up learning to fear police. Their experiences with law enforcement are different than those of a white person. How do I know? I asked them. I wish we could do more asking and less assuming. If you think these many violent stories are exaggerated and that racism is all but gone then I challenge you to ASK a black person how they feel about that.
Also ask a woman you love if she has ever felt harassed or assaulted. Ask an immigrant how they feel about immigration policies and what that process was like for them. Ask a gay person if they have ever felt uncomfortable showing affection in public or been called names. Ask a Police Officer about the biggest challenges they face on the job.
I have heard many make the argument that coverage of police violence towards black people is being pushed to the forefront right now making it seem worse than it is. And to that I would say “Finally!” For years these stories have been absent from our media helping white people pretend that the stories don’t exist. When a black child is shot in a "ghetto" no one hears about it; but a white child shot in the suburbs? Front page story. However, because of some higher profile cases this conversation has come to a boiling point so the media is finally shedding some light on the situation. Our country has created a situation where many black people feel that their lives don’t matter. That is why “All Lives Matter” is not an answer nor should it even be a thing. We need to address as a nation why many black citizens feel that their country doesn’t care whether they live or die.
Some minorities are protesting by kneeling during the National Anthem. Instead of worrying why they felt the need to do so we see outrage. But friends, by your outrageous reaction and attention you are giving that protester what they want. But not what our country needs. We need discussion.
I do not want to hear anything about what the victims of police violence did or didn’t do to provoke the situation. There can be no “buts” when it comes to someone being killed when they should not have. There are no “howevers” or excuses. We need only to be disgusted and then ask ourselves how we can be better as a country. How do we fix this? It won’t be easy, but it has to start somewhere. United we stand, divided we fall. So let us stop being so divided and start listening to each other. We must realize that not everyone in this country makes their opinions and decisions based on the same experiences. So I say to my fellow Americans: tell me your stories, I will listen.
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