I take issue with the fact that young black men are being murdered without repercussion or justification. For the most part, the United States is opposed to the death penalty. In other words, we don't want a highly educated and community appointed judge to make the decision on whether an accused criminal that has been found guilty in the court of law should be put to death or not. However, many people in the same society fight for the right of less educated and more biased police officers to take the lives of young black men that they perceive as guilty in the heat of a moment. The reason for the black lives matter campaign in my eyes is the previous sentence. That sentence does not include police taking the lives of all men or all people, but a specific group of people. The same group which the court of law and those appointed to uphold the law don't seem to care about.
When considering protesting, in my mind I tried to come up with a sign that would express my views properly. Saying or promoting an idea that only resonates with the same group of people that already care almost defeats the purpose to me. So, I wanted to express my views to those who are defenders of the right to take black (in their eyes, dangerous) lives. Many that fight for the right of police officers come from the view point that these officers were in a dangerous situation and should be praised for doing their job and getting criminals off of the street. The entire concept of innocent until proven guilty is thrown out of the door because a person ran from the police or was in the "wrong" neighborhood or was perceived to be dangerous. The perception of dangerous in America means you're either black or you have a weapon and tattoos all over your body.
Maybe I could hold up a sign that says Arrest Don't Annihilate or Life Over Prejudice or Let Judges Judge And Police Police. Somehow, I don't feel like a majority of people are sending that message. My concern would be that my efforts would be misconstrued as a defense for criminals, the same way that I view supporters of police criminals. Maybe the sign I should hold should say I Support Police Officers Not Police Criminals. I think that message would be a miss for most.
A part of the reason I didn't protest is because I didn't feel like I did my part in researching the details of the incidents that took place. I knew that another black life had been discarded, but I didn't know the details of how and/or why. I'm not sure that I would fight for a police officer having to look down the barrel of a gun before making a judgment call because then it would be too late. I don't have an expectation of perfection when it comes to policing, but lives are far to important to keep making the same mistakes and seeing the same phantom weapons because you see a face with dark skin. If I were to protest, I'd like to be able to present the idea from a different perspective, one that makes an actual difference and opens eyes to what I'm seeing. But, without the detailed knowledge of the situation, I feel like I'd just be another unarmed black male awaiting execution by public opinion (Fox News).
When considering protesting, in my mind I tried to come up with a sign that would express my views properly. Saying or promoting an idea that only resonates with the same group of people that already care almost defeats the purpose to me. So, I wanted to express my views to those who are defenders of the right to take black (in their eyes, dangerous) lives. Many that fight for the right of police officers come from the view point that these officers were in a dangerous situation and should be praised for doing their job and getting criminals off of the street. The entire concept of innocent until proven guilty is thrown out of the door because a person ran from the police or was in the "wrong" neighborhood or was perceived to be dangerous. The perception of dangerous in America means you're either black or you have a weapon and tattoos all over your body.
Maybe I could hold up a sign that says Arrest Don't Annihilate or Life Over Prejudice or Let Judges Judge And Police Police. Somehow, I don't feel like a majority of people are sending that message. My concern would be that my efforts would be misconstrued as a defense for criminals, the same way that I view supporters of police criminals. Maybe the sign I should hold should say I Support Police Officers Not Police Criminals. I think that message would be a miss for most.
A part of the reason I didn't protest is because I didn't feel like I did my part in researching the details of the incidents that took place. I knew that another black life had been discarded, but I didn't know the details of how and/or why. I'm not sure that I would fight for a police officer having to look down the barrel of a gun before making a judgment call because then it would be too late. I don't have an expectation of perfection when it comes to policing, but lives are far to important to keep making the same mistakes and seeing the same phantom weapons because you see a face with dark skin. If I were to protest, I'd like to be able to present the idea from a different perspective, one that makes an actual difference and opens eyes to what I'm seeing. But, without the detailed knowledge of the situation, I feel like I'd just be another unarmed black male awaiting execution by public opinion (Fox News).
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