On the Friday after Thanksgiving, an attempt was made to take the day from the corporate interests and bring attention to the tragedy of the deaths that black people have suffered at the hands of police officers. They called it Black Out Friday, and this protest spread throughout the country.
On one hand, I thought it was nice to see. They were making it difficult for people to go shopping. They disrupted the flow and even effected the BART trains in Oakland. People were late for work as well. It wasn't completely related, but Wal Mart workers took the opportunity to protest their working conditions and push for a pay raise.
I could easily drift into an argument against the idea of Black Friday and the stores getting people to practically kill each other for cheap electronics. I could get into the discussion of how sad it is that we have to take on careers at places like Wal Mart and take government assistance in addition to that non living wage just to get by. Both things annoy me.
However, I want to get into the idea that police are brutal against blacks and that blacks need to get violent against whites because of it. I despise what is happening to some black people due to heavy handed police officers, but whites and people of other colors are suffering too. People of all colors die this way.
When a cop acts like Judge Dredd and becomes judge, jury and executioner, it is very wrong. It must stop. I support protesting against it, because too many times these cops have gotten away with murder. This is not acceptable, and if we sit here and take it, it will get worse.
In Ferguson, Missouri, we had the officer who killed an unarmed suspect, Michael Brown. Some things have come to light that question the officer's response. These are fair questions. From what I've heard, a response was required, but did it go to far? Would a tazer have worked? I don't know.
Officers at times have to use force when they are threatened. Every good cop knows this. Do they go overboard? Yes. Do they intimidate, rather than try to position themselves as part of the community? Yes. Are there bad cops? Yes. Are there many good cops? Yes.
We have to be very careful as we walk down this path that we don't make it us against the police for the actions of some bad police officers. They are not all like that. However, when they shoot a camping homeless man to death, shoot a man in the back as he lays on a train platform or mercilessly beat begging suspects to death in cold blood, it's bad. When they get away with it, it's worse.
My concern is the race baiting going on that is making this a white vs black thing. We have certain prominent black figures who get on TV and go to the scene to stir the pot. Often times, they do it before they have all of the facts. They know there are angry black people out there, and many times those people have a right to be angry.
The problem is they stir these people up to get violent and cause damage and injury. The recent Brown case is the latest example. The cop will not be charged, and they are out there burning down businesses, looting stores and beating random white people. It's doubly senseless because they didn't know Brown and they don't know their victims.
Picture a scenario where a family member gets murdered and you know who did it. That person gets away with it. You go down the street and pull a person of the same color as the person who murdered that family member out of their car and beat them to death. Why do that? What did that person do to you? Why burn down the business of somebody who had nothing to do with anything?
They are mad because of Brown's death. I get it. Brown made a mistake, but he didn't deserve to die. From what I understand, the officer could have used force to subdue him, even shooting him in the leg if need be. He was in a position to make that judgement call, but he basically emptied his gun chamber on him until he died. Then, he left him bleeding to death.
Now, we have the cry that black lives mater. You're darn right they do. From the blacks who get aborted at a bigger rate than any other race to the ones who die from diseases to the ones who die in violent confrontations. We should care about all of them.
However, all life maters. This is something we should never forget, because we all bleed the same color. White lives matter. Asian lives matter. Hispanic lives matter. Arab lives matter. All life matters. We should care about each other and stop the violence. We need to be very careful about the race baiting going on, because it will take this country down a terrible path.
There is a problem with police officers thinking they are above the law, and though black people tend to suffer from this, they aren't the only ones. There is an us vs them mentality that is being cultivated here, and it needs to stop. We need to have real discussion about this and bring a real chance. Police should be our friends, not out enemies.
The problem is, we are going to head down a path where something very bad will happen. People want change, and I don't blame them. We can't continue this way. However, if we don't start having a real discussion about the change we need to see, the change we will get will be worse than what we have now. The answer won't come through violence and destruction.
In this case, the anger comes down to police procedure and what is the proper protocol. Cops tend to get away with things because procedure allows them to do things that anybody with a soul knows is crossing the line. Those things need to change.
I don't know what the answer is. When an officer has a suspect that must be apprehended, they need to take appropriate action. What needs to be incorporated into their training? What actions are required, and where does it cross the line? The things that cross the line need to be spelled out.
I also believe that having officers who interact with the community and are a part of it will help things. Just seeing an officer who is friendly in every day situations will go a long way towards building trust. Knowing that he doesn't see you as the enemy, but as a person he's here to protect. And, you see him as somebody doing a sometimes dangerous job, but still as a regular person.
We shouldn't let the race baiters turn this into a black and white issue when there is so much gray area to it. This effects people of all colors, and it has to change. The voice of the people should be heard, and we should all be united when we say, "Life matters, no matter what color. Treat it with respect."
