#soberingthoughts

Hey there tumblr friends!!! Long time No Post ( I am a fail blogger)... 

I know it has been a while and I said I was going to do weekly post and make things regular and I failed and it was been way to long since I have written anything, but now is my time to start a new. 

So today I spoke with a friend and had the awesome idea to get back to my blog and write about why it matters to feel stupid in graduate school and scientific careers in general.... but something more important came up( in my personal opinion) that I wanted to talk about. So that post about science is coming tomorrow (I believe). 

So what is it that I want to talk about... The verdict in Ferguson for no indictment. 

I know many people stand on both sides of the issue and it has caused racial strife and discourse, but I just want to make a few points and hope people can understand where people of African American/Black Decent come from in this argument. 

#1 Why the anger?

Well it stems from a long standing feeling of inadequacy plus the  lack of respect and representation in a system that claims to care about its people. Until you have had a system tell you that you are to be treated with respect for your person and treated as innocent until proven guilty, yet perpetually treated as though you are not innocent you will not truly understand why it creates discourse and disappointment. No matter your feelings on the Trayvon Martin case, it seems to explode even further in this instance. Mid day with no real indication of an altercation a young man ( who happens to be black) was shot and killed by a member of a police force that is meant to protect citizens. Why? if the young man was not on top of you and you felt threatened? Why not shoot him in the leg or arm to slow or maybe incapacitate him? Why are we shooting to kill? Especially if there is not clear evidence of a gun or weapon that could be used to attack. 

and if you think that police don't attack individuals without provocation please go back and look at the Rodney King case. 

#2 Why the facebook / twitter activism?

This question is simple enough to answer, because in the day in age we live this is the easiest and quickest way to get you voice out there, and learn about what is happening. #Blacktwitter anyone?

#3 Personal experiences

Now on a day to day basis I have been treated with a lot of respect being a part of the scientific community and it sometimes jades you to inequality elsewhere. Though personally I have been profiled many times. People who know me will tell you I am talkative, excitable, nerdy and obsessed with futurama, but many don't know that I have been stopped in a mall and accused of shop lifting.  And not just within the store the accusation was brought up, but followed by security through the mall for probably 20 - 30 minutes to then be stopped as I was checking out and told to open the bag I was  carrying to have them check for merchandise from a store I had not once ever entered.  So for many even people in a state or city hours away feel personal feelings and they are outraged because of this. 

#4 it seems to happen over and over with the same outcome

It may be becoming a sign of insanity as many do the same thing over and over expecting a different result, but never receiving that bliss of change. Now that a second young man has died under circumstances that were not clear and someone has been let off it leaves a bad taste in the mouth and creates  feeling of dread and sickness that many don't always understand. Being a male of color( because this applies to brown skinned folk as well) it hurts to see someone like you die and to not even have a case brought up against the individual who did the shooting. To me this is ludicrous! 

and  finally 

#5 why the looting?

Now I am not a fan of the civil unrest that is occurring tonight in #Ferguson, but I have no way of knowing how that community feels. They have been fighting for so long to have their voices heard to finally hear such tragic news.  I am not here to say that looting and  fighting is ok, but I beg those of you condemning the actions please try to understand that emotions are high and morale is low. 

As for the title of this post, I think it speaks for itself many blacks feel as though their lives do not matter in the current system we have. A system that waits to charge a possible killer with a crime , and has a community at odds with the people who are meant to protect them. 

So what can this teach us...? That we as  people need to find fair  and true representation through stronger turn out for elections and voting. Now I know that a police officer is  not voted on, but creating a truly representative government would allow for a better avenue for voices to be heard.  As a young african american male and american citizen I fully utilize my right to participate in elections. I WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW #BlackLivesDoMatter and I will continue to fight through many means to have my voice heard and be recognized and change the system that  was not designed to protect me or my community of people of color. Now I know this may not sit well with some and I am open for debate, but please please please  keep it civil.

Peace, Love, and Science!

JAM