A Logical and Well Thought Opinion on current events
As a Black-American living in the US and witnessing the events on the news, you could say that I wasn't really stoked about the events that were currently unfolding in Ferguson and in New York. I didn't like the fact that I saw my country burning, stores being looted and then burned down to the ground, I didn't like the fact that officers of the law were dressed as soldiers tear gassing peaceful protesters instead of looters, I also didn't like the fact that I was seeing young black men turned into martyrs for causes they didn't advocated to participate in. So instead of going on to social media and voicing my opinions about the events directly as they unfolded, I decided to hang back and watch everyone tear each other part like the wolves we are.
I watched concerned citizens voice their opinions of the events saying that "the prosecution was wrong for not cross examining Darren Wilson testimony" or "it's about race" or the "protesters shouldn't have been looting their own businesses and burning down their own neighborhoods." People though that these were trials that took place for these law enforcement officers, it was not a trial everybody, it was a grand jury indictment hearing. That means 12 people (supposedly a jury of your peers) come together and they decide if the evidence is put in front of them is deemed worthy for a trial. No verdict was made and according to the highest law of the land, both these men were considered innocent because they were not convinced. Now, before you stop reading and send me a nasty message or phone call. I'm not agreeing with the verdicts, I'm just telling you how the law interprets it. Now do I think these cases had sufficient evidence in both cases to go to trial, absolutely. For conviction? I don't know and I don't have the credibility to state otherwise. But I watched all you wonderful people present you're arguments Ala lawyer/law school and you ruefully attacked and denounced any opinions that contradicted what you were trying to sell and convince others.....that one side was right and one side was wrong in all of this.
People forgot that two innocent lives and hundreds of others were being affected by these events. People are hurting and people are grieving so of course radical words and ideas are gonna be thrown out into the world but was it all based on logic or was it based on our emotions and feelings?
There was clearly a mixture of both because our logical reasoning comes from both our emotions and own knowledge and our worldviews (socio-economic upbringings, political standpoints, morals, and ideas of social norms). Also people forgot that this is nothing new and think that's why more people are upset because this is absolute nothing new and as much this country has "changed" for the better, more we realize that things have not. Now some of you are yelling at the screen and furiously typing your angry comments. Some of you are calling me nigger and saying that I forgot how it is to be a black man living in America but I'll show you what I mean.
I'm fucking terrified at this moment right now because I know if I end up in a situation where end up getting killed by a police officer especially a white police officer, "Nobody would care and I mean nobody would care." One side would try to discredit me as an individual saying that I got what I deserved or I had to be doing something wrong or I was just some scumbag "nigger" who got what he deserved. Another side would turn me into a martyr saying my death was more prevalent to a bigger cause, cities would burn, and people would riot and loot. That officer and all officers of his department and race would be seen as a pariah. A plague that needs to be washed off the earth that all police are wrong, corrupt, crooked, and gun toting wackos when a good chunk of them just want to make it home without holes in them. Maybe Middle Class Rut made an excellent point with the song USA.
Pack up your guns; you're going to need them
Because outside your house, there's a war
Yea and if you don't look like you don't even breath then
There ain't nothing sacred here anymore
I'm from the USA
USA
USA
I'm from the USA, yea!
Lock up your shit so no one can steal it
Because the enemy lives outside your door
At least that's what you're made to believe in
Without fear, you ain't got no control
So in closing, I want to point out that I actually took the time to write out this opinion about the recent events and I don't have a side to the whole equation of things but I give you one last thought. Young black men should stop being killed on the streets by law enforcement officials especially since most officers carry multiple non-lethal weaponry on their belts but I also think that not all cops are bad and should not be disrespected because I don't know many people who would fight for a total stranger. Do you?
