I donât normally post stuff like this. Most people who know me know Iâm an activist. You know I care a lot and I speak out against issues that bother me. But the one place I donât speak out is on social media.
I found that most people will turn a post about a heartfelt issue into a joke once itâs on Facebook or Instagram. And I never want the issues that I care about to feel like they were a joke. But this is pushing me past my breaking point.
When I was a little girl I was told so many times I had to be careful because of the way I looked. I was told to be diligent and occasionally be silent. I was told to make my actions known to move slowly not to incite fear. I was taught how to keep myself safe in a world where my safety could be jeopardized simply because of my appearance.
We shouldnât have to train kids how not to get shot. We shouldnât have to train kids how not to seem like a threat. They are kids. They are not a threat.
In the last five years weâve had over 5000 police shootings in the US that resulted in a fatality from police officers. 50% of those shootings were African Americans, but only 13% of the population is African-American. These disproportionate statistics are terrifying.
The Washington post has made a database that tracks all police shootings since the Michael Brown shooting in 2014 and the numbers are heartbreaking.
353 of those 5000+ shootings were unarmed civilians.
If youâre not armed there is no reason you should lose your life.
What are we training pur police officers?
Why canât they take down an unarmed person without killing them?
And these numbers donât include those who died from asphyxiation or those who succumbed to brutal injuries because they were beaten to death. These are just shootings. And itâs gut wrenching.
Where is the public outcry?
Where are their memorials?
Why are we allowing this to happen?
Why donât we come together as a nation?
Why donât we care?
We make jokes about âBlack Lives Matterâ and the âMe Tooâ movement and all those people trying to bring attention to the injustices that they face. We take their voice away from them by saying âAll Lives Matterâ. We let murderers and criminals go free under the guise of them doing their job. We validate their actions when we let them walk after a life was needlessly lost.
In some cases maybe fatal force is necessary but you cannot tell me that every single case of these 5000 deaths were justified.
No one should fear being shot in their bed.
No one should be arrested for shooting in self-defense after a break-in in their home.
No one should cry out that they canât breathe and still have a knee crushing their windpipe until they die.
Especially not someone who is not resisting arrest and is currently detained.
A 12-year-old shouldnât be shot in the park because they have a Nerf gun in their hands.
A man shouldnât be gunned down because itâs suspected that he might be a robber by people who are not even a police officers.
There is no citizens arrest that should excuse a fatal shooting.
People are dying.
People are crying.
People are morning.
And these are our people.
This is not us versus them. This isnât blacks versus whites. We are all Americans. We are made up of different races and cultures. We all live in this country together. It shouldnât matter what you look like and I know that may be wishful thinking but I believe it. The only way to stop this is to stop dividing us. Stop telling your white friends to âpolice our ownâ and tell ALL your friends to not tolerate and injustice. Stop telling you black friends to âstand with us brotherâ and tell EVERYONE in your circle that we all have to unite. Stop dividing us in your mind. Stop dividing us in your heart.
Fear will wipe us out if we donât stop it. This will ruin our nation. This could ruin our world.
Shootings Since 2014
Shot by police: 5,417 people
Shot while unarmed: 353
Shot while unarmed and white: 146
Shot while unarmed and black: 123
Shot while unarmed and a minor: 14
