I’ve been trying to stay positive in the wake off all these police shootings. But, I must admit, it’s tough. It’s tough to stay positive and stay aboard the peaceful pen (MAN) ship. It’s tough to stay positive when you go to bed one night to the news reporting one deadly police shooting and wake up the very next morning to yet another deadly police shooting.
There’s no more harassment, now it’s just target practice. And the good cops turn the other cheek while the bad cop goes on administrative leave.
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Makes me wanna holler! Throw up both my hands. Marvin Gaye released this song in the same year I was born. I wonder if my father feared for my life the way I do for my two sons. Of course he did.But to a different degree.
Problems of the world then were different. Sure, there was police brutality, but today the brutality is deadly. There’s no more harassment, now it’s just target practice. And the good cops turn the other cheek while the bad cop goes on administrative leave. I can’t.
I wrote about this in April of this year. Music falling on dead ears then and still. Who’s listening?
When will we realize that avoiding the police is just not enough. Staying a law abiding citizen is just not enough. Having a license to carry is just not enough.
And the saddest thing about all of these shootings is that it’s not one isolated area. It’s all over this country. It’s in your city. Your state. Your town. What do we do?
Stop and frisk turns into stop in tracks. They are not questioning suspects anymore. They’re dressing them for a coroner.
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Maybe we should begin with the training of the police in the academy. I heard that the officers train right alongside the military and learn the exact same war tactics. Why do our police, who are supposed to serve and protect the community, train with the military who are to serve and protect the country? Different playing field here, guys. Not making excuses for why the cops keep killing us but, I do see a pattern.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Call a cat a dog long enough, that dog will begin to meow.
It’s only natural that the police start acting like the military after spending so much time training with the military. Stop and frisk turns into stop in tracks. They are not questioning suspects anymore. They’re dressing them for a coroner. As sad of a reality as it is, it’s the truth, y’all.
Riddle me this, African American reader. When was the last time you heard sirens and felt safe and secure? I’ll wait …
Now. White readers. Ask yourself the same question .. And I’ll wait …
It’s not me creating this divide. It’s just me, pointing it out. It’s no exaggeration. Alton Sterling or Philando Castile could easily have been Saliek Ruffin. I don’t go out much more than I have to. I go to work, come home. Make sure I’m in before the sun is down. I don’t hang out with more than two people. I don’t dress like I’m Hip Hop. I don’t drive past the speed limit. I feel like a prisoner. But in this country, it’s the small price to pay for the freedom I deserve as a Blackman.
Yes. I agree. It shouldn’t be so difficult. But, it is.
I fear for my life. I fear for my family’s life. How can I stay calm when I have two sons?
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And after they gun us down, they dig up dirt to make it seem like we deserved it. “Foul! Ref. Did you see this?”
I’m scared. I’ve never said this before. But, I fear for my life. I fear for my family’s life. How can I stay calm when I have two sons? That on any given Sunday, can sound threatening to a police officer. Or worse, look threatening to a police officer.
At least we know how to deal with each other. We keep our distance and stay far, far away from the riff raff. Don’t start none, won’t be none. But not with the police.
That man was in a car with his girlfriend. Got pulled over for a busted taillight and lost his life. Where they do that at?
And if I see another online post talking about he shouldn’t have been there, he should’ve done this, what about black on black crime … Please, miss me with all that. I’m done crying. I’m just so angry right now! No justice, when it’s just us.
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