You See Our Hands

Watching African American men kill each other is a problem within itself. Watching Caucasian police offers kill African American men is another problem within itself. Reading news articles of people not being convicted of the violence acts that they have committed is tearing the world down inch by inch. Standing straight, not having any type of weapon on your person, having your hand up and visible saying don’t shoot but still being executed is a larger problem within itself. All of the following stated needs to change but unfortunately it had to start in Missouri for people to start rallying up to defend their won kind. In Ferguson, MO, 18 year – old, Michael Brown was shot and killed by a Caucasian police officer, while his hands were visible and eyewitnesses saying that he was mouthing and saying, “don’t shoot”. The police officer said that he shoots at the young teenager in self-defense. The problem with African American men being shoot while they are unarmed, sleeping in their cars, or walking out of a general store with a bag of Skittles, etc. is because there has been a cultivation of thoughts that black people are a threat. That we are looking to start violence or because of just that, how we look. There has been no reason in any situation for a handful where the victim has threatened the person holding the gun but is the threat. The excuse of people saying that it was self-defense is mind blowing because at that point if you have the gun, you oversee that situation. If someone has there hand up, clearly with no weapon, why is there a need to pull the trigger of a life or death situation? The Ferguson Police Department, as stated in a video within the article, had been using “discriminating tactics to raise money rather than ensure safety among the public”. Between the years of 2012- 2014 no one of any other raise were arrested, had an arrest warrant, etc. from any race other than African Americans. Society has put thoughts and news outlets show us the negative side, the corrupt police officers that are doing harm within their community and not protecting the streets that they sworn to do so. We have this fear that all police officers are out to harm the minorities and not just do their job of just implementing the laws but that we should be afraid of them if we see them. We should be able to talk to them civilly, conduct business and go on with our day. The unfortunate part is that on social media and news channels I always see another African American shot and killed by law enforcement that now I am numb to the information.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2015/03/19/hands-up-dont-shoot-did-not-happen-in-ferguson/