Author: Alexander Schatzberg
Recently, the issue that police brutality is has drawn a lot of attention. Attention that this dramatic, and deadly, problem required. Police have been excessively brutal when faced with a potential African American criminal for decades. A protest in LaFayette square, a very peaceful demonstration, was aggressively broken up (First Amendment?) by the police. These people were well within their basic rights as U.S. citizens. The protesters were harassed and pepper-sprayed by law enforcement, the people who are supposed to be protecting them. The reason all if this chaos? President Trump wanted a photo op at a church that the protesters were near. African American people have never truly been treated as citizens. Yes, everybody can vote. Can everybody drive a car without being pulled over? Can everybody walk down the street without being judged, seeing people clutch their valuables? Can everybody walk into a restaurant without the fear of being refused? Recently in Central Park, there was a woman who had her dog off leash, which is against the regulations of the park. An African American man, who was bird watching, asked her to leash her dog. Here is what happened. As you can see in the video, the woman pretends to be physically threatened and calls the police. She highlights that he is an African American man (which shouldn't matter), and says that he is “threatening her life”. Another instance is when a white woman blatantly refused to let an African American man into the building where he lives. Here is the video captured by the man. It is becoming readily apparent that there is an aspect of racism engraved into our society. You can see this underlying racism in the police. You can see it in the way people treat African American people. This cannot be allowed to continue, as it does nothing but hurt innocent people. If all people are created equal, then why are some treated as lesser? Why is it acceptable that the police have a blatant prejudice against African Americans? Racism is not a mindset. It is a way of life, akin to religion. Many people do not understand that. When a racist person has children, those children truly believe in racism. It is an unequivocal truth to them. Parallels can be drawn to religious households, where children are raised to believe in some form of supernatural power. These children, who grow into adults, rarely change their views. While they may not actively practice racism or religion, the underlying prejudice remains. If you have ever argued with somebody who has had an idea ingrained into them from their childhood, you know how hard it is to change the minds of people like this. Please go to protests. Help change the mentality that has hurt so many innocent people. Be the change. Sources https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/13/politics/secret-service-pepper-spray-june-event-lafayette-square-washington-dc/index.html https://www.npr.org/local/305/2020/06/05/870752740/black-lives-matter-d-c-sues-trump-and-barr-over-tear-gas-at-lafayette-square
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