Taking action against racial injustice, police brutality
August 2, 2015
I’m usually the person who likes to give the benefit of the
doubt. I like to think that most people are generally good. I like to see the
facts before deciding on an issue. I’m not quick to say an action is racist or
not.
However, when so many events in the world are screaming injustice, it’s hard to remain quiet. Growing up, I went to a lot of different schools; some were
diverse, and some were not. I learned about slavery, but I never
really thought the world was still racist. I thought things were getting
better. It wasn’t until high school when I started to notice racist acts.
It’s always hard to determine, however, if something is actually about
race. We aren’t
in the heads of the police officer or person who killed an innocent human being. It’s easy
to say that the officer is racist, but it’s hard to know what actually
transpired in the altercation.
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My point is that even though police brutality
incidents are happening at a high rate, people shouldn’t fully distrust all
officers without proper facts and evidence from cases.
People should also be allowed to voice their opinions and
not be ashamed to speak about race. Racial issues are not going away. They
should be addressed. The era of social media is powerful. It gives people
voices, informs and allows for great debates.
The last few years, race relations have been horrible: senseless killings and unfair trials for those senseless killings. What needs
to happen now is action. The country can’t move forward without action being
taken. Why are officers not following protocol? Why is there a hashtag every
week for a new victim who was wrongfully killed? Why are stereotypes still being
used to justify senseless actions? Why can’t people admit when they were wrong? There
need to be solutions or these cycles will continue.
Police brutality should not be overlooked or accepted. Police
officers should be held accountable for their actions and not be able to kill
people without any proper reason. If government officials take action and
speak about police brutality, it could be a step toward recovery.