If you have yet to hear about Eric Garner, take a few minutes to google him, and hopefully to watch the video of how he died. I think it's important for all of us, as human beings, to see what went down. I'm not going to write about my opinion on the ruling in this post, right on the heels of Ferguson. Rather, I'm going to write about how YOU, citizens of the United States, are actually part of this problem.
You see, logging onto your social media, crying at your outrage at how this is a racial issue may create certain trends on the internet, but you're also making statements like: "f*cked up, America!" "embarrassed to be an American right now" and "this country is a joke!"
When you drag our country through the mud, you are dragging me in with you. You're also dragging your parents, your kids, your friends, the elderly lady with the walker down the street. The majority of this country voted for Barack Obama, our first black President (well, electoral college majority, but that's another post). We are all citizens of this beautiful land, and while it has some glaring flaws, to condemn her for this act with statements of anarchy is the real injustice.
I have an ancestral lineage from Spain, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East. My father moved to America with a dream. He had ten cents in his pocket when he got off the boat, and spent his first night in this country at a YMCA. Today, he is a testament to that dream. His hard work and dedication got him to the place he is now, and he is damn proud, as he should be. Where else could he do that?
I walk around our beautiful streets, wearing whatever I want, talking to whomever I please. My daughter is able to go get an education, not expected to stay at home and take a husband in her teenage years. I live in a house with a backyard, and drive past churches, mosques and synagogues just driving my kids to school. I have clean water to drink and bathe in, organic food if I choose, and this list can go on and on. To create chaos with the trend #icantbreathe (even worse, #crimingwhilewhite) isn't finding a solution to our problem, it's igniting a rebellion that doesn't need to be there.
So what can we do? If you have the time to create a status update, you have the time to vote. Write a letter to your congressperson, contact your mayor. You've heard the cliché, the squeaky wheel gets the grease, right? It's time to demand change! Let's start where we can: separating the connection of prosecutors with our law enforcement. When those two walk into the courtroom holding each other's hands, we need to break that up! Create the need for stricter training and exams in Police Academy. If lawyers give potential jurors the third degree before sitting in on a case, why don't we do that for our police? MAKE PRODUCTIVE NOISE. Don't give me a reason to question your loyalty to this free country, or the rest of the world to question it either. Stand up for the land of the free and home of the brave!
How about it? Are you up to challenge of updating our country instead of your twitter and Facebook account?