Unless one has been in a coma while living under a rock the past few days, there's roughly a 99.9% chance he or she has heard about the protests and rioting in Baltimore, Maryland. Freddie Gray, an African-American male, died in prison a week after he was arrested of a non-violent crime, as approximately 80% of his spine had been severed. Speculation about his death coming at the hands of the area's police force, in conjunction with the seemingly countless other such cases across the country over the past several months, sparked a number of African-Americans to protest the matter. Unfortunately, while a majority of these protesters went about their business in a peaceful manner, some decided violence and property damage was the better option. Like with the protests in Ferguson, Missouri a few months ago, this situation has brought attention to the issues of police brutality, prejudice, poverty, and (in)equality, and has prompted a vast array of opinions along the way. While I've strayed from writing about this ordeal to this point, I felt it was time to also put in my two cents.
In this country, it feels like we increasingly think with a black-and-white mentality (no pun intended). Fox News has appeared to fully support the police in this matter, while placing 100% of the blame on the protesters. MSNBC has gone the direct opposite route, providing a much more sympathetic outlook toward the protesters and a less sympathetic one towards the law enforcement officers. Sadly, it's felt that a majority of the public has followed this us-or-them mentality and decided to either fully side with the police or fully side with the protesters. Things aren't that simple, however. Just because a person criticizes a police officer for overstepping his or her boundaries and essentially breaking the law doesn't mean this person is anti-authority, and just because an individual criticizes a protester that has gotten violent and essentially broken the law doesn't mean they're anti-free speech. While I respect the police force and the difficult, stressful, dangerous job they partake in on a daily basis, I also expect them to, like the rest of us, abide by the law, and when they don't, I expect them to be held accountable for their misdeeds. I also respect those whom let their voices be known through protesting, yet I also expect them to do so in a peaceful manner.
I can understand why some protesters have decided to riot, but that still doesn't make it right. Many of these individuals feel like through all of their attempts to do so, they can't garner people's attention to make changes and get something done so they're not stuck in this seemingly never-ending cycle of poverty (with that, a lack of education and opportunities for decent employment), non-violent crimes, and jail. They then reach a point where they feel the only way to garner people's attention, authority in particular, is through destruction. Their thought process is, "Okay, well, you won't listen to our voices and our calls for change, so we'll see if setting these cars and buildings on fire will do that." It's the last resort, the helpless feeling one has when they feel there are no other options. Unfortunately, such rioting often times detracts from the larger issues that should be focused on and discussed, and instead of the public seeing cops in a potentially negative light, these violent protesters then cast a negative light on themselves; so such actions, in addition to being wrong, are often times counter-productive. This leads many people to cast these protesters off as "thugs," "a mob," and "gangs," instead of actually looking into the very reasons why most of these protesters are letting their voices be heard in the first place.
That's another big problem with such events. Along with the public tending to think in black-and-white terms, there's also a lack of being able to relate to these very protesters by a majority of Americans. The majority of this country is still white, so when most such individuals watch these events on television, hear or read about them, it's difficult for them to fully grasp the situation, the reason for the protests, and why some would resort to violence. While I find it perfectly understandable for such individuals to not be able to fully relate to these protesters, however, it greatly troubles me that so many appear unwilling to even try to understand them.
I admit that it's very easy to watch a crime unfold, make immediate judgments on the perpetrator, and place the event in the rear-view mirror. It's more difficult and time-consuming to ask why the crime was committed, what the root problem was that eventually prompted the person to commit the crime, and what (if anything) could have been done to have prevented it from taking place. It's easier to label these rioters as "thugs" and cast them off as worthless than it is to ask why they're acting in such a manner and what could have been done to have prevented these violent protests. The problem with this kind of thinking is that it tends to limit the needed changes we need to make in this country in order to prevent such vicious cycles from occurring. Sure, we can live in denial, lay claim that we live in a post-racial society, that trickle-down economics works, that our system is equitable from those at the very top to those at the very bottom, and that each and every one of us have equal opportunities to succeed in this country, but that would be to dismiss the fact that there's any problem at all, and without admission of a problem, we can't fix said problem. The facts are this: We still live in a racist society; the odds are much higher for minorities to be victims of police brutality and hate crimes than whites; drug laws and the courts tend to be harsher on blacks (and other minorities) than whites; blacks (and other minorities) typically don't receive equal education and employment opportunities as whites; and blacks (and other minorities) have higher odds of living their lives through poverty than whites. It's a vicious cycle and one we have to correct if we don't want to hear about or be in the middle of these violent protests over injustices. We simply need to listen harder, open our minds more, better try to understand and empathize with others, and peacefully fight for the equality of all. We're all Americans in this country; we're all brothers and sisters. This can't be defined by one color, one gender, one creed, one age, or one orientation. I may be a straight white humanist man, but this won't stop me from fighting for the rights of my gay, lesbian, and transgender brothers and sisters; my Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, and Atheist brothers and sisters; my Native American, African-American, Asian-American, Latino-American, and Arab-American brothers and sisters; women, and elders. Their rights are my rights and when I don't feel they have equal rights or opportunities yet in this country, I don't feel like I have them either. As far as I'm concerned, if we're not all provided the rights guaranteed to us, none of us can be guaranteed these rights.
In this country, it feels like we increasingly think with a black-and-white mentality (no pun intended). Fox News has appeared to fully support the police in this matter, while placing 100% of the blame on the protesters. MSNBC has gone the direct opposite route, providing a much more sympathetic outlook toward the protesters and a less sympathetic one towards the law enforcement officers. Sadly, it's felt that a majority of the public has followed this us-or-them mentality and decided to either fully side with the police or fully side with the protesters. Things aren't that simple, however. Just because a person criticizes a police officer for overstepping his or her boundaries and essentially breaking the law doesn't mean this person is anti-authority, and just because an individual criticizes a protester that has gotten violent and essentially broken the law doesn't mean they're anti-free speech. While I respect the police force and the difficult, stressful, dangerous job they partake in on a daily basis, I also expect them to, like the rest of us, abide by the law, and when they don't, I expect them to be held accountable for their misdeeds. I also respect those whom let their voices be known through protesting, yet I also expect them to do so in a peaceful manner.
I can understand why some protesters have decided to riot, but that still doesn't make it right. Many of these individuals feel like through all of their attempts to do so, they can't garner people's attention to make changes and get something done so they're not stuck in this seemingly never-ending cycle of poverty (with that, a lack of education and opportunities for decent employment), non-violent crimes, and jail. They then reach a point where they feel the only way to garner people's attention, authority in particular, is through destruction. Their thought process is, "Okay, well, you won't listen to our voices and our calls for change, so we'll see if setting these cars and buildings on fire will do that." It's the last resort, the helpless feeling one has when they feel there are no other options. Unfortunately, such rioting often times detracts from the larger issues that should be focused on and discussed, and instead of the public seeing cops in a potentially negative light, these violent protesters then cast a negative light on themselves; so such actions, in addition to being wrong, are often times counter-productive. This leads many people to cast these protesters off as "thugs," "a mob," and "gangs," instead of actually looking into the very reasons why most of these protesters are letting their voices be heard in the first place.
That's another big problem with such events. Along with the public tending to think in black-and-white terms, there's also a lack of being able to relate to these very protesters by a majority of Americans. The majority of this country is still white, so when most such individuals watch these events on television, hear or read about them, it's difficult for them to fully grasp the situation, the reason for the protests, and why some would resort to violence. While I find it perfectly understandable for such individuals to not be able to fully relate to these protesters, however, it greatly troubles me that so many appear unwilling to even try to understand them.
I admit that it's very easy to watch a crime unfold, make immediate judgments on the perpetrator, and place the event in the rear-view mirror. It's more difficult and time-consuming to ask why the crime was committed, what the root problem was that eventually prompted the person to commit the crime, and what (if anything) could have been done to have prevented it from taking place. It's easier to label these rioters as "thugs" and cast them off as worthless than it is to ask why they're acting in such a manner and what could have been done to have prevented these violent protests. The problem with this kind of thinking is that it tends to limit the needed changes we need to make in this country in order to prevent such vicious cycles from occurring. Sure, we can live in denial, lay claim that we live in a post-racial society, that trickle-down economics works, that our system is equitable from those at the very top to those at the very bottom, and that each and every one of us have equal opportunities to succeed in this country, but that would be to dismiss the fact that there's any problem at all, and without admission of a problem, we can't fix said problem. The facts are this: We still live in a racist society; the odds are much higher for minorities to be victims of police brutality and hate crimes than whites; drug laws and the courts tend to be harsher on blacks (and other minorities) than whites; blacks (and other minorities) typically don't receive equal education and employment opportunities as whites; and blacks (and other minorities) have higher odds of living their lives through poverty than whites. It's a vicious cycle and one we have to correct if we don't want to hear about or be in the middle of these violent protests over injustices. We simply need to listen harder, open our minds more, better try to understand and empathize with others, and peacefully fight for the equality of all. We're all Americans in this country; we're all brothers and sisters. This can't be defined by one color, one gender, one creed, one age, or one orientation. I may be a straight white humanist man, but this won't stop me from fighting for the rights of my gay, lesbian, and transgender brothers and sisters; my Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, and Atheist brothers and sisters; my Native American, African-American, Asian-American, Latino-American, and Arab-American brothers and sisters; women, and elders. Their rights are my rights and when I don't feel they have equal rights or opportunities yet in this country, I don't feel like I have them either. As far as I'm concerned, if we're not all provided the rights guaranteed to us, none of us can be guaranteed these rights.
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