I don’t know about anyone else but for me, I’m getting sick of this shit. I’m sick of all of the videos of black men and women being shot at the hands of those upheld to protect and to serve. To the media, designed to excite the masses; to be fair, can you show us the videos of other arrests? How about the arrests where others resist and are ultimately handcuffed and taken to jail?

Would that make for accurate statistics? For instance, when the outcry “STOP KILLING BLACK PEOPLE” is met with the response “OBEY THE LAW,” wouldn’t it be fair to show unruly arrests on both sides? So where are those videos? Surely no one is assuming whites never resist arrest, do they? Puuu don’t make me laugh.

Let me clear something up…there is nothing new under the sun. Killing blacks is not new, white folks have been killing us for years. Let’s get this out of the way. Instead of slave owners it just seems like times have changed to police officers. That’s one insensitive statement, huh? And something else that isn’t new is the injustices that surrounds the deaths of blacks. There.

Can we agree to one thing? Disobedience of the law isn’t a black issue. Whites disobey the law just like blacks. You can miss me with these stereotypes. Whites resist arrests too, but the difference here is that they are allowed to live another day in comparison. Those videos or news stories aren’t exciting enough to air on television. Let’s be real. Who wants to see a video of orderly conduct? No one. Human nature is attracted to drama, chaos, and crime. To keep ratings up, the media knows how to draw in our attention and give us what we want. Therefore, if someone white is drunk (stereotype) and wrestled down to the ground, simply putting him in the back of a police car isn’t news station worthy.

So here we are with more frequent police shootings. There was a time when it was about once a year we’d be plagued with a horrific video of watching a black man running from the police to result in a bullet in his back, wrestling of a black man to the ground that would lead to a gun going off, sitting in the car with hands visible that ends in a blood bath, or the most recent video of police attacking a seated man (Dana Fletcher) with a dog while his wife and child watches…gun shots.

As I watched this video, my mind asks me the same questions as yours: “why.” Why didn’t he just step out of the van? What was he doing so bad to cause them to put the dog on him? All I saw was a man sitting in a van. I don’t care if he was being hardheaded and not following directions. Besides that, why did it escalate to this point? I wished he would’ve just gotten out of the car, but maybe he was too afraid to. Maybe he imagined getting out of the car and being wrestled to the ground and dying at their hands still (Eric Garner). Maybe he thought if he stayed seated and visible that the outcome would’ve been different (Philando Castile). But how can he stay still with a dog attacking him? And how could he reach for a gun while fighting off a dog, is my question? And they said he was homeless. Homeless with a gun? And drinking smoothies on a regular? And going to the gym? So much on this story is confusing and conflicting.

Or maybe he was just pissed that here he was with is family in a van and not one but 3 cops and a dog are at his door demanding him to get out of his vehicle. If he wasn’t scared, I can definitely imagine someone being pissed that the cops were called on you especially if you weren’t doing anything. And to be honest, there was (and still may be) a time when I would’ve stayed seated as well. If I’m telling you that I’m not doing anything and you are calling me a liar and making what seems to me to be an unwarranted demand, 10 years ago, I probably would’ve stayed seated too until the police gave me a good damn reason on why they were bothering me. Call it ignorant all you want, accusing me of a crime I didn’t commit isn’t going to make me trust the situation. Going to a police station doesn’t mean I’m going to be safe (Sandra Bland).

Then my questions evolve beyond the man but the events causing the situation to manifest. Why were they called on this family in the first place? Dana was accused of walking around asking questions. Is that it? They called in claiming a suspicious man is walking around (suspicious is now the code word for ‘black’). In the middle of the day, what was this suspicious man doing that was so bad???

Too often, police are being called on suspicious situations, rightfully so. Many of them, no crime was even committed. Yet somehow, the events escalated. And a woman or man left the world of the living. They left behind family and friends that loved them. They left behind many unanswered questions. White folks have their questions. Well so do we? Why is black skin still being hated? I’m mentioning ‘black skin’ because the actual person (personality, character, etc) isn’t known, and the distinction is clearly the color of the skin. What did our skin ever do? Why does it offend so many? Why does it make our actions less forgivable? Why does it make them afraid of us? When will it all stop?

Thanks for your attention. Remember you are your own competition.

Competition of 1