Reaction Story: Senseless Killing
I do not have a son but I love and have loved someone elses son for over seven years…
I came home from work yesterday feeling emotional after discovering that another man outside of Mr. Alton Sterling has been killed at the hands of the police. I could not help but think about the someone elses son that I loved and cared for…that could have easily been his death at the hands of the police. As soon as I walked into the house I kissed my tall, dark, and handsome man tenderly and asked him genuinely why our lives did not matter? He glared back at me with no words. I took his face to mine and told him that he mattered to me, his life, and his entire being mattered to me. We hugged for an extended moment, in silence. You know, I read somewhere that history is cyclical; it repeats itself.
Blacks in this country have been through a great ordeal trying to fight for our liberty and justice. We have been beaten, raped, lynched, castrated, demonized, ostracized, and killed for it. We have watched through the times: through slavery, through the 3/5 compromise, through Jim Crow, and through the Civil Rights Movement the history of black oppression being repeated.
Well yesterday I read that yet another son to this world has been removed from it senselessly at the hands of a police officer, who mind you, took an oath to protect and serve. I am just sick to my stomache. How can we have come so far in technological advances and such yet remain so behind on what it means to be human. Do we not bleed the same blood? I am not one just to write just to write; I like to come up with a list of solutions. What can we do today to prevent our sons and daughters from being brutally killed at the hands of police?
Sh** I am usually good with lists and prescribing solutions but this right here has me all messed up. I mean what can I possibly say that can help keep you protected.
See Sandra Bland knew how to advocate for her rights, especially, after she stood up for her rights against abusive treatment during a routine traffic stop and she was well you know the rest…knowing your rights in America and trying to live by the law is not enough.
What is the silver lining in all of this {long pause} The silver lining is that I will not let Philando Castile, Alton Sterling, Sandra Bland, Freddie Gray, Eric Garner, Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, and so many others who will remain nameless deaths be in vain. I am going to live more purposefully and love more deeply. I am going to share the gifts that I have been given with the world and watch it multiply. I am going to love up on my black family and watch us all grow and make changes in the world one day and one person at a time.
Until next time. Be kind and stay true.
#thislifeIliveintruth
