In today’s world, lack of education, ignorance and free internet access have allowed my counterpart Kyle Waltman to write an article called, ‘Black Lives Matter Should Shift Focus.’ Can a person who does not experience racism examine a racist justice system? Waltman made a powerful argument on certain points throughout his article but some of his statements were lacking. His lack of education on the black community shows as he tries to tackle any article dealing with racial relations or police brutality. Waltman attempts to paint a picture for his readers that encouraged ignorance and misinformation. True readers should perform background research on articles they have a tough time believing. As the saying goes, “ignorance is bliss.”
Waltman states that, “According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, black people comprise only 13 percent of the entire American population, yet they commit roughly 50 percent of all American homicides with most of their victims being another black person. Yet, members of the black community do not seem nearly as concerned about their members being murdered in exponentially higher numbers by other members within their community.”
The black community is only 13 percent of the American population and the community roughly commits 50 percent of homicides but to say the black community does not care about these alarming numbers is disrespectful. On Nov 23, the Huffington Post published an article called, ‘Fraternity Marches Through Ongoing Gang War To End Violence In Chicago.’ If Waltman’s statement were true, why would the Huffington Post publish this article? If the black community did not care about the warzone that is the Southside Chicago, why would these 300 black men be protesting?
The protest was to show the community that people do care about their war torn streets. It took place on a snowy afternoon. Chicago has been nicknamed “Chi-raq” due to the number of killings that happen. By the end of 2012 Chicago had reached a death rate of 500 homicides. To combat numbers like this protesters work overtime to send a strong and positive message that they do care.
Protester Lamar Brown was quoted by the Huffington Post as saying, “Black business owners, residents, were coming outside of their homes, opening their windows, customers were stepping outside of their shops.” Brown, a law student who participated in the march, told The Huffington Post. “They were applauding us, yelling ‘Good job,’ clapping. Even people in cars were stopping their cars, giving us thumbs up. I think the effort itself was really embraced by the community.”
This one statement provides clarity to the ignorance that Waltman’s article attempts to portray. This also eliminates Waltman’s quoted argument, “Black lives seem to only matter to protestors when a white person is pulling the trigger.”
“The BLM movement has the potential to bring real change to the black community as well as the justice department, but as it stands today, the only change that is occurring regards how quickly the black community is criminalizing cops by declaring them solely responsible for every lethal encounter that occurs involving a black civilian,” Waltman writes.
The BLM movement has the power to bring real change to an unjust court system. The movement has brought to the forefront what some Americans fail to realize and that is racism does still exist. The protests that have happened, violent or peaceful, have made Americans realize there is still a problem with our court systems, racism and police brutality. The BLM movement has only been deemed a nuisance by those who feel it will bring no change.
The U.S. court system would rather punish the good cops and protect the bad ones. Why are we so quick to protect the policemen who are killing other Americans? Black or white, police brutality continues to be ignored by the masses. The latest injustice was when NYPD officer Peter Liang was offered a light sentence for killing an innocent man in a dark hallway. NPR writes that Liang has been recommended by the Brooklyn Prosecutor to serve six months of house arrest and complete 500 hours of community. This is a light sentence for a man who was found guilty of a negligent murder.
“It is vital to understand that the biggest threat of violence and homicide facing the black community is the black community…,” Waltman said.
I think his statement shows his ignorance on subjects and that he is misinformed. How can we move into the future of race relations if we make such vague statements?
