I’ve seen some messed up things in my time, as have most of us. I’m not here to tell anyone what to think. It seems that so many people are afraid of change or vehemently against it. It is a mature and intelligent behavior which should be encouraged. It’s a good practice to adapt your opinions or worldview when new information is presented. Absolutism is a toxic mental state, one that continually contributes to the sociopolitical divide in our country. While I fully understand that law-enforcement officers occupy a unique rung of the societal ladder, nobody’s running around screaming “screw all doctors and paramedics” because medical malpractice kills people to the tune of 250,000 in the U.S. On the flip side, the screw-all-cops crowd would do well to tone it down. The All Lives Matter camp also could just not throw out sarcastic hashtags and callous Facebook posts every time a minority community wants to remind the world that they exist. One can stand in solidarity with Floyd and his community while still supporting local law enforcement. If not for this, under what conditions, and when, is immediate termination warranted?ĭo black lives matter in Minneapolis? That question will be answered by what happens next.Ī person can hold the opinions of: “Floyd was wrongly murdered by police” and “I don’t hate all police.” The question before you now is whether the Minneapolis police union will continue its usual pattern of defending all the usual suspects, or whether the four officers will get their jobs back, after it’s concluded once again the terminations were unwarranted. Minneapolis, take note, your city is being watched across the state and across the nation. It’s encouraging to see the rapid response by Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and the decision of his police chief to terminate all four police officers involved in Monday’s outrageous death of a yet another black man, whose apparent crime was allegedly passing a counterfeit $20 bill. Only then can we enact real, positive change. We must have hope that together, a better world, a more loving and caring world, is possible. Now is the time for us as Minnesotans, Americans and human beings to come together to not only mourn the loss of George Floyd but to band together against injustice. I have hope in the heart of man, black or white, that he may create a better and more caring society. How can I have faith in police - those people who are supposed to protect us - when I don’t even feel safe signing a receipt or standing outside a storefront minding my own business? How can I have trust in police when they readily and blindly support each other as members of their community do wrong?Īs I watch the news and hear stories of the riots taking place in Minneapolis, I think to myself, “Is man destined for anything but violence?” While I may have these fears and doubts, I am reminded of a virtue that my parents instilled within me, a virtue that cannot be smothered or choked out - hope. I’ve always had faith and trust in the police, some of whom I know and consider friends, but the circumstances surrounding the death of George Floyd have greatly shaken that trust to my core.īefore this tragedy, I tried to ignore what I’d heard on the news and from those around me regarding police brutality toward black men such as myself, but I cannot do so anymore. As a young black teen who has lived relatively far from police brutality and crime, I never expected to watch what I can only describe as the killing of a defenseless man in broad daylight in a city I frequently travel to for extracurricular activities and events, but here we are. I’m a 17-year-old black male from North Branch, a rural community about 40 minutes outside of Minneapolis.
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