How Do WE Get THERE?

“Get away…for what? Every time you see me, you want to mess with me. I’m tired of it. It stops today. Why would you…? Everyone standing here will tell you I didn’t do nothing. I did not sell nothing.  Because every time you see me, you want to harass me. You want to stop me, tell me I’m selling cigarettes. I’m minding my business, officer, I’m minding my business. Please just leave me alone. I told you the last time, please just leave me alone. Please, please, don’t touch me. Do not touch me………..I can’t breathe. I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe. I can’t breathe. I can’t breathe. I can’t breathe. I can’t breathe. I can’t breathe...”

FADE TO BLACK


Obvious dramatization:

“Hey Liu, you done with your shopping?”  “Almost, just gotta get the old ball and chain one or two more things?”  “Ball and chain?!?! You’ve been married for 3 months.” “Haha, yeah I know, I know, I'm joking, but I’m almost done. You?”  “Well I still gotta get Jaden the tablet he asked for.  This OT will definitely help the wallet. Where you going for the holid-” POP, POP “what the-” POP POP POP...

FADE TO BLACK

Different circumstances, same result.  How did we get here? The ties that bind us are far stronger than those that set us apart, we all generally want the same things.  We want the best for our families, the best for our friends.  We want to get home safe at the end of the day.  So by extension, why would we not want that for everybody?  We need to change.  Not them, not those people, not that group …WE need to change.  And as long as the voices heard are only of those with vitriolic words,  placing blame upon this group of people or that group of people, we will continue to drift apart and destroy ourselves. We need to begin defining ourselves as the individuals that we are, as opposed to the groups we happened to be a part of.  That will lead us to the ultimate conclusion that we're…not…that…different. Progress will not come by bickering, fighting and watching more and more perish; progress will come from opening our hearts and finding compassion for others. In trying times our human condition manifests itself into outward blame, but instead we must look within ourselves and become better individuals.  So next time you catch yourself generalizing the boys in blue, or the boys on the corner, think…Am I part of the problem?

And if WE don't?  If we don't reflect, improve, and move forward in unison...well, Martin Luther King Jr. said it best: “We must live together as brothers or perish together as fools.”


R.I.P. Wenjian Liu
R.I.P. Eric Garner
R.I.P. Rafael Ramos
R.I.P. To the countless people whose lives were taken far too early, as victims of hate, ignorance, and negligence.