Linda Fish
Jul 22, 2017 · 3 min read

Killing anyone is wrong, killing someone as Trayvon, Philando, Walter Scott, Tamir and all the others was wrong and it is profoundly unfortunate for all of the rest of us that this seems sanctioned by law and courts. I cannot fathom how the verdicts come out in what is supposed to be justice. I am old enough to remember a young boy named Emmett who was murdered because he some how disrepected a white woman. His mother showed extreme courage. I do not know how but she did. In so many ways it seems to be worse today due to the courts sanctioning these horrific killings. I do care about what happened to Justine.The reason being that no cop or sheriff need be so reckless with their gun. Should I be stopped on the side of the road by a trooper or sheriff it could easily be me if I so much as move wrong, sneeze, raise my hand, reach for my license or make any innocent move. I am white and have white hair. With almost all of the cases listed there was absolutely no threat, the person was moving away from the cop, their hands were up, they were restrained. In Sandra Bland’s case she was in a cell. So show me the threat. I cannot remember is name but there was a man that was in jail and had mental issues, he was denied food and water, the basics of life while in that jail and he died because of it. So people who have mental issues now get the death penalty also?

It may be the cops are out on the beat with too little experience and maturity or the rigors of the job. It takes some “curing” into some professions to practice effectively without over doing it. I would suggest mightly that shooting Philando 7 times was at the least, overdoing it. But that denies the fact that he should not have been shot at all. It was a broken tail light not an armed robbery. I have said it before and will keep saying it, a traffic stop should not carry an immediate death sentence. Trayvon Martin was a victim of someone who usurped the power of a cop and misused it. I know that sounds simplistic and like just a no-no but to me the guy that shot him deserves prison time if for nothing else being stupid and asserting power he did not have. He should have called the cops as a neighborhood watch member, not pulled a gun. God help me I hope I never have a neighborhood watch person like that anywhere near me.

Our society as a whole, not just people of color vs. white folks need to wake up and stand up against all of these killings. There was a powerful play I saw in 2003 at my daughter’s college, the name of the play is “And then they came for me”. While the play is about resisting what happened in Nazi Germany, the lesson of the play applies to us today. All of these killings and court dismissals may have happened(past tense) to some people in the past, the fury of the killings will come around to every person, regardless of color or culture, if it is not stopped. That means all of us have to do whatever we can to stop the killing.

    Linda Fish

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