Where does it End?
With all the current attention driven to the media from the current shootings in America, I find it important to discuss when does this cylce of hatred end? But with a when, comes a how; this is the most difficult question by far. How can we stop this cycle of hatred? How do we stop hiding behind the shadows and take a stand? These may be two of the most thought of questions with all of the tragic shootings in America today.
There were three major shootings this week that made national news. It started with the shooting/killing of Alton B. Sterling, a man just selling CD’s in Baton Rouge, LA; next the shooting/killing of Philander Castile, a man pulled over for a traffic stop in Falcon Heights, MN; then the shooting/killing/wounding of the Dallas Police Officers in Dallas, TX. This week has brought attention to the hatred implemented in America. Hatred built off of a broken system. Now I was not there and can not give a full insight to what happened, all I know is that this has went on for FAR TOO LONG. This week has been a public outcry, an outcry that demonstrates the need for change within the United States. How is it possible to end this cycle of hate? And what can we do as members of this society? Martin Luther King Jr. once said: “In order to answer the question.. Where do we go from here? We must first honestly recognize where we are now.” I could not find this anymore true. We cannot fix a problem if people choose to ignore the problem. We must also realize that by saying you’re for something, does not mean you are against another. On this note, I have attached a link below to a video of Trevor Noah discussing this problem, I find it well worth-wild to view.
Trevor Noah video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tP0awqth0XI
On the matter of this subject, a reading I find particulary relelvant is bell hooks’ “Love as the Practice of Freedom”. In this writing, hooks talks about the ethics of love, not only in belief but in practice. We allow our alligence to a “systems of domination” and that by supporting one, we are against all else. We connect with what we relate to and if we cannot relate to it, we tuck it away in a box and hide that box so we don’t have to deal with it. I’m tired of this being the mindset of many Americans. Yes, I am white; I do not know what it is like to be targeted because of the color of my skin. However, as these shootings and killings have occurred quite too many times, I realize this is not a problem about relating to these events based off of the complexion of my skin, but it’s a problem to relate to because we are all human and we all matter.
“When incidents like this occur, there’s a big chunk of our fellow citizenry that feels that because of the color of their skin, they are not being treated the same, and that hurts. That should trouble all of us. This is not a black issue. This is not a Hispanic issue. It’s an American issue.”
-President Barrack Obama
Hooks mentions the civil rights movement and the recognition of love expressed by Martin Luther King Jr. Although we all identify ourselves one way or another white or black and female or male, we begin we are much more than what we identify ourselves as. Hooks states: “A culture of domination is anti-love…To chose love is to go against the prevailing values of the culture.” I find myself agreeing to what hooks says. If we continue argue with each other about who is better, it will be a never ending cycle of hate. We cannot keep fighting each other to show the other who is better. Cops cannot continue to target all Black people just as people cannot continue to target all cops, this is what leads to a never ending cycle of hate. I personally believe that love can overcome anything, but first we must believe/love ourselves, and each other, we must say “Not only do I matter, we ALL matter”. Finally we must realize that an “Injustice everywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” -Martin Luther King Jr.
