I try to steer clear of political posts as they can be contentious. However, with all the stuff happening lately and having just found a wonderful post on the subject, I felt I had to add something to the discussion.
I was on twitter earlier this week and saw a retweet by someone I follow, Amy Shira Teitel. It was originally a tweet from Neil deGrasse Tyson pointing to an essay he posted. When I read it I was amazed by the story he told. It is very enlightening. You NEED to read it. The link is below.
To it I would add a couple of my own thoughts. First the police MUST start policing themselves. Most police officers are good people, but the good officers must stop letting the bad, dirty and racist officers hide behind the badge. Turn them in. Your will be helping. Your are not a rat. When you don’t say anything it causes all of us particularly the ones being oppressed to lose confidence in the police force. When that happens only bad things will be the result.
Second, all the peaceful demonstrators need to police their own ranks. You are exercising your first amendment rights, don’t let the bad elements infiltrate your ranks. When someone throws something at the police, call them out. When someone breaks a window or loots, film them and turn them in. They are only taking away from your message. By remaining peaceful, the aggression can only come from the other side.
Finally, we all must start speaking out whenever we see some racist act. Reach out and offer help to people who need it regardless of their race or religion. If we all start condemning the bigotry it will have no place to hide.
Here is the link to Neil deGrasse Tyson’s essay. If you don’t come away moved after reading it, do some self reflection.
Luhman-ations 