Racial Divide

Lately there has been a lot of discussion surrounding the killings of African-Americans in our country. From the case of Michael Brown to Eric Garner, public opinion is rapidly turning against the government because of the lack of action to indict cops in their violence against these black citizens. This sort of action by the forces of the government has been repeated throughout the history of the United States, and people are getting tired of situations like this.

While it is safe to say that the cops were in the wrong and people have the right to be frustrated, it is important not to overlook the actions of people reacting that may not be of the best choice. In general, anyone who is rioting is not really helping anybody. The outbreak of vandalism and damage of property does not right the wrong of any case of racial injustice, yet people riot. Of course there are many peaceful protests, but rioting is an entirely different matter. There is footage of Michael Brown’s mother, for example, pleading with the public not to riot, because she knows that it is not the right way to go if the aim is to create long-term peace and safety nationwide. In American History Seminar we are watching a film regarding race relations, and one moving scene involves a black radio announcer asking the black population to not riot after the announcement that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. He claimed that setting the city to fire is not “what he would have wanted.” Although peaceful protests generally address the problem in the best way possible, there has been one recent case that is troubling. A protest in NYC started a chant that went, “What do we want? Dead cops!” It is expected that there will be a backlash in any given race related atrocity, but rioting or using unnecessarily offensive chants really does not move America in the right direction. Furthermore, while I understand the legitimacy behind expressing oneself on a public platform, I still stand firm in my belief that rioting does not ultimately help, but rather hurts, so it should not be the course of action people choose to take.

Taking all aspects of this national situation into account, it seems as if all of this action, from both sides, is really going nowhere. This sort of situation is a repeat of history, which in itself shows that there has not been much progress, regardless of how people would like to think of America. The entire situation with Rodney King was outrageous, and now the country is facing the same sorts of happenings. And it would be nice to think that we don’t live in a society where people actually act in violence against people just because of their race, but surprisingly that wish is too idealistic. As our nation develops, the race divide is not really mended as it should be.  Now that people are protesting or rioting, I don’t know if that will really change anything. Yes, the public is becoming more aware, what one would think to be a good thing, but what does that really amount to? Not only is the violence a repeat of events, but the protesting is as well – protesting with regards to these specific cases did not really change the course of this nation’s history before, so how will it now? It would even be nice to think that all the protest would be “chipping away” at the problem, but in reality, I don’t even think that is the case. The number of incidents certainly is not decreasing, and people are just getting aggravated, whether they support the victim or the cop. It seems as if the only thing that is happening is that the breach over race issues is getting wider.