About a week back, I heard something on the news from one of the protestors. He said, "If we cannot get our justice in the legal system, we will get our justice on the streets." I get it. The killing of Eric Garner is non-sense and a tragedy, a tragedy for all Americans. The guy was just trying to make a buck selling loose cigarettes on the streets, when he was put in a choke-hold by a NYC cop and died. There was cell phone video evidence of the whole thing going down. It was clear as day that Eric Garner never posed a threat to the cop. Still, no indictment resulted. Another black man's life is wasted and rendered meaningless by the courts and the law enforcement which are meant to protect all and preserve peace and justice and treat every man as equal. That's the system we live in. So no wonder people are mad.
Then two days ago two NYC cops were executed in their police cruiser, by a crazed gunman seeking revenge for Michael Brown and Eric Garner. The officers never had a chance. They were just sitting in their car when the gunman walked up and shot them in the head in cold blood.
So what now? Does the public go to war with the police and the government? Do we have a revolution? Is that the answer?
I know young black men are targeted by police officers. I have no doubt this happens, and I also know for a fact people, including cops, are racist. And people in power often abuse their power and authority. But then I hate that we paint this black and white picture and incite these easy reactions.
The thing is, I feel very differently between what happened with Eric Garner and Michael Brown. Those incite different reactions with me, Michael Brown was shown to have just robbed a convenience store earlier. We have no idea what really happened which led to the shooting. Michael Brown is not a martyr. He should not be held up and celebrated, even as a symbol. How can 5,000 people mourn at Michael Brown's funeral? He was a street thug. Eric Garner on the other hand was just trying to sell cigarettes to make some cash for his family. There is no doubt that excessive force was used on Eric Garner, and someone should be held accountable. We cannot have a system that would let an abusive cop who kills an innocent man walk away without consequence. And by letting him off and having no accountability, two other cops' lives were lost, two cops who have nothing to do with what happened. By the way, these two slain cops were of minority races - one was Asian and the other Latino.
My point is, Eric Garner is not Michael Brown. The cop who killed Eric Garner is not the same as the cop who killed Michael Brown, and they are certainly not the same as the two cops who were sitting in their police cruiser when they were executed. My feeling about what has occurred over the last few months - the whole cop vs. black men and all the protests, looting, vandalism - is so mixed and convoluted. I cannot distill my true feeling and what I believe is right or wrong. That's the thing about growing older - I find myself constantly standing in this gray area, where I can see both sides of a story. Is that due to lack of conviction, or is that maturity to be able to walk the line? What if you find yourself not able to commit to a stance? What if the good guys can be bad guys too? What if right is not white, and black is not wrong?
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