Where are we safe?

The police officer, Amber Guyer that entered Botham Jean house and killed him has been found guilty. Justice was done here. Even though the system is messed up, justice was done here.

It begs the question though “where are we safe?”

That could have easily been anybody. Any one of us could have been a victim to that.

We have told our young black boys that wearing a black hoodie at night should be avoided. Running on the streets at night should be avoided because you never know when a cop will falsely accuse you.

We have told our black men to show their hands at all times when they are pulled over, even when they are asked for their license they must shout and say they are reaching into their pocket for the license. There should be no sudden movements and even with all of that we still hear of our black men gunned down constantly on the streets.

We have concluded that living up to a certain age as a black person is a miracle.

But usually when we leave the outside world, as soon as we open the door to our homes we let out a big sigh, because for that day we made it.

We made it through the bull shit at work, we made it through the racist boss or co-worker, and we weren’t shot that day we made it.

We are able to kick back and get a bowl of ice cream and watch TV while planning for the next day.

For this man though, he still wasn’t safe. He had made it through the bullshit of the day. Kicked back on a bowl of ice cream and catching up on TV and a police officer entered his house and shot and killed him.

She was found guilty amidst her plea and white woman tears but that doesn’t bring him back to life. Nothing can.

That doesn’t stop the next person from being killed over some useless excuse.

That doesn’t stop us from being scared everywhere including our own homes,

The world is falling apart by our own hands and we need to change it.

We need to fix the system. A system that allows a police officer that is not on duty to pull out her weapon and shoot and kill a man in his home is a system that is flawed.

Let’s for a minute consider that it was her apartment and he was a burglar. The punishment for burglary cannot be death. She claimed self-defense but there was no weapon and he wasn’t even close to her. If she felt scared how about aim for his foot or arm, destabilize him but not kill him.

Nowhere is safe. I am tired of living in fear. I am tired of these white people thinking that my skin color is a reason to fear me, disrespect me or dehumanize me. I am tired of the bullshit.