Written by

Akan Bosemann

Is it truly a sign of the times?  Or is it something more? Within a several week span we now have yet another murder of an unarmed black male at the hands of the police this time down south.

It appears there is a competition ongoing between the Northern and Southern states  to see who can kill as many black males as possible and get away with it.

Both the deaths of Eric Garner and now Michael Brown Jr at the hands of the police occurred in broad daylight.  No rioting occurred after Trayvon Martin’s killer George Zimmerman was  set free to kill again.

No rioting occurred after the murder of Jordan Davis and his killer Michael Dunn found guilty of 3 counts of attempted murder due to the survival of his friends.

If he (Dunn) wasn’t charged with attempted murder he too would be  free under the same  “Stand your ground” self defense claim.

The  precedent was set.  All one has to do to justify murder is blame the victim and claim fear of imminent great bodily harm.  Everyone ignored the fact that a grown man murdered a teenager because the teenager was black and claimed he was “afraid”.

The media has helped to portray  and perpetuate this notion that black men are something less than human and worthy of being feared like big game animals in the wilds of Africa.

No rioting took place in the immediate after math of Eric Garner being strangled/choked to death in broad day light by police either.

Instead calls for calm and investigations were at the forefront.   Talk of the victim’s arrest record were used as a red-herring to what actually happened.

Eric Garner’s body was left handcuffed even as he lay dead on the sidewalk after saying at least 10 times he couldn’t breathe.  He was left handcuffed even as an “EMT” attempted (and I use that word loosely) to check for a pulse.

The latest killing of unarmed teenager Michael Brown Jr. has sparked riots down south according to news reports and to me this should be expected, because open season has been declared on black people but especially black men.

Modern day lynchings are happening in broad day light.  Our lives are mere trifles and after-thoughts to the police patrolling our neighborhoods and cities.

There is little to no faith/ trust left for many of us in the justice system because too often the system has failed us and let murderers of our people walk free to receive congratulations and pats on the back.

How can you expect peace if there is no justice?  Too many of us are dying unarmed and for no reason. It’s like an older gentleman once told me. We hope for the best but expect the worst.

Growing up as a kid when I was picked on in school I only found that I was respected and left alone when I stood up for myself and fought back against my attackers.

This was and is my code.  I held true to that code even as I was labeled as the problem child and blamed for my being bullied.

Bullies fear when the bullied stand up and say no more!  Bullies are punks and cowards and only pick fights with those who they perceive can’t or won’t fight back.

We’ll have progress and real dialogue when the same thing starts to happen to cops at an alarming rate.

We’ll have calls for calm and stop the killing of unarmed citizens when it’s not just black teens,  men and women being killed and forgotten about.   It’s the way of the world.