It has happened again. A couple of days ago, police shot an unarmed Black man in the back (at least 7 times).If this was an isolated incident, we could talk about "bad apples" among our police and expect city, state, and federal officials to remedy the situation. But it is not an isolated incident -- there have been multiple incidents of unnecessary and unjustified police violence across this nation. And politicians (especially Republicans) at every level have shown us they don't want to deal with the issue.
It brings to mind the quote from activist and American hero Fannie Lou Hamer. She said, "I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired". I understand. We should all be sick and tired of being sick and tired, because we have seen the racism and injustice in this country for far too long.
On Monday night at the Republican convention, former GOP governor Nikki Haley said the United States is not a racist nation. She was lying, and trying to cover up the GOP's refusal to address the issues of racism and injustice in this country.
Let me be clear -- there is no justification for shooting an unarmed person (in the back or anywhere else). And those who try to justify it are wrong. This is happening far too often to Blacks in the United States, and whether we want to admit it or not, it is largely due to the racism that pervades this country. It exists in our police and it exists in our justice system -- and sadly it exists in all of our social institutions (educational, business, government, etc.).
It is time for all Americans to be sick and tired of the racism and injustice in this country. It is time for action. We cannot be silent on this issue, because silence is helping only the racists. We must vote any politician out of office who refuses to deal with these issues. But we must do more. We must make sure there is no racism in our own actions -- and we must object to family and friends who speak or act in a racist way. And we must realize that all of our fellow citizens, regardless of the color of their skin, are our brothers and sisters. Nothing will change until we make it change.
If you aren't already sick and tired, then it's time you got sick and tired!
