These two articles I just read make me want to curl up in a ball and pretend like I don't live in America anymore. These are scary, scary times my friends.
Abortion is essentially illegal in South Dakota as of today.
And Miami cops are just killing Black men left and right - and calling it a "hunt".
"We hunt," says one police officer. "Our guys were proactively going out there, like predators," said another. These comments were made in the midst of a chain of fatal shootings that left 7 African-American men dead at the hands of Miami law enforcement. All of the officers responsible for these deaths are Latino. So what, if any, influence did race have on this string of tragedies?
If you ask the police department, they'd say none. While they view the deaths of these men as unfortunate, they don't agree that there is any racial motivation. The public and the families of the victims, however, strongly disagree. There have been a number of protests and pending court cases in response to the fatal shootings, but the police chief continues to defend his department.
This awful situation may serve to shed light on racial tensions and law enforcement. There, sadly, is no short supply of stories to choose from: Oscar Grant in California, Danroy Henry in New York, and Michael Pleasance in Chicago, for example. It is easy to talk about the issue of police brutality in communities of color when another person dies, but a more sustainable conversation must take place if there is any hope of changing the cycle of violence.
Forward widely, spread some outrage.
Speak out if you are so inclined (please be so inclined).
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