Opinion: Tired of dealing with a broken system

Opinion%3A+Tired+of+dealing+with+a+broken+system

Lizbeth Hernandez

On May 25, 2020 George Floyd was murdered. 

George Floyd. Say his name, say it out loud. George Floyd. 

Four police officers were recorded holding George Floyd face down on the side of the road until his last breath. In the video, a police officer later identified as Derek Chauvin can be seen kneeling on Floyd’s neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds as you hear Floyd repeatedly crying out, “I can’t breathe.” 

Two other policemen held Floyd down by kneeling on his back and another on his legs while the fourth policeman stood guard to prevent intervention from bystanders. The video of Floyd’s unjust murder in broad daylight sparked protest globally against police brutality, systematic oppression, and systematic racism where you can hear people chanting his last words, “I can’t breathe!”

A history of legal and ethical mistreatment towards the black community, which is also known as systematic oppression, has driven many to protest against the government. 

After numerous protests and numerous petitions were signed, Chauvin was arrested and charged with the murder of George Floyd in the third and second degree. 

A war has broken out in the United States between the government and its people.

Using their first amendment right of freedom of speech and assembly, protesters have been out every day since the unjust murder of George Floyd. However, it must be noted that Floyd’s death was the tip of the iceberg; this is not the first, nor is it the last unjust killing of an innocent black person at the hands of police. 

The peaceful protests quickly turned violent as many protesters were sprayed with tear gas and beaten by police. Evidence of undercover police have been seen encouraging protesters to destroy and vandalize property. The violence also included the looting of a target in Minneapolis that sparked the looting amongst other cities. This began to threaten the government as Donald Trump was quick to call protesters “thugs” and threaten them with the national military if they did not stop looting and rioting. 

Personally, this outraged me as the community is still going unheard. It has become an “us versus them” situation and will continue to be violent with disdain existing towards the racism this country continues to portray. 

The protests have included a diverse group of people supporting the Black Lives Matter movement. 

The Black Lives Matter Movement was created in 2013 in response to the death and murder of Tryavon Martin. Since then, it has continuously fought for the justice of black lives lost to police brutality and other acts of violence towards a marginalized community. The movement of BLM has worked tirelessly to combat institutional racism and further the liberation and peace of the Black community. 

Many people who oppose these protests counter-argue with the phrase “All Lives Matter.” This saying was created by people who criticized the Black Lives Matter movement. All Lives Matter dismisses the countless lives lost by the system created to reinforce the white leadership and power giving the minorities inequity in public policies and institutional practices. This is also known as structural racism, a system in which this country has been built upon. 

As a Hispanic teen, I am outraged. I am one to stand with the black community. I am tired of the constant neglect of a racist nation that allows justifications of whites in power that they have the authority and privilege to write an incorrect narrative of the black lives lost. 

The black community is tired. We are tired! Tired of minorities being silenced. Tired of being unheard. Tired of the system put in place to favor the white over the colored. 

Use your voice! Do not be silenced! Do not be scared to speak your truth. 

We must continue to fight to change the system that has been created to protect the white supremacist of this “great” country.

Check your privilege if reading this made you uncomfortable. 

 

There’s a time when silence is betrayal- Martin Luther King Jr

 

Ways YOU can help: 

 

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