On Thursday, I attended a protest in Georgetown. When I got out of my car, I walked downtown alone, yet I immediately felt like I was a part of something bigger. This protest, as well as all of the protests occurring across the nation right now, represent frustration over inequality and the criminal justice system in our country.It was unlike any of the protests I had seen portrayed in the media or on the news. There was no pepper spray, no tear gas, and no violence. Just hundreds of people gathered together (with masks on) looking to make a difference. During a moment of silence to recognize the death of George Floyd, a police officer kneeled next to me and put his fist into the air with everyone else. It was one of the most powerful experiences of my life, and I will never forget that moment.
On that same day, I also attended the vigil in Masconomo park for George Floyd and those wrongfully killed. These two events opened my eyes, and I am thankful that it has driven me to become more active and take a deeper look at the issues in this country. Before the event began, I put my poster in the park for everyone to see as they attended or drove by. If you live in Manchester, you’ve probably noticed the abundance of posters scattered all over town. The Gender Equality Club from Manchester Essex High School began hanging posters on Monday, and as the week continued, more and more people began to add their posters to new locations in town.
Unfortunately, the posters did not stay up for long. The majority of the posters were placed on public property and continued to disappear or found in trash cans. I, and many others, would remove the signs from the trash cans and put them back up or create more to replace the damaged ones.
“The power of the people is stronger than the people in power.” This is the quote I put in the poster for the Georgetown protest and later hung up in Masconomet park. I found it less than 24 later in the recycling, ripped into pieces, and covered with ice cream stains. This broke my heart, but more importantly, it fueled my fire. Seeing the posters in the dumpster doesn’t make me want to stop or feel defeated; it drives me to create change. I am privileged, and I will never understand the oppression, violence, and injustice that people of color are subject to daily. This does not mean I can’t and won’t do everything I can to put an end to racial injustice. We live in a predominantly white community, and we can not stay silent, we must teach our community to normalize and promote diversity and not tear it down. We stand as one, and we need unity.
I duct-taped the poster and put it back downtown with a note, yet the next morning it had disappeared. Some are saying that these posters are “too political” and “too controversial.” Everyone deserves to be treated equally no matter what their race is, how is that a controversial statement in this country? How is ending racism controversial? We need to use our privilege to teach people that racism is not a political issue; it’s a humanitarian one. Destroying the poster is not going to stop the Black Lives Matter movement; it reinforces what says, “The power of the people is stronger than the people in power.” The signs around town, as well as the protest and the vigils occurring all across the country, are meant to raise public awareness and put a spotlight on racial injustice. It’s time for change, and it needs to start here in Manchester. We need to do better.
To quote former President Barack Obama, “If we want to bring real change, the choice isn’t between protests and politics. We have to do both. We have to mobilize to raise awareness, and we have to organize and cast our ballots to make sure that we elect candidates who will act on reform”.
Ever since these protests in support of Black Lives Matter and against police brutality has morphed into something much larger, a protest against the continued suppression of the lives of Black Americans. Yet, somehow the important message of these protests has been bogged down by many who benefit from the oppression of Black Americans saying that they’re all looting or creating violence.
And while most of these protests are non-violent, in some cases violence and looting have occurred. A common reaction is that because such is happening, the protests are bad. But it is important to comprehend the larger picture, a different picture. A common sentiment on the left, not on the right, that I share, is that human life is much more valuable than a building. Now one might think that this is common sense, but in fact, many Republicans and some Democrats have said that buildings matter too. And while I do not condone violence or looting in the traditional sense, this is an instance in which I have more of an inclination to do so. This is why. While a building can be re-built, human life cannot be. Human life is being taken away and never to return. A building burns to the ground, its contents long gone, but it can be restocked and built up again. Though looting in the traditional sense is the illegal taking of goods, a broader definition is one of more complexity. Since enslaved persons have landed on the shores of America, they have contributed a vast amount of money and goods without a price to the building and economy of America. When people were interested in looking up this amount during the case for reparations and the assumed amount is in the trillions of dollars. So now I say that for centuries, Black Americans’ have been looted from their earned wealth and that is not an issue to many who then criticize the current looting. Not only that, when white people loot, i.e. the Boston Tea Party, but it is also a righteous act, one in which people were expressing their righteous beliefs and demonstrating the oppression of their ruler. And when people tried to protest peacefully, they too were criticized. One example of this was with Colin Kapernick. Under the recommendation of a veteran, Kapernick kneeled during the anthem during a football game. Then people said that he was disrespecting the flag, our troops, something that he was not doing.
Another criticism of the movement is that it is too narrow-minded, that white on black crime is far less common than black on black crime. And however the statistics may be, there is a response to that, one that I have heard and agreed with. When for centuries, Black Americans have been treated horrifically, told that they are not even full humans, how would you expect them to feel? And when for centuries, decades Black Americans are told by their “elected” officials and police officers the same thing, that their lives are meaningless, how else would you expect them to feel. And while they may not agree with it, after centuries of that sentiment being drilled into their minds, of course, there would be a crime. Though I am not a psychologist, if I had been told day in, day out that I was worthless, that I have no meaning in life, I would not only not feel great, I would probably be suicidal (I’m not; this is just an example of my point). And that sentiment comes from white police officers, white people. So that is why there are protests against police brutality, the degradation of Black Lives by white Americans.
And one of the major impediments to change are police unions. When most people think of unions, they think of labor unions or teacher unions. Those unions were and are vital to protect important jobs that contribute so much to the good parts of America. However, police unions are not your typical union. Instead of collective bargaining or protecting workplace safety, as most unions are designed to do, police unions mostly just focus on job protection, but not in the normal sense. Normal job protection by unions is so that people cannot be just fired because of who they are, what they believe in, who they love, etc. Police Unions protect jobs by not letting any police get fired. Even if a cop uses force that is way beyond needed and gets fired, the union will not allow that and forces whoever in charge to reinstate that cop. Because of Police Unions, cops are not held accountable for their actions. Even with the smallest of reform, like using body cams, police unions will not allow them to be implemented. And because of their huge political power on both sides of the aisle, little change has occurred.
But, one way that change can occur is through the defunding of police. First, most police budgets are WAY over necessary. For example, the NYPD's budget is 6 billion dollars. In comparison, the average cost of a new high school is 45 million dollars. So to come close to that 6 billion dollars, that average new school high school would have to be built around 133 times. And while 6 billion dollars has gone to the NYPD, the crime rate from 2018-2016 is roughly the same. And this is while important programs that could lower the crime rate, such as mental health, homelessness, after-school, etc. have either paled in comparison or been cut. Not only that, teachers across the nation, but not just NYC also have not been paid enough while the NYPD and others have been well-funded. Teachers can be the most important figure in a person’s formative years, and if they are not paid enough then students can follow a life of crime. Across America, there is a tendency to put police officers in schools, like Manchester, and not put important figures in replacement or addition. In many schools across America when a student is having mental health issues, is feeling sick, etc. all they have to turn to is a police officer, not relevant personnel. That is a dangerous position to just have police because it also contributes to students not following a path of legality. Not only that the suburbs, like Manchester, have a police force that is either a county-force or is pared way down that what is common across America, a paramilitary-style police force. So, defunding the police is not only a good thing, it is a safe thing to do. When money is put into valuable programs that help keep people away from crime, crime will decrease, no thanks to the police.