Race Card? Let's Use the Whole Damn Deck.

Racial tension in this country has been simmering for a long time, but with the recent high-profile cases of Michael Brown and Eric Garner hitting the news, it seems to be boiling over. It makes it worse that their killers were police officers, which helps perpetuate the notion that black people and police just don't get along. I personally have a problem with police that stems from an incident when I was only 2-years-old. Won't get into too many details about that, but let's just say that it was a case of "police gonna police".

But here's the thing: it's not always the police officer's or white people fault. Black people need to take some accountability, too. Eric Garner death was not his fault. The cop simply decided to excessive force when it didn't call for it. Michael Brown's death was or was not his fault, depending on who you believe. If he had his hands up and was killed execution-style (which I personally believe was what happened), then yeah, blame the cop. If he was reaching for the cop's gun, the cop's reacted accordingly. Tamir Rice, the 12-year-old boy from Cleveland who was shot and killed by a cop, did not need to die at all. In each of these cases, the cop was white, which also perpetuates the notion that black people and white people just don't get along. This makes sense. But I wonder:

When will some black people take responsibility for their wrongdoings?

Michael Brown would probably still be alive if he hadn't strong-armed a store clerk and stolen a box of cigars. Yes, he absolutely shouldn't have died over it. Yes, the cop was wrong in the end. But if he's not in that position, there's no news. There's no riots and looting. There's no protests.

Tamir A. Rice would probably still be alive if he wasn't brandishing the most realistic-looking BB gun ever. Yes, the police reacted in, quite possibly, the worst way I've ever seen a police officer react to anything. Yes, the cop used instant, deadly force for no reason, going for the "shoot now, ask question never" approach. But if he's not in that position (pointing a realistic-looking fake gun at people. I mean, really?), there's no news. There's no protests. I understand that he was only 12, but if at 12 you don't understand that you can't do things like that, then whatever happens to you, happens to you. I hate that the kid is dead, but let's not put 100% of the blame on the police (it's more like 94% or so).

Eric Garner would probably still be alive if the cops didn't just murder him. This one is on the police 100%. There's video evidence and everything, and it boggles my mind (more so than the Ferguson case) that this cop didn't get indicted.

I've said this before on Facebook. We as black people are already born at a disadvantage just for being black. But the more things that happen that preserves that disadvantage (Michael Brown stealing, Tamir Rice brandishing what looks like a real weapon), the more innocent lives will be afflicted (Eric Garner, Trayvon Martin). I'm willing to bet that there are some black guys, hood guys, that have been all about #BlackLivesMatter and outrage and F*** the Police and such, and have turned around and killed another black guy. It's almost like saying "White people and cops shouldn't be killing black people. Only black people should be killing black people." Stop doing things to further help racists' case. Protest the self-killings as hard as you protest these cop-involved killings (like they're kinda doing in Chicago right now).

Positive black news will always (ALWAYS be overshadowed by negative news, because lol black people. A lot of black people say Black Lives Matter. But if we keep hurting and slaying and killing our own kind, I wonder who they matter to.