I was in the middle of writing a basketball post, when I read the news about Stephon Clark. An unarmed black man shot to death by the hands of the police in his own backyard. I've said this before and I've had people on social media comment back telling me that I need to see things as "All Lives Matter" but I can't. I simply can't see it that way and I'm sorry if that is insensitive. But until Black Lives Matter, then All Lives *Don't* Matter. It was late Wednesday night when the Sacramento Police had got a call about a man breaking into cars in a local neighborhood. It was not described to the police what the man looked like, so naturally when they saw Clark outside late at night, they assumed a black man was up to something. The police saw him and chased him in his backyard, and when they came around the corner they told him to put his hands up. When he attempted to put his hands up with his cell phone in hand, a police officer shouts "GUN GUN GUN" and they rang 20 shots into his body. What have we come to man?! We had a white male kill 17 children in Florida and they put him on a stretcher and into an ambulance and then into solitary confinement because of safety for his life. We have a white male bomber in Texas killing people, and the White House is telling us it is not an act of terrorism?! Do they even know what the fuck terrorism means?? It's not about skin color, it's about terrorizing people which is exactly what that man is doing. Clark happened to be at the right place at the wrong time and it cost him his life. Who is going to explain this to his children? Because of the color of their skin, they will forever be targeted as suspects in any situation, even in their own backyard. His grandparents witnessed his death, and we know for a fact that these officers will not have to face any consequences besides paid leave, or whatever else. They will face no prison time because there is no justice when it comes to the police murdering black people. I am not speaking with political correctness and honestly I don't care. Anyone who has anything to say has probably never faced the same uphill battle that black people have had to fight for generations. And yes, there is racism from the police and government with other minorities as well, but my Hispanic and Asian people are not losing their lives at the hands of the police every month. Here's a little story for you. I went out with some white guys about a year ago, I was in downtown Modesto on a Saturday night. This was just a few days after a black man had been beaten by a police officer for jaywalking. So naturally, they jaywalk because they are not afraid of police brutality. With my eyes wide open and mouth ajar, I looked at them all and said "You guys are going to jaywalk?! What if a police officer sees us??" One of them really turned to me and said "If a police officer has something to say to me about jaywalking, I'll turn to him and say 'Fuck you cop!'" I had no words. I asked them if they had no fear for the police and they asked me Why would they? I explained to them that looking a certain way can change everything, they were as understanding as they could be, but I'm sure it had no affect on them. It hurts me everytime I see news like this. When will it stop? How many times does THIS have to happen before America realizes that we have a race issue? It is embedded into our brains from a young age to judge people based off of skin color, whether we like to believe that or not. Stephon Clark was a young man with a future, and he got it taken away because of the color of his skin. Whether you choose to accept this as a fact or not is up to you. But which side do you want to be on when you are asked what you did to bring awareness to this issue when the revolution comes? As I sit here with a heart full of emotions, I want you to watch the body cam video of the last seconds of this young man's life
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Anthony VallesterosJust a man trying to make the most of his time on this planet. Categories
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