This is not okay.

I have been defending my statement that the police brutality issues in the United States are racist for a few weeks now, and quite honestly it's getting tiring repeating myself over and over and over, but I will not stop. This problem of injustice needs to be addressed. I can't possibly write a post just answering the question:

"If you were on a consulting committee to a police force, what would you suggest as a means to address the problem of police officers killing unarmed citizens? Is this a matter of improved training, restricted weapons, stronger consequences following incidents, or something else?"

 I can't just answer the question and be done with it because I strongly believe it is a matter of something else. It's a matter of eliminating the prejudiced mindset of police officers.

I'm sure by now everyone has heard of Mike Brown. He was wrongfully accused of thievery and shot multiple times while his hands were up. This is not okay. So what do the courts do? They let Darren Wilson, the man who murdered Mike, off with no charges. This is not okay. Although Darren and the courts won't admit it, this is a matter of race. Darren targeted Mike because he was African American, and the courts ruled in favour of Darren due to the fact that they believe Mike's life was worth less because of the pigment in his skin.


Some people still believe it isn't about race, even though the internet is flooded with proof. I'd like to point out just a few of the millions of individuals whose lives matter, yet were still shot in cold blood.

Eric Garner: a man, who was often described as a gentle giant, was harassed by officers after he broke up a fight on the street. The multiple officers put him in an illegal choke hold, and continued to hold it even when he said he couldn't breathe, inevitably taking Eric's life. None of the officers were charged with anything. Note that the link takes you to a heartbreaking video of the occurrence. This is not okay.

Miyekko Durden-Bosley: a woman who was being arrested and, obviously scared, kicked the officer. Police are trained to deal with this behavior, yet this particular police officer felt it was fit to punch her face, breaking her eye socket. She wasn't just given a black eye, her eye socket was broken. The officer received no charges. This is not okay.

Rumain Brisbon: a man whose pill bottle was mistaken for a gun. He was shot without given a chance to defend himself. There is question about the justification of his murder. This is not okay.

Tamir Rice: a twelve year old boy who was playing with a toy gun when he was shot and left on the ground for four whole minutes without any medical care, until he passed away. The officer was not charged. This is not okay.

Cameron Tillman : a fourteen year old boy who was with his friends and brother in an "abandoned" house, with permission from the owner. When he heard a knock on the door, he answered and was shot multiple times in front of said friends and brother, resulting in his death. The shooting was deemed a "freak accident". This is not okay.
 
Alfred Wright : a man who was found dead with body parts missing and multiple puncture wounds. Despite his injuries, police say he died from a drug overdose, which his family denied, and wild animals are the cause of the body's conditions, when they clearly were not. This is not okay. 
 
Aiyana Jones: a seven year old girl who was sleeping on the couch in the front room of her house when a police officer entered, without consent, and shot her. This is not okay.

Akai Gurley: a young man who was leaving an apartment building with his girlfriend via the staircase. Two police officers, who were supposed to be patrolling and reducing crime rates in stairwells, shot him without warning. Akai stumbled down three floor levels before he collapsed and passed away. The police and their supporters are calling it an "accident". This is not okay.

John Crawford:  a young man who had been shot without warning while holding a rifle in Walmart. This is not okay. 
 
Tanisha Anderson:  a 37 year old woman with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, who was taken by police officers to their vehicle, where she felt uncomfortable and tried to escape, most likely due to her mental illnesses. She was shoved to the pavement and handcuffed when she closed her eyes for the last time, right in front of her mother and brother. This case needed to be "examined". This is not okay.

Dymond Milburn: a twelve year old girl who went outside one night to flip a switch on the breaker box to restore electricity to her family's house. Three police officers came from their vehicle and started attacking the girl, accusing her of prostitution, and ordering her to follow them. Dymond called out for her father, who heard her and came rushing out of the house in time to see them beating her head and neck. The link takes you to an article that goes into more detail about her injuries, which also states that she was left with PTSD, reoccurring nightmares, and loss of concentration. In the end, the twelve year old girl was charged with resisting arrest and assaulting a peace officer. This is not okay.

If you click on any of these names, you will be taken to an article with more detail about the injustice they received. I cannot even tell you how many other heartbreaking stories I have read about that I unfortunately can't put in this post due to the length of all them.

"But white people are killed by police too!"

Yes, it does happen. Our class was given this example of police brutality towards a Caucasian youth:

Sammy Yatim: a young, Caucasian man who sexually and violently threatened passengers of a streetcar. He pulled out his genitals and knife, and attempted to slash a woman's throat. When police arrived, Sammy was given multiple warnings to put the knife down and not take a step towards the crowd, who miraculously managed to escape the streetcar. After Sammy refused again and again to put the knife down, he started to walk in the direction of the crowd, which triggered the officer to shoot him multiple times.

Am I saying the officer should have killed Sammy? No. If anything, maybe shot in the thigh to prevent him from attacking the crowd. I do not think Sammy should have been murdered.

However, there is a major difference between Sammy's story, and the stories of all those mentioned before him. Firstly, Sammy almost killed a woman, was given multiple warnings, and was shot when he made a move towards the crowd. The other people, on the other hand, were shot when they were playing in the park, hanging out with friends, and even sleeping. Sammy was given a chance because of his skin colour.

Tumblr user expresses their opinion

Secondly, you need to look at the verdicts. None of the officers were charged in any cases where the murdered person was African American. In fact, in Dymond's case, she was charged. Sammy's murderer was instead charged with second-degree murder, which is an automatic sentence with no chance of parole for 10-25 years. Sammy's life was valued by the courts because of his skin colour.

Still need more proof? White people that have shot and murdered children at school have been seen as the victims of society. Now imagine if the shooter had been black. Do you honestly think they would be treated the same way?

 As a last example of why this is a racial matter: A black man is killed every 28 hours.

Eric Garner's last words, recorded by video

So to answer the initial question, I don't really think there is anything we can do. I mean, body cameras seemed like a good idea until the courts dismissed the Eric Garner incident, which was videotaped. As Twitter user scottacquavella tweeted, "I guess a video of a cop choking a man to death isn't enough evidence to prove a cop choked a man to death." Quite honestly, I think the only way the amount of unnecessary shootings by police officers will go down is if racist police officers and court members get a grip on reality and realize that African American people have lives, too. Darren Wilson referred to Mike Brown as an "it" and a "demon" in an attempt to justify what he did. We need laws that defend the statement: "Murder is illegal." The consequences for taking a life must be intensified.

I apologize for the long post, as I know we were not supposed to rant, but I cannot just state my opinion and be done with it. It is important that everyone knows where my opinion comes from. Things need to change. I will never let the lives of these people or the unjust actions of the police be forgotten. As Dr. Seuss has said:

"Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not."

The Future: an Impossible Balance between Marks and a Life

I spent a few days early last week trying to find a quote I could relate to about the future. To no surprise, most of them were ones that told you that you could do anything if you believed in your dreams, or at least something along those lines. Then I found this quote:

"When did the future switch from being a promise to being a threat?" ~Chuck Palahniuk, Invisible Monsters

I really did want to have a positive, optimistic post, like how most people would expect. However, this quote hit me like a pile of bricks. I contemplated different quotes, but I've finally decided to stick with this one. Here's why.

I completed this post on Thursday, however, I didn't post it. I wrote out my thoughts on the above quote, then decided, due to various reasons, to start over. I found a much more cheerful quote and wrote out everything I had to say about that one. Then, as you've probably noticed, I didn't post it. My mind kept returning to this quote by Chuck. I felt that this one has so much more truth in it than the other sugar coated quote.

So, I decided to change my post yet again.

I did have my notes from the first time I explained my logic behind relating to this quote, but I now think I can do better than that.

Most of the time, young children look at the world in awe. They can't wait to grow up to be a police officer, a doctor, a teacher, or any other job they can think of. That's because the future was promising to them. For me as a child, I saw nothing blocking my path to success.

Now, I hate talking about the future. Adults are constantly asking me what I "want to be" and truth be told, I haven't settled on anything yet. Half of them tell me that that's fine, half of them tell me I should get on that, but none of them really know what it's like to be me, just as I don't know what it's like to be them. To put my point into perspective, I'll tell you how my weekend went.

First I came home Friday from yet another exhausting  day at school. I'll be honest, I watched an episode or two of my show, but after that I went straight to a volunteering position I offer to do every week. When I got home, I was physically drained. I would have gone to bed if my sister wasn't on her way back from University, so I stayed up and my three sisters and I watched a movie.

The next day, Saturday, the day this post should have been done by, I was running around my house trying to clean because my youngest sister was getting confirmed in the Church. After the service and hosting people over at our house, the commotion ended after dinner. At that point, my mom and I had to write a play. Every year at our Church (a different one than the previously mentioned one), the Sunday School performs a play, showcasing the story of Christmas. With such a diverse group of children, we, the teachers, had to fit the needs of the older ones and the younger ones, giving them more or less line respectively. After searching for plays for who knows how long, my mom and I were convinced none would work, and that it would be easier to just write our own, so that's what we did. We finished around midnight, following which I collapsed into my bed.

Today, I got up and went straight to Church to start rehearsing the play with the children. Immediately after the service and Sunday School were done, my sisters, mom, dad, and I went our for lunch with my grandparents, who we haven't seen very often lately as they've been busy going to and from Kitchener so my grandpa could undergo radiation treatments, which he just finished. Of course, the entire day I had my homework and studying in the back of my mind, but I couldn't quite think about that yet. First, I went with my mom and older sister to a funeral home's Christmas time memorial service, for all those who have lost someone, to help and support my grandparents. At this point, I wasn't feeling too good physically. My head was throbbing and my stomach was turning. I tried to work when I got home, but truly felt incapable of doing so, and fell asleep. I've been dragging myself around the house ever since, trying to be productive, but somehow just wound up laying down and staring at a wall instead, until I eventually fell asleep again.

I still don't feel well. So then why am I seriously considering going to school tomorrow? Well, I was sick with just a common cold last week and missed one morning, something I thought wouldn't set me too far back. Unfortunately, however, it did.

I'm trying to make my future count. I volunteer in my community regularly, I spend time with my sisters, I witnessed my sister affirming her faith, I wrote a play for my Church's Sunday School, I spent time with my grandparents, I offered them support... so why do I feel so behind in life? I didn't get this blog post done on time, I didn't study as much as I needed to for my quiz or my test, and I didn't start my English essay.

When I was younger, seeing all the things I've done this weekend would have looked promising. In fact, it should look promising to me today. Instead, it worries me. As students in high school, pretty much the entire rest of our lives rely on our academic standings. Sure, volunteer work and health are important for Universities and Colleges, but what's a good life without good marks? Apparently, not much.

I feel like this post has somewhat turned into a rant about my life. Truth is, I could write more. There are so many other challenges I go through on a day to day basis, but I tried to stay away from all that and keep this post short. As you can see, that didn't go over too well. Sorry again for the late posting.

Rememberance and Respect go Hand in Hand

This past Monday, my school had the wonderful opportunity to listen to Romeo Dallaire, a highly respected and retired General. He spoke a lot about his experiences in Rwanda and his promotion of peace. As students, we were told by him that we have the power to shape the ideal, peaceful world we desire. After listening to him and reading the article "Get ready for Generation Z" in class, my expectations and optimism for our future only grew.
The following day, we as a school were given yet another chance to pay our respects to those who deserved it: our veterans. We attentively absorbed the messages given to us by Dr. Bill Winegard, who told us about our bleak reality as it is. In Canada, regular people become heroes by defending their country in wars. Typically, in movies or novels, heroes are rewarded in the finest way possible: sometimes showered with jewels, riding home on elephants, or even having a statue created in honor of them. Unfortunately, the Canadian government apparently doesn't see this fit for our everyday heroes. Instead, the veterans come home with physical and mental illnesses imposed upon them by the war. So what does the government do? Nothing; and in some cases, worse than nothing. After these people spent years and years risking their lives for the citizens of their country - including those higher up in power - they come home and are set aside as a mere inconvenience for the government.
I guess we'll just have to wait for our generation to be old enough for politics.

A Night of Spooks

Personally, I believe Halloween is one of the best times of the year. As a child, I absolutely loved when I got to dress up, whether it be a princess, a clown, a pirate, or a fairy. Not only were my sisters and I allowed to be artistic and expressive with our costumes, but of course the free candy aspect was appealing to us. Although there is an actual historical meaning to the reason behind the obtained goodies, the eerie masks, and the carved pumpkins, I feel like Halloween has grown into much more than what it originally was, and the traditions it originally held. It's an enjoyable, amusing, creative night for both trick-or-treaters and thrill-seekers, allowing people of all ages to express themselves and enjoy this spooky night. As long as everyone respects the decisions, values, and properties of one another, what's not to love?

Expression Through Words

Personally, it's hard to start to express what poetry means to me.  I really like this quote by Jim Morrison:

"If my poetry aims to achieve anything, 

it's to deliver people from the limited ways in which they see and feel."

Of course, my poetry isn't for the public, and it probably never will be, but I like the part of the quote that says it delivers us from the limited ways we see and feel. I can't stress how important it is for a developing, growing, healthy mind to see past limitations put on us in our everyday lives. For a lot of people, poetry can be a means of expressing your thoughts, opinions, and beliefs. 
Recently, I've experimented with my own poetry. I found out that I actually enjoyed writing it, though I found it extremely difficult to pick a topic. Not only did I have to have a few ideas per topic, but I also had to feel comfortable writing them down and allowing other people to read them. I've learned that some of the best pieces of writing are the ones we don't want to share. I've also learned that it's okay not to share them. It's okay to have a personal piece of writing that holds meaning to only you, and it's okay to never let anyone else's eyes fall on it. Poetry is about self expression, not pleasing other people. Sure, it's nice to have people relate to, understand, and appreciate your ideas and skills, but you really don't have to have anyone's approval but your own.

The Truth About Assignments

In all honesty, I don't believe school assignments are made to fit my personal needs. As far as time goes, I'm practically drowning in school work and it seems that all the teachers do is give me more work. Don't get me wrong, I understand it's not their fault, they're just doing their job, following the curriculum, and most teachers even try to help us students along as well. Still, take this blog post for example. I need it posted in thirteen minutes as of right now. It occurred to me just five minutes ago that I needed to get it done, but at that time I was working on my science project, and before that I had to run to the store to get project supplies, and before that I had to study Biology and before that I had to work on my English project. All the work I've done so far tonight is barely a dent in the total work that has to be done, and now I only have ten minutes left until this post is due.
The school board expectations put far too much stress on students, so I don't feel like these projects can meet my personal needs. As for the content in them, sure, some I can gear towards my interests, but most of them I can't. My science project topic was chosen for me, as were my group members (not that I don't like my group, I do, it just proves my point). The English project was made in a way that I got to incorporate some ideas that interest me, but the only assignments I feel are actually tailored to suit me are the ones in Writer's Craft, and this was the one course that I chose to take willingly, that wasn't needed for later in life. 
I have two minutes left. I could post this now, but I feel like I can say more. Sorry it's posted late.
I want to finish with what I meant by "later in life." I'm still unsure of what I want to do as far as choosing a career goes. I do know, however, that I need lots of A's to show up on my report card to get into any program that even remotely interests me. Oh, look at that, it's 8:00. Oh well. Aside from high school marks, I also need the knowledge required for me to excel in University, which I feel some 'assignments' fail to give me and my fellow classmates. If you want A's, you basically have to follow the assignments the way the teacher wants it done, to put it simply. I feel like assignments are a constant struggle of, "I like that idea, I'm going to put it in," and, "I like that idea, but I don't think my teacher will."
Overall, sure you can gear assignments towards yourself (only on select projects I might add), but when it comes down to it, my needs are A's, and if I want to achieve any program after high school that I'm even slightly interested in, it apparently means sucking it up and doing what's expected, no matter how creative or spontaneous or daring I want to be.
It's ten minutes past the due time, but I feel like these extra ten minutes were crucial in stating the rest of my views on this particular topic. I'm not even sure if I answered the question right, but I know I expressed myself right. Now, back to my science project for the rest of the night.

In Others' Words

Along with being an American author, Seth Godin is an entrepreneur, marketer, and public speaker. After growing up in New York, he obtained a University degree in computer science and philosophy from Tifts University. In 1986, he founded Seth Godin Productions, which later lead to Yoyodyne in 1995. Eleven years later, Seth launched Squidoo, which donated half the profits to the users and five percent to charity. He's created many other projects over the years, including ChangeThis, Startup School, and more. As for Seth's published works, he's written seventeen books, ranging from business to children books.

"If it scares you, it might be a good thing to try."

~Seth Godin

I personally love this quote because it can be applied for so many things, especially writing. Writing isn't about safety. It's about being vulnerable and putting yourself and your ideas out there to be criticized and ripped apart. It's a means of expressing yourself and your opinions; there's no point in writing if you're just going to write about what's already out there. Thinking outside the box and sharing those ideas with everyone from close friends to complete strangers gives them all an opportunity to judge you, which is a 'scary' thought for most people. In this quote, Seth says that doing these scary things is a good thing. The only way to grow as a writer, or even as a person, is to face your fears, which I think is a great view to have on life.