Crisis in Ferguson

                The world has watched on for months as the people in Ferguson, MO have dealt with the tragedy of losing fellow community member Michael Brown who was shot to death by Ferguson police officer Darrin Wilson. People in New York dealt with a similar situation as they mourn the loss of Eric Garner who died after being put in a chokehold by New York City police officer. So how many times do tragedies like this have to take place for people to realize that these things don’t have to happen and that they can make a difference?

                My parents raised me saying that violence was never the answer to any situation. Now granted, most of the time my situations that I experienced were pretty small compared to what is happening right now in Ferguson, but why can’t that slogan relate to what is going on there now? Why do we have to resort to burning down buildings or fighting with others? No matter how tragic the situation, if people could use the experience and join together to create awareness and fight back in a non violent way, then maybe there could be a way to prevent the cases like Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Trayvon Martin and Rodney King.

                In all your years of school, you’ve most likely heard the phrase “the US is one big melting pot.” That may be true, but just because we all look different doesn’t mean that were any different on the inside. Wouldn’t it be great if we could live in a world where all the racial barriers that we see today wouldn’t exist? So if we can dream of that world, then why can’t we make it a reality? If people are aware of the racial diversion that’s present around them, then they would be more likely to do something about it.  We can prevent parents from having to grieve the loss of their child or children having to mourn the loss of their parent. There is so much that could be done before we should need to revert to violence.

                The Ferguson situation is just one example. It started out with the death of one young man, but overtime through the series of events that have taken place, more people have gotten hurt than needed. Through the riots and the burning buildings, it's caused an immense amount of hurt on the suburb as well as people living within. Although it may feel good to get revenge and destroy things in the beginning, those initial feelings do wear off and all you’re left with is the hurt that you had in the beginning and a broken city.

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