Hello everyone, and thank you for taking interest in my first entry! I tried to submit the following essay to several media outlets, (HuffPo, New York Times, LA Times, Boston Herald,) however I was never contacted back or I was, but denied publishing. I feel this essay needs to be known by the public at large, without preaching to the choir, because what is currently going on is under threat of dying out; especially with the holidays getting closer. The purpose of the following, is to convey that people shouldn't look down on how others may bring attention to or fight today's social and political wrongs.
So here it is:
On March 5, 1770, a mob of patriots, taunted and threw objects at a squad of British soldiers, who shot and killed several colonists. Lately, there been a string of widely publicized incidents, ranging from innocent people to suspects of petty crimes, brutalized or killed by police officers. The events of the Boston Massacre attributed to tensions arising between the colonists and the British, and caused riots; riots, like the Boston Tea Party. These current events have also caused protests and a few riots across the nation. The demonstrators of these events, are nearly parallel to the patriots before the Revolution in both action and cause; however, a great difference is the amount of ridicule the demonstrators are receiving. Why?
There are people who ridicule the demonstrators, because the riots against police-related killings hurt innocents and businesses. The East India Company was no doubt hurt too, with its shipment ruined by the Boston Tea Party. Mobs of patriots tarred and feathered loyalists to the Crown. Even before the events in the Boston Massacre, Thomas Hutchinson, the Lieutenant Governor and Chief Justice of Massachusetts, had his mansion looted by those mobs.
After the events in Boston, John Adams and Josiah Quincy II defended the British at the ensuing trial, which led to the British soldiers’ acquittal and release. Officers like, Darren Wilson in the shooting of Michael Brown, or Daniel Pantaleo in Eric Garner’s choking, didn’t even reach trial. People rightfully disagreed with the justice system not charging police officers like them.
More people died within the single incident at Boston, but there have been many more innocents and petty crime suspects, who’ve been assaulted or killed by cops, within this year alone. People like Michael Brown, Darrien Hunt, Akai Gurley, Eric Garner, James Boyd, Tamir Rice, John Crawford III, Levar Jones, and Bobby Canipe. In fact, the British soldiers were a semi-professional force, trained only for conventional European warfare, while modern day police are supposed to receive training for professional law enforcement. As professionals trained for the main purpose of law enforcement, they shouldn't so hastily resort to the usage of lethal and militarized force to handle situations.
The question remains: Why are the citizens who are recently demonstrating and rioting ostracized, while the patriots receive celebration and praise with such reverence? Is it more commendable to fight over taxation and quartering soldiers, than fighting against the brutality and reckless killing of people, by those whose duty is to serve and protect them? It’s easy to say, “two-wrongs don’t make a right”, while proudly benefiting from the fruits of the first wrong. Whether or not you believe in a victim’s innocence or disagree with the riots, they reflect greater social issues that perpetuate a corrupt cycle of division, prejudice, and exploitation, affecting all of us common US citizens. No matter how many feel-good stories or distractions we partake, if these issues don’t receive our necessary attention and action, these problems would continue plaguing us and rot the foundation set by our nation’s patriots.