Deadly Force

And so another unarmed person

Has become a victim of deadly force.

The eruption of violence in Ferguson, Missouri,

Was bound to happen in due course.

Soon after citizens had started to protest,

The peaceful demonstration began to erode.

People can take only so much frustration

Until tempers finally explode.

The police had responded in militant fashion

With canisters of tear gas. Thus, chaos broke out.

There was some vandalism and some looting

From trouble-making thugs, no doubt.

 

We are seeing a number of situations

Of people dying because of police,

Security guard, or vigilante

Ruthlessness. Such killing must cease.

 

Renisha McBride, Trayvon Martin,

Jordan Davis, Michael Brown,

And Eric Garner are some of the names

Of victims who have been struck down.

 

One who died from excessive force

Was Eric Garner, who at the time

Was allegedly selling untaxed cigarettes.

Did his treatment fit the crime?

 

I’m sure it’s not easy to be a policeman,

And there are two sides to every story.

But there’s a common element here

When we take full inventory:

 

The five victims listed above

All happened to be black;

And all of the victims were unarmed.

These are five lives we’ll never get back.

A forty-three-year-old father of six

And four "kids" still in their teens

Were all brought down by police or civilians

Unnecessarily--through reckless means.

 

Whether African American, Asian, or Latino--

Any kind of profiling is wrong.

And the problem of institutionalized racism

Has plagued our country far too long.

 

We have to stop perpetuating hatred;

A healthy dialogue is a must.

We have to do more to build relationships

And not view others with fear and distrust.

 

We must use critical thinking skills

To see through the lies that daily bombard us;

We have to take a wider perspective

And deal with the hatefulness that might have scarred us.

 

Only then can we move forward

And leave inequality in the past;

Only then can we achieve

The greatness we hope for at long last.

(8-14-14)