A Look At The Dallas Police Department Shooting

By Megan Bush on July 9, 2016

On the evening of July 7, 2016, 11 police officers belonging to the Dallas Police Department were shot during a peaceful march against police violence. PoliceOne.com, along with ABC News and FOX News, among others, says the officers were attacked by two snipers, and at least one officer was shot point blank. At the moment this is being written, four of the 11 officers are dead and the other seven are wounded.

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The Dallas protest was in response to the recent deaths of two black civilians killed by police officers: Alton Sterling, in Baton Rouge, LA, and Philando Castile in Falcon Heights, MN. These two deaths are unfortunately the most recent of many across America in the last few years; the #BlackLivesMatter movement was the basis on which this originally peaceful protest was planned on.

All over Facebook and Twitter, citizens are placing the blame on everyone and anyone imaginable; some are blaming the media for “over-reporting” on the deaths of Sterling and Castile, others are blaming everyone involved in the #BlackLivesMatter movement, and still others are actually blaming the entirety of police officers in the country. None of these claims are legitimate; the only people to blame for this tragedy are the shooters, and only the shooters.

While it’s true that corrupt police officers do exist in this day and age, it is far from true that all police officers are corrupt. The same stands with every minority and community, including the media and those involved in the #BlackLivesMatter movement. No one person, or even a  group of people, stands to represent an entire race, creed, religion, or organization.

Killing is not the solution. Murdering police officers for no good reason just gives society an excuse to say, “Look at what these monsters are doing!” Brutally assaulting and/or causing the deaths of civilians just gives society an excuse to say, “Look at what these monsters are doing!” It’s all the same. The solution is not more death; in fact, it’s far from it.

The solution is love. While that’s an incredibly cliche and barf-worthy thing to say, it’s the truth. All of the killing, murdering, attacking, and assaulting lately has been caused by hate: hate of minorities, hate of oppression, hate of society, etc. The obvious solution is to stop the hate. Stop the killing. Stop the hurt and terror. Start the love, the acceptance, the mutual respect for all. The Constitution says that all men were created equal. This means all. Not just those with badges, or only those with guns. All men were created equal. If society could get that one, simple statement through its collective head, the world might just be able to repair itself.

My thoughts are with the families of those who have died, in the Dallas Police Department and those who have gone before, and those who are fighting to stay alive.

As Ellen DeGeneres says, “Be kind to one another.

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