When Will Enough Be Enough?

Black Lives Matter: In an Easier to Understand Format 

I had quite a few updates to give everyone, but in all honesty, the only things on my mind right now are the lives that were lost this week to senseless violence. I thought I would take a few days to process my feelings after viewing the video of Alton Sterling’s death, but then came Philando Castile’s death, the Dallas shootings, and it seems like more and more pops up on my timeline as the days go by.  

There truly aren’t any words to describe my feelings after watching those videos. If I had to put them in words, I guess I would say it’s a mix of anger, frustration, sadness, hopelessness, fear, and outrage. The Alton Sterling video hit really close to home for me because I consider Baton Rouge to be my second home, and I am familiar with the area where he was killed. Outside of the obvious reasons for being upset, I couldn’t help but think that could have been one of my brothers who actually lived with me for a bit when I was in the city. And then to watch the news and see people trying to criminalize this man and not take into account that his life was taken from him unjustly, just blew my mind. This was someone’s son, brother, father, etc., and it seems like people are looking for any and every excuse to justify something that simply cannot be justified. The same can be said for Philando Castile, whose daughter sat in the backseat and witnessed her father be killed. There really just aren’t any words.

This week has been super heavy on my heart and I still cannot properly articulate what I am feeling. I usually try to keep my posts lighthearted and related to medical school, but I feel to not say something is to be a part of the problem. As a parent, it breaks my heart to have to raise a child during times like this, and I can only imagine how hard it is for those parents who are raising sons. What I find even sadder, is that stuff like this is nothing new, but with cellphones, everyone can see it now. The closest thing I could find that somehow describes my thoughts is the pic below of someone’s public post on Facebook (written at the beginning of the week), but even this doesn’t cover everything. Right now, I just pray for the families and friends of all those lost to violence like this, and I hope that we can somehow find a way to instill awareness and initiate change without having to sacrifice the lives of more people in the process.  

I couldn't have said it any better