Letter: Achieve better through work
I keep reading, absolutely everywhere, articles about “Black lives matter.” I do not dispute the fact that Black people matter and I do not think any rational American person would.
Around the world, we have multi-cultural people. We have oppressed neighborhoods everywhere. We have above the norm income neighborhoods that, believe it or not, are not all owned by Whites.
In our history there are so many issues over cultural differences. Blacks, Hispanics, Asian, Indians or absolutely any race you can think of has grown from the bottom up, and that includes Whites as well.
I am more than aggrieved that Mr. Floyd or any person has died from abuse by anyone’s hands. To have died from the hands of a police officer is beyond words. We used to teach our children to respect our police forces in all cities. Our parents used to teach us to respect all people of any color.
We should not see color. Why should Black lives matter, more than any other race? We all are human beings and we all are different colors. What does that matter? We struggle at different levels throughout our lives.
Hispanics, for one example, have struggled throughout time, in so many ways, but for generations, they have worked hard to bring us our foods to our tables, to feed all families, Hispanic or otherwise. Do you think the people that have worked out in our hot fields, year after year care who they are feeding? They feed us all and they have fought to get better wages and housing for their families along that way.
They do not say, they are any different or that their lives matter more than any other race. They work hard to get what they deserve, like everyone. I do not believe in my long lifetime I have ever seen Hispanics loot or burn buildings to get their point across. They work to feed their families the best way they can, like all of us.
They had a great man, Cesar Chavez. He led his people forward, to better lives. The Chinese worked their fingers to the bone during gold rush times and had to live through unspeakable times to get to where they are today. I could write of Whites that have risen from extreme hard times to achieve better lives. You could speak of almost any race that has pulled themselves up by their bootstraps, somewhere, sometime during history. They all matter. All lives matter. It’s called work to achieve a better life.
Recently, protestors in Seattle had a huge rally. There were all races involved in their rally. There was no looting, no buildings burnt and respect was given to and by all the police in that city. People listen better when they are not running for their lives, when their homes and businesses are not being burnt to the ground and officers of the law are not being shot down like dogs before their eyes. All races in Seattle gathered for a peaceful rally, having foods from all cultures, music of all types and speakers wanting change to what they thought would make better lives for all people.
My point is this: The Black leaders recently planned rallies in several cities. These were very well-respected people that had very important things to tell communities and wanted to spread the word that they were unhappy with Mr. Floyd’s death, and basically any death that occurred by the hands of anyone. Whomever took those respected leaders intentions and turned it into an excuse for people to burn businesses owned by many races, including Black people, and to steal from stores that serve all races, should be ashamed.
Martin Luther King worked many years for what he thought was right. He would have never agreed to bring all his hard work to the ground by common thieves and arsonists. He worked his entire life to say his people of color were not that type of people. They were equals and deserved equal rights. He spoke of building better lives and not tearing lives apart by violence.
Shame on those who used the works of respected leaders to tear down society in general in these very hard times we are living through. Shame on you all that participated in these negative ways, for teaching our young people that stealing and burning buildings is a way to make people respect you and to bring positive change to any race. Shame on all of you that participated in those acts. You proved nothing and shamed your people; your Mothers, your Fathers, your leaders, no matter what color your people were.
Police officers are not all bad. They are human beings that put their lives on the line every day for all races. What happened recently was not right, no argument there. That being said one bad egg does not make them all bad. Step inside any officer’s shoes, for just one day and see how many lives they save. You cannot right a wrong, but you can bring positive change to anything with hard work and positive acts.
— Joyce Aguirre,
Madera
