Fruitvale Station Reflection

It’s hard for me to imagine a life in constant fear. I was raised in a mostly-white, extremely affluent town. The worst thing a policeman could ever do was shut down a party full of underage drinking. The police force is comprised of people we know and I have never witnessed or heard of an incident of police brutality. However, as social media became more and more popular, I started to realize that this is an everyday occurrence. There are so many hashtags and shared videos out there now that call out this awful trend in law enforcement, but honestly, I was still very far removed from these happenings. Watching Fruitvale Station, this issue seemed very hard to ignore. You watch this beautiful family in their everyday struggles and can’t help but think, when is it going to happen to him? This film had me completely and utterly disgusted by the fact that I never paid more attention to these incidents. While it is embarrassing to admit, it is an important step for me in acknowledging the privileged life that I lead and will always lead. Although I know that knowing their stories makes it easier to empathize with the victims, it shouldn’t be that way. No matter who the person is, everyone of every race and background should stand up for the people that are unjustly injured or murdered by corrupt cops. There shouldn’t have to be anymore hashtags, but until there isn’t, I will continue to support the movement to end this horrible trend because I know that (even though it is hard to acknowledge) my position of privilege can help further the movement.