Another One Gone
And now, comes another.
Alton Sterling, father, husband, beloved by his family and friends, joins a tragic train of death: Mike Brown, Rekiah Boyd, Eric Garner, Sandra Bland, Tamir Rice, and on; and on; and on; and on. All killed by cops, “just doing their jobs.”
At times like these, elections seem irrelevant. For they have no answer to this gnawing state of terror. No answer at all. Why should they? They were architects of it. They campaigned for these killers. They approved their militarization, arming them with weapons of war.
The politicians running for (or running FROM) office today were gung ho for cops yesterday, sending them more and more of the people’s tax dollars—as well as more and more military weapons.
What did they expect?
Now, within hours of Sterling’s killing, another Black man, Philando Castile, is gunned down in the front seat of his car (as his lover watched in horror,) while reaching for the ID and registration demanded by a traffic cop.
Another one gone...and another... and another.
—Prison Radio, July 7, 2016