Citizens vs Government

When a friend of mine started 315 Culture and created these socially conscious t-shirts, I knew I had to purchase one. Not just because of the message but because supporting your friends in their ventures is what life should be about. There were other styles to choose from but with everything happening in the Dominican Republic and everything happening here in the United States, this particular message spoke to me.

Citizens vs Government……

It was a part of the message in the Straight Outta Compton movie and is the problem in the Straight Outta Real Life movie casting us.

Personally I am tired that we even have to add  “vs.” to anything in this day and age. Because its always about sparring or being against. I would love to see a unified world but alas the utopia I long for in my head is far from what is reality.

The Dominican Republic and my home, Haiti have always been at war. For some very odd reason, some in the DR feel as if they are better than Haitians. Maybe because they speak Spanish? Maybe because some of them look more Latin? Maybe because they dont think of themselves as Black? Who knows and frankly who cares because language, hair type, colonization country and skin color never, ever should matter. Right now the Dominican government is performing their own type of ethnic cleansing. While I am not going to go into detail as to what is going on, I will say that it hurts my heart. Many and I mean MANY people of Haitian descent who have been living and working in the DR are pretty much being forced to leave the only home they know of solely because the Dominican Republic now wants certain papers to allow them to continue living where they always have. I have read article after article that compares this to illegal immigrants in the United States and while there may be SOME minor similarities, in the end, this is just a form of ethnic cleansing. They just do not want the “Blacks” invading their side of the island. They have used those of haitian descent for cheap labor and now want to throw them out.

In 1937, under the order of Dominican President Rafael Trujillo, a mass genocide occurred against Haitians living near the border of the two countries. Trujillo was always anti-Haitian and felt Haitians were the cause of thefts, crimes and degradation of the Dominican community and ordered them to be killed. Because French Speakers and Spanish speakers tend to “roll their Rs” differently or pronounce differently, Trujillo chose parsley as the definitive test of native Dominicans and Haitians living in the DR. If you could not pronounce Perejil, the spanish word for parsley with the appropriate trill then you were immediately executed because you were deemed Haitian.

We shift to present day and clearly a mass execution such as this one would not go over well but the Dominican Republic is performing its own cleansing using “papers”.  I am only touching on a very small part of it but I urge others to please do your research on this travesty against human rights.

Getting back to Citizens vs Government in the United States, you would have to be living under a rock to not know about the Black Lives Matter movement. And frankly yes, All Lives Matter but right now we are speaking on BLACK lives matter so I do not want to hear the privileged tell me otherwise. Police mistreatment of African Americans and minorities is now leading to killings and well murder. I became extremely angry during a scene in Straight Outta Compton where the members of N.W.A. were in Torrance, California (an uppity predominantly white area) recording at a studio. They stepped outside and were eating and laughing in front of the studio when a gang of police officers stopped them for no reason except being Black and proceeded to search them and harass them. The police officers did not care what they said and immediately categorized them as thugs. That word, thugs… used so carelessly recently by recent government officials. But going back to my original thought….. My blood pressure was THROUGH the roof watching that scene because this is precisely what is happening today. If you are Black, you are far more likely to be arrested, shot, abused (verbally and physically) by officers than if you are White. Racism is alive and its thriving. Racism is not just against the officers who take part in these injustices, but those who keep quiet and allow it to happen are part of the problem as well. Those who have the audacity to be offended about Black Lives Matter as opposed to All Lives Matter are the problem. Heck, those who open their mouths and state there is no racism, are the problem! They are the oh so privileged problem and thus why racism is still an issue today!

I am typically a peaceful person. I believe in finding peaceful solutions to problems. But the more we as a community sit there and try to peacefully protest, the more killings of our own are thrown in our face. Every other day another black female or male is abused by law enforcement. And I do not want to hear anything about oh “they talked back or were not nice to the cops”. That never justifies shooting an unarmed person or slamming their heads on the cement or crushing their spinal cord or choking them to death. This is not WWE and no cop should be giving anyone the peoples elbow or the tombstone. But again, getting off subject! Trust me I have seen pics and videos of the same :disrespectful” behavior with Whites and they all live to tell the story. But well, Mike Brown, John Crawford, Jr, Eric Garner, Dontre Hamilton, Ezell Ford, Tanisha Anderson, Akai Gurley, Tamir Rice, Rumain Brisbon, Jerame Reid, Tony Robinson, Eric Harris, Walter Scott, Freddie Gray, Sandra Bland to name just a FEW are not around to speak on it. Why? Because they were killed at the hands of the Police. Luckily we have videos and recordings to highlight what has been going on for decades. If not, no one would believe us. Heck, we have it in front of everyone’s eyes and well, most of the White world still feels as if racism is not alive and make reasons or excuses for why these people were killed. Did I mention they were UNARMED when shot and killed by police. So basically I guess the Black tongue is a weapon enough for police officers to shoot if they feel “threatened”. Well I will be the first to state that I feel threatened anytime I even speak to a police officer. It is rare you find a cop who acts like a human being. More often than not they have an air of extreme machismo and act as if they run the world and can get away with murder. Oh wait, that is because they can and the government does nothing about it. I am extremely tired of hearing “the police officer feared for his life” excuse. I am sure it is a real fear in real situations but it should not be used as a reason to shoot someone who is unarmed! Well I fear for my life every single time I have to encounter cops. I truly do. I do not look at these people in uniform and think “I feel so safe now that they are here to serve and protect”. I think, ok what trouble are they going to stir up now and what are they going to make up in their minds about me. And then even worse, how will they treat me based on the perception they have of me?!?!?!

The whole police system is flawed. I am 100% in my belief that their training and exams are not hard enough. We need far more psychological testing to get into the force and then repeated psychological testing as they are in the force. I am sure that they see things and are put in situations that would send anyone into a mental breakdown. They deal with alot and I would never take away from that. EVER! But because of that ,the system has to be better aware of who they are giving a badge and a gun. I understand we need a lot of police officers and its not a coveted position. But why take anyone who shows interest? That is what I feel that most of the police forces in the country does. Oh you want to be an officer… ok take a few tests and here you go, get out there and kick some ass! Police officers are rarely questioned and if it were not for recordings, those who are corrupt would without a doubt get away with murder.

So citizens vs government….. I am pretty tired of the way our government behaves. I am sick and tired of the government turning a blind eye to what is happening to Blacks all over the world and especially in the so called “United” States of America.

This post is not my usual organized piece. I am writing as I think. I am writing from a place of anger and embarrassment for the United States and the World. I am writing from a place of not understanding how someone’s color dictates how they are treated. I am writing from a place of pain. I am writing because I am fed up of seeing yet another person with my skin tone being treated like a dog while I see my fairer skinned counterparts acting the same way and remaining alive. I am tired of the way our government is handling things and I truly believe it is time for Citizens to UNITE and fight for Justice or Else…………………..

Skirt: Asos (old) | Shirt: 315 Culture |

hair: Alisa of CosmoCrush