Dear Future President,

I believe that racial injustice is a huge problem in our country. With new stories about issues with police, more racist (and ethical based) comments (negative) by a presidential candidate, and overall hate for those who aren’t white. I am fully behind the Black Lives Matter/ All Lives Matter campaigns and other protests like it. I may not agree with some of the tactics, but I believe in the message. An opposing viewer could see the protests as violent, and form the belief that all people of that race or ethnicity are like that. They may like Trump’s message and let his thoughts form their thinking. Racial injustice is a terrible issue we have and we need to fix it because people, or a group of people, shouldn’t be stereotyped negatively based solely upon the actions of a few.

First off, this injustice and discrimination leads to health problems for those being persecuted. As stated in the article, How Racism Is Bad for Our Bodies, “Discrimination has been shown to increase the risk of stress, depression, the common cold, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, breast cancer, and mortality”. These impacts are great and have a profound affect on people’s lives. If people are dying because of cancer and cardiovascular disease because of discrimination, something is critically wrong with society. The well being of citizens shouldn’t be defined by needless violence and harmful acts in that world. If there was a tighter leash on the punishment for killing or harming someone with a malicious intent, people’s lives would be vastly improved. People aren’t scared about even the act of racism, but the idea of what could happen heightens their stress, “Merely the anticipation of racism and not necessarily the act, is enough to trigger a stress response”. The fact that it is at the front of most people’s minds isn’t ok. If they spent this time worrying on getting better, and focusing on being successful, they would be looking at a bright future, not a dark, ominous one. Those being attacked would be to lead better lives and have more opportunities to build a brighter future. As the President of the United States, wouldn’t you want to see the citizens in your country be successful?

Now, I will touch upon how African Americans are being targeted at an alarming rate. White Americans have the benefit in America. Due to research, it was found that African Americans were targeted more often, “If you're an African American under the age of 25, you're six times more likely to be killed by police compared to other races”. Now, I know that police aren’t the whole face of racist acts. I know that there's a ton of violence elsewhere, this is just an example. But, African Americans are targeted at a higher rate. You don’t hear about nearly as many whites dying in gun fights or other forms of brutality as African Americans. Social media has put this issue at the forefront of our minds, which it should be. I don’t even have social media and I hear about these acts. The author discusses social media and its impact, “ a video of police shooting a black man named Alton Sterling exploded on social media”. This means that many more people are seeing it, so the outcry for peace will be much more powerful. Honestly, with this at the forefront of social media, I am not sure why the government hasn’t acted upon the protests and messages being sent. Maybe there are more security cameras in public places and on light posts. Then events can be caught happening easier and the person accountable can be caught and punished. This would potentially help decrease the amount of violence. With a steeper price tag, and an increased chance of being caught, we should see a decrease. All Lives Matter, so the ones on the news shouldn’t be the only ones cared about. People need to look into their community, and on a national scale. I guarantee you that change can be made for the better.

Finally, this standpoint also has a flipside, those who believe that racism isn’t an issue. These people feel that all are treated equal and see no issues in society. One man said, “in my four decades as a middle-class black man in America, I simply have not experienced the endless procession of racist slights and barriers”. So, through this author’s personal experiences he makes the observation that African Americans are treated well. He feels that he has seen and heard enough that he can make that statement. He views the world as peaceful and equal. His assumption is that racist acts occur on occasion and because they were provoked. He also feels as though this idea of discrimination is foreign,“Yet, I considered this an abstract and unlikely possibility, hardly tincturing my daily existence with a sense of imminent threat the way lynching did for all black men in the old South”. He describes this as non-existent, and makes it seem like a fantasy. His tone makes almost a mockery of the idea, and says that it has never been a pressing issue for African Americans. If you are seduced by this reasoning, then my whole letter has fallen on deaf ears. This is a huge issue and we need to address it.

Mr. or Mrs. President I implore you to take action into helping reduce racial discrimination (along with ethical and gender). This is a very prominent issue and must be addressed before the violence, and the casualties increase. Every single person in our country is a descendent of immigrants. Why are only some being targeted? It is unjust to those who work as hard as “white” Americans do, sometimes harder, and they, for the most part, aren’t given the same benefits or opportunities. All of this just because of the pigment in their skin? I would like to see a much harsher punishment (not death) for these crimes because the punishment today must be too soft because the acts continue. I know it isn’t right to scare people into doing the right thing, but, with lives at stake I see no other alternative that would be effective NOW. The longer that you wait to take action, the more casualties that our countries will face. I hope that if you take action, that people in society will be able to live in harmony. There will be no racial, ethnic, or gender conflict, and lives may be spared. Please Mr./Mrs. President, take action and achieve what our founding fathers founded this country on, liberty and justice for all.

Thanks for your time and please consider taking action regarding these issues,

Nick S

Bibliography

Silverstein, Jason. "How Racism Is Bad for Our Bodies." The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, n.d. Web. 18 Oct. 2016. <http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/03/how-racism-is-bad-for-our-bodies/273911/>.

Gilmore, Scott. "A Safer America but Far from a Just One." Infotrac Student Edition. MEL, n.d. Web. 18 Oct. 2016. <http://go.galegroup.com/ps/retrieve.do?tabID=T003&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&searchResultsType=SingleTab&searchType=BasicSearchForm¤tPosition=13&docId=GALE%7CA460285242&docType=Column&sort=RELEVANCE&contentSegment=&prodId=STOM&contentSet=GALE%7CA460285242&searchId=R1&userGroupName=lom_accessmich&inPS=true>.

"Middle-Class Blacks Are Not Discriminated Against in the United States."Opposing Viewpoints in Context. MEL, n.d. Web. <http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/ovic/ViewpointsDetailsPage/ViewpointsDetailsWindow?disableHighlighting=false&displayGroupName=Viewpoints&currPage=&scanId=&query=&source=&prodId=OVIC&search_within_results=&p=OVIC&mode=view&catId=&u=lom_accessmich&limiter=&display-query=&displayGroups=&contentModules=&action=e&sortBy=&documentId=GALE%7CEJ3010125269&windowstate=normal&activityType=&failOverType=&commentary=&authCount=1>.