I don't know about you, but as I get older, the news seems to get more tragic. Maybe it's because I am losing the naivety of a child. But also the bad news during the summer, when I was a kid, was shark attacks and their potential dangers. Stephen Colbert on the Colbert Report did a segment of the summer news way back when. Now days, we hear about: the Palestine, Hamas, and Israel; CDC not controlling diseases; Ebola in West Africa; tragic death of the comedic legend, Robin Williams; ISIS beheading journalists; and I could go on and on about the depressing, but yet relevant stories.

However, I want to talk about Ferguson, Missouri. If you have been on a pleasant, T.V. free vacation, I would like to be the first to extend my Greetings, and say welcome back to chaos. Everyone has heard, at least, of Michael Brown. Michael Brown was a recent high school graduate in Ferguson, Missouri, just minutes away from St. Louis, was shot multiple times by a police officer on August 9th. Brown and a companion were apprehended by the police officer after robbing a convenience store. The St. Louis County Police have released the surveillance video showing Brown and the companion robbing the store. The officer and Brown were involved in a scuffle, that was not videotaped and the officer shot Brown.[i] Not once, or twice, but six times, as the autopsy revealed. The problem right away was that Brown was unarmed and that cruel punishment was underserved in this situation. This is not the first case of police brutality. There was a Eric Gardner in New York and the infamous case of Sean Bell. But the story doesn't end there. The racial tensions of Ferguson had been building up for years prior to this. Society has taught us, as citizens of the United States, that when you put your hands in the air, that is sub missing to the police. That if you put your hands up, you will essentially be safe and give your custody to the police. Michael Brown is not here on the Earth to promise that to us. As eye witnesses saw him put up both of his hands in submission, when the officer fired his shots.


What does this mean for our generation? We as a country together have labeled ourselves as a "post -racial society"[ii]. What does that even mean anymore? Is it denial of what problems we still have today? I have really struggled at what an appropriate response for me. What do teenagers do? I mean I really applaud anyone and everyone who is protesting in Ferguson, Missouri. The question lies in how do we get teenagers, our generation to do something? Not everyone can fly tonight and protest in Ferguson. I say while you make time to watch our favorite celebrities do the ice bucket challenge on YouTube (by the way, the best so far are Oprah Winfrey, Dave Grohl and Taylor Hawkins from the Foo Fighters), don't be afraid diversify your media. Beware of the perspectives of people from different cultures, ethnicities and races. It's important to talk about the issues. The acknowledgement of the issue is the first step to doing away with ignorance. Everyone is ignorant about an issue until they experience themselves or they learn about it. It's called growing and everyone starts somewhere. Learn about history, racist parts and all. Michal Brown's murder isn't a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence. It's not just Ferguson, New York, Seattle and Chicago. Next we work on the solution. In our little bubble, we need to make sure that we are empowering others. Yes, empowering others is everyone. Respect shouldn't become an esoteric gift only given by the gods. Don't be afraid to that weird kid that seems to know what's going on. Speak up and have a voice for yourself. There's more than speaking. Action is required. Trust me, this is problem continued from our parents' (Rodney King) and our grandparents' (Civil Rights movement) generation. This requires the evolution of peoples' thinking and peoples' actions. At the end, all I can say is that "I'm Starting With The Man In The Mirror".


For more information:




How these teens did something:




.com/2014/08/18/teens-police-brutality-app_n_5687934.html">huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/18/teens-police-brutality-app_n_5687934.html




.com/articles/culture/2014/08/ferguson_response_where_are_the_white_college_kids.1.html">theroot.com/articles/culture/2014/08/ferguson_response_where_are_the_white_college_kids.1.html




.com/250701/12-things-white-people-can-do-now-because-ferguson/">qz.com/250701/12-things-white-people-can-do-now-because-ferguson/




.com/2014/08/20/us/ferguson-power-players/">cnn.com/2014/08/20/us/ferguson-power-players/




.com/2014/08/19/sunil-dutta-police-washington-post_n_5692266.html?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular">huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/19/sunil-dutta-police-washington-post_n_5692266.html?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular.org/blogs/codeswitch/2014/08/16/340669034/behind-a-twitter-campaign-a-multitude-of-stories">npr.org/blogs/codeswitch/2014/08/16/340669034/behind-a-twitter-campaign-a-multitude-of-stories

[i] abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/key-events-death-michael-brown-25047903

[ii] qz.com/251392/how-black-america-and-white-america-see-the-ferguson-shooting-charted/