Raymond Lee-Hamlin: Week 4 Response

A Manifesto for Fear of One's Life in America

• It is fear for one's life walking down the road as someone of color
• It's having constant paranoia that people are out to get you
•  Seeing your own people die everyday because an officer or pedestrian was "afraid for their life" 
• It's hearing that line a thousand times and thinking it comes off as a load of bullshit everytime
• Having loved ones tell you to be safe and always be cautious of what you do in public
• Its not being able to breathe, walk, run, drive and have your hands up without being murdered in the streets
• Loving life is what these people wanted and they get their lives stripped from them because an officer was scared
• Leaving for work or school day to day thinking maybe I'll get killed today for just being me, nothing more nothing less
• Constant state of paranoia that all cops are bad when that may not necessarily be the case
• POC in need of help and all people can say is Alllivesmatter the most instead of the help that black lives so desperately need
• You cannot be argumentative, stubborn, erratic, have rebuttals to anything or just do something they don't like, cause if you do, that could mean death and justification for it.
• Its having others criticize your death because you "weren't complying" 
• Justification for killing American citizens who have lived here their whole lives or had their whole lives ahead of them
• Its asking for help from your local government and legislation and still not being heard.  Just wanting equality and justice for the wrongs that police seem to do almost everyday now
• lastly, it is fear for my life, my family's life and my future one as well if this senseless killing does not end or change