Ferguson Police officer Darren Wilson was not indicted for killing 18-year old Michael Brown.

There have been a lot of questions surrounding the events that have taken place in Ferguson, MO since August of this summer. How could a police officer fire seven shots at an unarmed teenager? How could he end the life of a kid who imposed no threat, who held no gun? Most importantly, how could he get away with it? The police are supposed to make decisions for the well-being of citizens; does fatally killing Mike Brown help the community in any way?.

The fact that someone such as a police officer, who is supposed to keep us safe, can endanger our lives, and that the court let this man walk free is astounding.

The involvement of race has made this incident turn from ugly to hideous. Because it was a white police officer killing a young black teenager, people have become divided on the issue. As a proud African-American, I don’t want any blacks being discriminated against just because of the skin that they were born with. It’s not like we come into this world and decide what we want the complexion of our skin to be; but at the same time, this may not be about race, we as people could easily be making this a racial issue.

Just like Wilson prematurely judged Brown of stealing, the public might be prematurely judging Wilson of being racist. I’m not excusing what Wilson did, and the unjust verdict of the court doesn’t help my case, but we shouldn’t make this a white versus black topic. This should be about how a police officer abused his powers and should be punished for it. Shooting seven shots at Brown shows how Wilson had no sympathy towards him.

Just getting mad doesn’t solve anything unless people are taking action against this violence.

One of my favorite authors, Elie Wiesel, said “Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” I take this to mean that, if people do not think justice was served in the Darren Wilson case, then they should take initiative and make their voice heard.Tweeting from our cell phones won’t do much because if we don’t attempt to end the problem, we are just damaging the situation more due to our inability to make a change.

If we don’t take a stand, Mike Brown and police brutality will be forgotten until the next young black kid is shot to death. Remember Trayvon Martin? Even though the public vividly remembers his death, the noise died down and people stopped protesting. Mike Brown shouldn’t die in vain, his death should inspire others to defend the rights of black youth. To end the problem, people need to make a positive permanent solution.

The rioting in Ferguson is a terrible solution that only puts a wedge between white people and black people. Throwing tear gas, burning stores, and completely disregarding the surrounding community only makes the situation uglier. Fighting fire with fire is a solution, but it’s a negative solution that will not help end the problem. It will only make matters worse.

The riots in Ferguson made me ask myself, why are there no riots when blacks kill each other? Why does black on black crime never get public attention? Do the deaths of blacks not matter if it comes from the hand of someone of their own race? 93% of blacks killed in America are killed by other blacks, so if the black population really want to end violence against the blacks in America, they need to look in the mirror and end the violence themselves. It seems as if the Martin Luther King, Jr. well has run dry and us blacks have grown a Nat Turner mentality, wanting to riot and result in violence instead of taking the peaceful route to solve issues.

I would like to remind every reader that the current generation of African-Americans have been served with a silver spoon. From being brought on slave ships from Africa to the end of the Civil Rights Movement, blacks were treated like they weren’t even human beings, but they still protested peacefully with sit-ins and boycotts. Currently, even though we have been blessed with equal rights, we want to cry racism constantly and retaliate with violence. Blacks act like the whole African-American race is the victim, but in reality it’s just Mike Brown. As a race we like to blame the government and white people for victimizing us. We blame our shortcomings as a race on stereotypes, racism and a corrupt government. With that negative mindset, it is hard for us to prosper as a whole.

We want to blame everybody but ourselves and act like we have done no wrong. If we have done no wrong, theoretically of course, shouldn’t we be the bigger people and try to solve the problem peacefully? In my opinion, the only solution to the problem is love. As corny and cliche as it seems, it’s the only reasonable and positive solution to this injustice that is the death of Mike Brown. If blacks learn to love whites, police and the government, then they will have no option but to eventually love us and treat us with the utmost respect. If it worked with King in worse conditions, it has to work in modern day America. Also, us blacks have to love ourselves. We have to stop killing one another. If we put love into the equation, we will receive positive results because, in my opinion, love is the most powerful thing in the world. Love is strong enough to end police brutality, love is strong enough to end racism. If you don’t believe me, try it out. It costs nothing aside from time and effort.

Please don’t let Mike Brown’s death be meaningless by not taking a positive stand, by conducting violent riots, or by putting hate in our hearts towards the police, the government or other races. Please let Mike Brown’s death be meaningful by taking a positive initiative and by spreading love and peace towards one another. Let his death be a learning experience that will teach us how to love.