When I saw
this hashtag floating on my twitter timeline, I was horrified. I learned of
this hashtag shortly after I learned about what happened to Sandra Bland.
Sandra Bland
was in police custody when she died, when she was murdered excuse me. She was
pulled over for a traffic stop. Her head was slammed into the ground (via the
video recording, and her saying it on the recording), she was arrested and
taken into police custody. This was on a Friday, before Monday she was “found
in her jail cell dead”. Her only mug shot is a picture of her in an orange
prison suit and she was clearly laying on her back. Some are saying she is dead
or dying in the picture, some are saying let’s wait for the facts. Fact is, no
one that is stopped for a traffic violation should be dead in the custody of
the police!!!
The media is
trying to do everything in their power to convince us that she killed herself
by using a trash bag, to hang herself. The media is also trying to bring up
mental illness to further convince us that this incident HAD to be suicide and
in no way shape or form could’ve been murder by police.
v
First
things first, I’ve never been to jail but I’ve seen the movies. Inmates and
those in custody don’t have trash cans, trash bags or any other loose object
that could be used to hurt themselves or others.
v
Secondly
depression and anxiety does not equate being suicidal. Documentation (via the
twitter FBI aka Black twitter) shows that Sandra Bland checked the No option as
it pertains to wanting to kill herself in the past year and also that day. She
also said No to ever wanting to commit suicide.
(Now, the police have doctored that documentation, and tried to make it
look like she tried to commit suicide in the past.)
The misconception/narrative that
people battling depression and anxiety are suicidal is extremely problematic.
Not only does it shame people dealing with these issues, and can turn them away
from getting help due to these false judgments. It also leaves room for speculation,
when there needs to be an investigation.
We’ve seen plenty of incidents in the
past where encounters with the police leave the person dead and is ultimately
blamed for their death. Not only are they blamed for their death, but something
was planted on them or their past is brought up to justify why they were
killed. A lot of people are saying Sandra shouldn’t have been so “arrogant”
when she was talking to police. People are saying she should’ve never been
smoking a cigarette. None of those things justify why she was treated the way
she was treated while being arrested and everything that happened afterwards.
Next you guys are going to say “well she shouldn’t have been an activist for
the Black Lives Matter”… “She basically should’ve never been black”. See how
crazy that sounds?
Reading the threads on this hashtag
brought me to tears and couldn’t read much of them. Instead of writing wills to
leave our loved ones things, we are writing letters, and creating hashtags
explaining why we would never do anything purposely to leave us dead in police
custody. Here’s mine:
#IfIDieInPoliceCustody please
understand that my son is my world. I would never purposely do anything that
would cause him to go through life without me by his side, cheering him on,
protecting him, teaching him, nourishing him, loving him and watching him grow
to be the man God created him to be, the King that is within him.
#IfIDieInPoliceCustody my past
depression, is not relevant to my current state of mind. Not only does Jesus
Saves, and he heals.
#IfIDieInPoliceCustody know that I’ve
NEVER done drugs, NEVER will do drugs. If they “find” drugs on my person or in
my system, they were planted and never belonged to me.
#IfIDieInPoliceCustody say my name!
Finish that fight that I was unable to finish. Be strong, and don’t forget
about me or my story.
#IfIDieInPoliceCustody I didn’t just
die, I was murdered.
Rest in Power Sandra Bland, and he
countless others whose lives were taken in police custody. Those whose lives
were taken and their story will never be told.
To those of us still living, we owe
it to ourselves, to our ancestors and to our fallen brothers and sisters to
stay educated on the issues regarding us. I’m tired of crying just like you. Unable
to properly mourn these deaths because we’re on the edge of our seat, watching
our backs to see who or what is next. We can’t get exhausted. Their fight is over;
but we have to keep on keeping on.
If
you love someone tell them
I
love you
Destaynee
