I am pissed

My anger is visceral, and yours should be too. Trigger warning: death and murder by the state.

I am writing this out in an effort to spur people to action. Because we have an epidemic on our hands, and it’s been going on far too long. We the people, especially white folks, need to stand up and demand justice for our neighbors.

I am writing this on the 10th anniversary of Philando Castile’s death (July 6th, 2026). A 32 year Black man killed by the police, by our government, in front of his partner and her child. Nine years and 364 days later, another young Black man was killed by our government. Tyrin Johnson was killed by the National Guard in Memphis on July 5th, 2026. The similarities - they both had guns and they were both parents, they were both sons, grandsons, members of the community.

Philando Castile had a permit for his gun. While Tyrin Johson was in an open carry state. A permit-less open carry state. Tennessee does state that you need to be 21 years of age to open carry, and Tyrin Johnson was 20 years old. But I don’t think the National Guardsmen knew that. How could they?

Just like Philando Castile, the guardsmen seem to have shot and asked questions later. Two shots to the chest. For carrying a gun. In an open carry state. CNN and the NY Times both state that he just had the gun, not aimed at them and not shooting. And he’s gone. Just like Philando Castile.

Since 2016, the police have killed 11,000 people per mappingpoliceviolence.org. This year alone, 623 people have died at the hands of our police forces and it’s July 6th. We’re halfway through the year. Last month, Kohen Wiley, a one year old, was shot by police in a Walmart parking lot. Per the autopsy report, his death is being ruled a homicide. Which is incongruent with police findings. Which means, in fancy words, they lied.

Two young men, one baby – three different generations of Black boys taken from this world at the hands of the state.

These are direct violence. Shot and killed. But there is structural violence happening as well. Karmelo Anthony is working on an appeal, which is great news. However, a similar case happened no less than 150 miles away. A few years prior, a young man was stabbed and killed after a fight in school. The jury in that case sentenced the then 21 year old to two years probation. A judge added ten years in prison for assault with a deadly weapon. He was white, of course. Karmelo Anthony received 35 years.

I bring up Karmelo Anthony because of what happened with Nolan Wells. As of the 6th of July, his body has been found. He went boating on the 4th with three white college aged young men. He never came home. They had his phone. They left him on an island ten miles away from the shore. A barrier reef island.

There is a through line from Karmelo Anthony to Nolan Wells. Being a Black boy or man in this country around white folks is dangerous as fuck. Karmelo Anthony testified that he feared for his life. And had he not acted, would he be another Nolan Wells?

And then. In the wake of Nolan Wells - Black Americans across the country came forward to tell their own stories. And white Americans have denied their life experiences. I’ve seen countless stories of Black Americans explaining their own lived experience - what they have lived through and people have consistently disregarded their own lived experiences. This is violence.

The epidemic of violence against young Black men in this country is never ending. It’s coming from all angles, the police and the government, the judicial system, the friends they keep, and not one of these men were given any singular benefit of the doubt.

We white folks, we get the benefit of the doubt every fucking day. Even in death, Nolan Wells isn’t given the benefit of the doubt, nor is his mother. People are criticizing decisions made on the worst day of this family’s life. And yet, all over the internet I have seen white folks ask people to be patient. “We don’t have the facts yet, we can’t skewer these folks without knowing the facts.”

I’ve got the facts I need. Four young men went out on a boat. Three returned. The only one missing was Black. The white boys had his cellphone. They didn’t report him missing. They didn’t answer the phone when I am sure his mother called. They had two days to organize. And they’ve lawyered up. AND YET there are people defending these folks.

I need white America to wake up. I talk about white supremacy and the system of it that we live under so goddamn always because many of my brethren pretend like it doesn’t exist. Like if we don’t talk about it, it’ll go away. BUT FUCK DUDE. I am so sick of seeing people in our country die. I am sick of watching white folks give white folks more and more chances, the benefit of the doubt, and victim blame.

The urge to give a white man the benefit of the doubt MUST be resisted. It needs to be taught to our children, it needs to be a conversation every day. Because deciding that making white men (or white people) comfortable at the expense of others is killing us.

There are a million other types of violence as well. Not believing people when they tell you their stories is also violence, as we saw around Nolan Wells’s death. We always extend white men this opportunity. And if you’re a white woman, you probably understand this type of violence… TO AN EXTENT.

I do believe it’s why I’ve had an easier time in life explaining racism to white women rather than white men. But my heart is aching and I am angry. In the time I started and finished this piece I learned about three more Black Americans dying and countless more being missing.

When are we (collectively, but mostly addressing white Americans) going to stand up and demand that this needs to end??

I ask this as I ponder the main theme of my content. Which is wanting a new constitution. Nay, demanding it. Because what kind of country allows this? What kind of “democracy” doesn’t protect all of its people the same way? What kind of world do we want to pass on to the next generations?

The world we live in today in the United States is a surveillance state that targets non-white people at a much higher rate. We’ve seen it with ICE raids, with police stops, with everything under the sun. We know we have a two tiered justice system. We know that Black and Brown bodies get investigated less. We know that the system we live under incentivizes that with private prison populations and so much more.

I am not sure we can reform this and do not misquote me when I say this, because I am not a burn it all down person. I am a carefully rewire it so we keep as many people alive as possible person, while changing hearts and minds AND LAWS so it can never happen again.