Black Lives Matter VS. Blue Lives Matter

Two movements that support differentiating causes reached an all time high in support in 2016. The country has been deeply affected by both the police shootings of young black men and the Dallas and Baton Rouge shootings of police officers. Although all of these shootings are tragedies, our country has divided in support of these two movements.

School Shootings Take A Toll On The Country

In total, there have been fourteen school shootings in America solely in 2016. These school shootings range from a murder-suicide at Independence High School in Glendale, AZ to a UCLA shooting where student Mainak Sarkar shot dead a professor, William Klung, and then himself. These school shootings have been tragic for America, calling into question if more gun control laws should be enacted.

Dakota Access Pipeline

This year, outrage stuck out toward a multi-billion dollar plan for an oil pipeline that crosses 4 states. The controversy started once it was found out that it came near standing rock, a Native American reservation. These protesters call themselves the “water protectors,” due to the pipeline possibly making their water resources hazardous. At first they were not allowed to protest, but now there have been people camping outside for months to protect the reservation. Much violence had gone on between protesters and authorities, burial grounds have been bulldozed, a woman’s arm blown off, many arrests, police dog brutality, and police brutality. Recently Obama signed to get the pipeline rerouted.

Dallas Shooting

Using a semi-automatic rifle, and a semi-automatic handgun, Micah Xavier Johnson, killed 5 officers, wounded 9, as well as wounding 2 civilians. This was an act of anger toward the recent police brutality directed at Caucasian cops. It began at the end of a peaceful protest for Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Philando Castile in Falcon Heights, Minnesota, who were killed.  The shootout lasted around 5 hours, from July 7th to July 8th, ultimately ending in Johnson’s death. The Dallas Police killed him using a bomb attached to a robot, making it the first time they used that method. This shooting was the deadliest incident for U.S. law enforcement since 9/11.

Orlando Pulse Shooting

On June 12, 2016, a shooting occurred at Pulse, a nightclub in Orlando, FL. The shooter, Omar Mateen, shot and killed 49 people, and wounded 53 others in the hate crime. He was also shot and killed by police three hours later, making the death toll 50. The motivation for the crime was thought to be a retaliation to the bombings and shootings that are happening in Syria and Iraq, while others think it was from an anti-LGBTQ standpoint, as it was a gay nightclub. He also claimed that he was part of ISIS in a 9-1-1 call, and also that the attack was under ISIS. After the incident, the nightclub was shut down permanently, and may reopen as a memorial for the 49 people who died. This was the deadliest terrorist attack since the September 11 Twin Tower attacks.