THE TIMES THAY AINT CHANGING, FAST ENOUGH!

Word Count: 517

Driving home on a gloomy afternoon, on his way from work, a man was listening to some tunes. He took a wrong turn as he was focused on his music and headed towards the highway. Aware of his mistake, the man quickly realized that the exit he must take to get back on track was only a mile and a half away. Looking for signs that would point him towards the lane that he must stay in, he saw another car zoom past him. The car was similar to that of his. It was a blue 2003 Honda Civic with a green interior. Puzzling together what he had seen and trying to make sense of it, a faint siren behind him was getting louder. Looking at his rearview mirror, the man saw bright blue and red flashing lights tailing him. Confused at what he might have done wrong, the man pulled over to the side of the road and waited for the officer in the police car to confront him. Assuming how things should play out, the man believed that he was going to have a friendly exchange between himself and the police officer; however, before he could process what was going to happen, the officer quickly sprinted toward the right side of the man's car with a pistol tucked in between his two hands. He aimed the gun at the mans chest and demanded for him to put his hands up. Panicking, the man raised his arms and began to ask what he did wrong. The officer claimed that there was a report of a 2003 blue Honda Civic that was stolen an hour ago and the car that the man was driving fit the description. Putting two and two together the man told the officer that there was a car exactly like his that flew past him only minutes ago. Not believing a word that the man said, the officer told the man to step out of his vehicle. Wanting to prove that he was the owner of the car, the man attempted to reach for his wallet that had his identification in it. He wanted to give it to the officer so that the officer would cross-reference the name on the identification with the name on the registration of the car. But by his subtle action, the officer got frightened and pulled the trigger of his pistol five times, leaving the man with five wounds in his chest. After a few minutes and eventually bleeding out, the man passed away in his car with the officer still aiming his gun at him. It was later discovered that the man who was shot and killed, was innocent. It was stereotypes that led the police officer to believe that the man had malicious intentions and shoot him when he was only driving home from work. The man was not shot because he committed a crime. He was innocent. He was shot because the society he once lived in created and continues to create false notions about people who have dark skin as he did.

Henry Taylor, THE TIMES THAY AINT CHANGING, FAST ENOUGH!