Opinion: We still need to evolve as a more equal society

It has been a chaotic last few months as the Black Lives Matter movement has inspired protests nationwide since the tragic death of George Floyd on May 25. 

As a resident of L.A. county, I have directly seen the protests in my area as well as plentiful news and media coverage about the subject. I can’t help but be reminded of the L.A. Riots. Nearly 28 years ago, businesses were destroyed, stores were looted and buildings were torched in South Los Angeles. Such riots arose due to the acquittal of the police officers who had beaten an unarmed Rodney King.

Sound familiar? Close to three decades later, society finds itself in the same situation.

As humans, I believe that we all have an expectation for us and our surroundings to grow as a whole over time. Let’s take technology for example.

In the 1980s, people imagined flying cars and hover trains to become the new technological norm in our present era. Although there have definitely been technological advances since then, such as electric and self-driving cars, there are no crazy, mind-blowing, new inventions that come to mind.

In movies when a character hops into a time machine, viewers are blinded by an unrealistic future filled with monochrome buildings, minimalist architecture and funky glasses. In reality, however, if I magically found a time machine and fast-forwarded 70 years, I truly believe that I’d only see, at most, simply just an enhanced version of our present-day lives. 

Going back to the comparison of the deaths of George Floyd and Rodney King, our society has truly not much changed despite the large time we were given to grow. Breonna Taylor, Stephon Clark, Justin Howell and Jamel Floyd are just a few people who were victims of police brutality mistreated, judged and harmed due to their skin color.

Many might think that we would all take the incident that occurred in April 1992 to heart and ensure that something like that would never happen again; yet, here we are. Sure, if we go way back in history to the 1800s, we have made a long way from the segregation of white and Black people and the enslavement of African Americans, but we still see a noticeable form of racism amongst the population today.

We find ourselves repeating parts of the past, and although we doubtlessly develop and evolve in time, some things just never change. I hope to see definite growth in our future where we all live peacefully regardless of skin color, sexuality, gender, etc. I believe that we can work together to create a safe, welcoming and warm community accepting of everyone.