The awakening

Living in a country and being bought up in New Zealand where racism is more an idea of a race than a hatred I never thought about it. With the African Americans who were turned into slaves I saw it as racism but mainly as the whites needing to control the "great nation" and with stealing the Africans from Africa it was a dominance of the white man.

I do wonder why there is such a hate, they were stolen from their home. Raped, whipped, beaten, tortured etc. There would be more understanding if the Africans showed up in America and tried to take over but they didn't. They were forced into lives they did not deserve and were still killed for it.

One in every three African Americans are deemed to go to prison at least once in their life. How can in 2016 we be okay with this?  Why is there no help for those who people expect to fail, wouldn't it make more sense for America to prevent the issue than to have mass prison capacity?

In New Zealand, the main racial groups are Maoris, Pacific Islanders, Asians, Indians, South Africans and Europeans. When the British originally immigrated from England the Maoris wanted to fight but did not have to guns so they signed a treaty. This treaty has served as a barrier for any violence racially between the Maoris and Europeans.

I want to know how and why America EVEN AFTER ALL THIS TIME has not figured out how to bring peace among the races.

Is it because everyone is secretly racist? Or too sensitive? It reminds me of a dog who is scary looking. The African Americans being the dog and the whites being the scared person walking down the street. The dog wants to be loved and respected not attacked and yelled at. If the dog is pet and isn't threatened it will melt and won't be able to contain its happiness where as if the person is terrified and runs or yells at it, the dog will either cower or it will become aggressive depending on the  persons actions.

How have we not learned how to be civil without being mad about it.  Donald trump wants to make America great again? How about maybe increasing the minimum wage or creating more jobs? More jobs would get more blacks off the street. Instead of trying to build a wall to keep immigrants out he should focus on helping them with new starts.

Why does no one realise that petty theft and killing are two different things? If you ever met a skinny kid stealing bread what does that tell you? That he's a danger to society?

What I want to do is go to New Zealand and international prisons and I want to interview and photograph the inmates and ask them what they did and what they would do differently if they could start again because that is where we will learn how to stop crime.

This has been an awakening for me not only for America but world wide that there needs to be a change.