You were asked on Wednesday to read a CBBC Newsround article about the current events happening in America. In response, I asked you to put yourself in other people’s shoes and write about how you would be feeling. You were to write about how you would be feeling if you were in America right now, if you were a person of colour in America right now, if you were a police officer in America right now and if you were President of America right now.
I was very impressed when reading all your responses. You all had clearly taken time to think very deeply about the situation and all showed an ability to look at events from different perspectives. This is a really hard thing to do so well done to you all.
However, 2 pieces of writing jumped out at me. I was so impressed that I wanted to share them with you below. I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I did.
Writing 1:
If I was living in America right now, I would feel uncomfortable because I would have been put in a position that I can’t do anything to stop what is happening and that would make me annoyed. If I didn’t have the authority to stop anyone doing something bad I would write a letter to someone of authority who was reliable and hope that they would do something about it.
If I was a person of colour living in America I would honestly feel t-e-r-r-i-f-i-e-d but not just for myself but mainly for my family. If people of colour were being arrested for no reason whatsoever and my family were out there, then I would feel scared to let them leave the house, even to go to the supermarket. I would try to take some authority but if I couldn’t then I would hope the police were good or try and make sure I don’t run into any bad ones.
If I was a police officer right now in America I would be feeling worried for the other police officers that worked with me because they might not be good. Since I was a police officer I would use my authority to do the right thing and would advise all the other police officers to do the same. I would try to be as friendly as possible to everyone so that they would feel more comfortable about what is going on.
If I was the president I would feel guilty, knowing that innocent people were being hurt. If I was the president of America I would have that authority , wait let me rephrase that , I would have the authority to make a better difference. I would demand all police officers in America to not be racist and if they did, they would be in trouble. I would make a speech, so that people of colour would feel safer. I would urge people of colour to follow what the police officers say, and that if they were innocent then that would be the end of it. I would be as kind as possible to all people and also to the police officers who were doing a good job.
Writing 2:
I would feel scared, angry and upset.I would join in with the peaceful protest because black lives matter. I would be scared because of all the fighting, fires, stealing and riots. I would be upset to see a human being killed in that way and angry that the people who keep us safe are the ones which caused it.
I would be angry. To see someone that looks like me killed by the police, it was like his life didn’t matter as much as a white person. I would join in with the protests to show my support in making a change. I would be upset as in 2020 I would have hoped we would all be treated as equals. In a way I would be proud of everyone coming together to show support and voicing that black lives matter. Hopefully this will bring on a change.
I would be annoyed. I go to work to protect people but it’s been made very difficult as shops are being burned down and people are attacking the police. We are all being made out to be the same way, just because some police are bad and racist doesn’t mean we all are. I am sad that someone who works for the police like me and is supposed to protect people has done this to another human being. I would be scared that I got hurt while out at work, I have done nothing wrong but am being attacked. I will still go to work every day and try and do my best to let people protest peacefully and safely.
I would be determined to try and make my country at peace. I would be sad that this has happened in my country, I need the people of America to trust the police not be against them. I would want to get rid of racism completely and would be proud of everyone coming together to show black lives matter. I would be angry that the people feel that burning down buildings and stealing from shops is the answer as it puts the police and normal people at risk. I would be showing the people that what happened isn’t ok, making sure the ones who did it were punished properly and working hard with different groups to try and find a way to move on from this having made people stop and listen.
