“Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.” Such is said by America’s 16th president, Abraham Lincoln, of whom dedicated his life to the task of American equality. Though such an idea was the foundation of America’s creation, American citizens have frequently undermined it in racial cases. Racist hate crimes have become a prominent part of society but are unjustly being labeled as other crimes by the government, blinding people to the amount racial oppression in society.

As the government covertly attempts to mute cases labeled as “racist crimes,” American citizens have been unfairly neglected the right of attaining knowledge on the unjust suppressions of its own people. One of these many atrocious acts is revealed through the Chapel Hill Shooting, in which the government identified the murder of three Muslims by a white male as "an ongoing neighbor dispute over parking" (Chapel Hill Shooting Suspect 2). In truth, people do not simply die over parking spots and the conjecture of such an idea alienated the three Muslims’  human rights. With the realization that “anti-Muslim hate crimes are five times more common today than they were before 9/11”, a further investigation was conducted and had proved that the white male possessed a “Facebook page, with numerous posts railing against [the Muslim] religion” (Chapel Hill Shooting Suspect 1). To even further the notion that this attack was one of racial prejudice, it was said that he had several times “talked to them while carrying his gun in his belt, making them feel extremely uncomfortable” (Chapel Hill Shooting Attack 3). Yet instead of marking this as a hate crime, this incident was made into a trifling matter. In another incident, the government continues its illicit manner onto a young African-American boy named Michael Brown. This crime was committed by a police officer of whom murdered Brown for simply “taunting him” (Dueling 5). Though instead of punishing the police officer, the government had labeled the case as “responding to a call about a robbery” (Dueling 5). In addition, it “took the police six days to publicly identify the police officer”, arising a greater suspicion to their actions  (Dueling 6). If the police officer was truly innocent, then the government should not have felt the need to hide such information. In truth, though the government heavily denied it, these two acquisitions were hate crimes. These cases, along with many others, have led to the American citizen’s obliviousness to the injustice of many races.

By doing this, Americans are creating a false sense of a free nation that does not truly exist. How can Americans call themselves equal when such racist crimes are held within their own communities? In the case of the three Muslims, the white man’s wife had the audacity to proclaim that the "victims were simply at the wrong time and the wrong place" (Chapel Hill Shooting Attack 3). It is almost as if she were implying that Americans should go around parading in bulletproof vests just because they are of a different race. It has come to the point where the victims are being blamed for the murders inflicted upon them. As if this was not savage enough, in the case of Michael Brown, the “grand jury had decided not to indict the officer who killed her son” (Michael 1). Not only are the Americans’ sole protectors of society trooping carelessly murdering people, they are also not being charged for it. If a society needs to be protected from its “protectors”, is it really a free nation? But even with all this in mind, the government would still argue its position.

  By addressing the publication of racial discrimination as a threat that would lead to uprisings and a great amount of social tension in the nation, the government would simply state they were only protecting the Americans by reducing such conflicts. Is it not ironic that the government is “protecting” its people but still allowing the continuation of “animosity towards victims because of their beliefs”(Chapel Hill Shooting Attack 2) and “determining [that an officer] committed no crime" (Dueling 6) after the killing on an innocent citizen? Such instances only escalate the idea that racial hate crimes need to be greater recognized in order  to provide the equality that America stands for. The only choice left for Americans is to use these past wrongdoings as a lesson learned and to strive for the morality their nation has been founded on.

Overall, the vast accumulation of racist hate crimes being labeled falsely is demoralizing what America truly stands for. It is the job of the American citizens to speak out against such injustices by protesting and expressing such opinions on all social medias. Ultimately, diversity is the strength of the American nation and its citizens must do whatever they can to protect it.

Works Cited

"Chapel Hill Shooting Suspect Indicted - CNN.com." CNN. Cable News Network, n.d. Web. 24 Feb. 2015.

"Alabama Governor Sorry for Police Incident, Officer Pleads Not Guilty - CNN.com." CNN. Cable News Network, n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2015.

"Dueling Narratives in Michael Brown Shooting - CNN.com." CNN. Cable News Network, n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2015.

"Michael Brown's Mother: 'This Could Be Your Child' - CNN.com." CNN. Cable News Network, n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2015.

"Chapel Hill Shooting Attack on Diversity - CNN.com." CNN. Cable News Network, n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2015.