It's been one hell of a week. We need to talk. No, don't worry; we're not breaking up. It's just that there are a few things on my mind. 

What should we talk about first? 

Do you want to talk about Wednesday?

Let's talk about institutional racism. 

Let's talk about the disproportionate affect that guns and police brutality have on black and brown people, and men of color in particular. Let's talk about how mothers and fathers have buried their babies. Let's talk about how we portray this instances in the media? Why did it take me weeks to see Brock Turner's mug shot, and minutes to see Alton Sterling's? 

How about Thursday?

Let's talk about the gun lobby. Where was the NRA in defense of Philando Castile's right to legally carry a concealed weapon? What does it mean to be black in America, when your worst fear during a police interaction isn't a speeding ticket. 

What about Friday? 

Let's talk about all of the above... And on top of that? Are you ready to have a conversation about the artillery-grade weapons that took the lives of 5 police officers? The greatest single-incident police death since September 11th. Are you ready to talk about mental health in America? How about the status of veterans' affairs? 

Let's talk about the men and women who put their lives on the line overseas, and here at home. Let's talk about why there are members of our national community who feel afraid of the ones who work to protect them, and how in turn that fear effects community relations and trust. Let's talk about the families that said "see you laters" to their loved ones in uniform, who didn't know they were saying "goodbyes." 

It almost makes you long for the days when your biggest social media gripe was whether or not that girl from your high school would be posting Game of Thrones spoilers, doesn't it? 

But beyond the world of Bachelors handing out roses, Taylor Swift's new boyfriends, and even surprise Beyoncé albums... There are a lot of looming conversations to be had. And it's OUR job to be having them. We can't leave it up to chance... and we can't leave it up to Washington. 

This is a time to be challenged. As a country we have been so outstandingly divided, plagued with such deeply partisan politics as to become ineffective. We, the American people, having been living in a state of deadlock, one that is quite literally killing us. 

So here's where I'll start. Here's what's on my mind. Here's what I want to talk about, tomorrow and the next day, and the day after that: 

First, there have been 27, 466* incidents involving guns this year in the United States alone. In the course of those incidents, 7,101* people have died and another 14,651* people have been injured. Of those? 314* of the injured or killed were children. In 170* of those instances, the shooter shot or killed a law enforcement officer. 950* times since New Years Day, law enforcement officials have been the ones to shoot or kill. We are running towards 200, with 179* mass shootings, defined as 4 or more people shot and/or killed,  in the last 6 months.

I have a problem with the fact that my right to safety and security has been compromised by a lobby that is so powerful as to put my life at risk when I go: to the movies, to school, to the mall, to a grocery store, to a peaceful protest. I will go ten rounds and toe-to-toe, common sense gun control is no longer an option. 

Second, in searching for some take away from this tragic week, I've decided to look at the cross frame of identities involved. That is to say, the assumed politics that we've assigned to these identities, do not fit the narrative of the past week's events. The way that we as individuals, and our news sources-of-choice have woven them into our national fabric is now at odds. 

The Dallas Chief of Police, a black man. One shooter was an American veteran suffering mental illness. One of the men shot was legally carrying a concealed weapon. Black men lost their lives to police violence; police lost their lives doing their jobs protecting others. All of these identities are important, and all of them need to be accounted for. 

Let's talk about a black man's Constitutional right to due process... and to gun ownership and possession. Let's talk about the militarization of American police, and how we've created a culture where our police our being outnumbered with dangerous weapons that put them and our communities at risk. How do you process these stories? How will CNN and Fox News? I challenge you to be vigilant in your consumerism. 

Personally, and professionally, my admiration and appreciation for law enforcement officials couldn't be greater. I am thankful and grateful for the men and women who go out everyday, who risk their lives, who live their oath. The men and women, who have kept me safe - and no, not in a generally "community" way, I mean actually, me personally - the officers in uniform that responded to my 3 a.m. call during a home invasion. The two officers who would drive me from the doors of the city hospital where I worked the night shift all through college to my car to ensure I made it home safe. I am thankful for the officers who have supported me in investigator roles, and in courtrooms; I can't sing the praises loud enough of the men and women who have come, as knights in shining armor, to take children out of the worst-of-times. The officers that sit outside a victims home all night because she can't sleep. The ones who time-and-again have put themselves between me and them. These people aren't figments of my imagination. I know they're there. 

See, to protect your values, your profession, or your community, you must be able to challenge it. To defend your community, your uniform, your identity, you must believe in it.

I believe that we can be better. 

I'm ready to talk, and maybe, more importantly, I'm ready to listen.