If you have not been hiding under a rock these past few years, then you are fully aware of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement. It is a movement that is against police brutality against black people, usually involving peaceful protests. Over the few days these protests have revamped because of the recent incidents involving black men and law enforcement.
Philandro Castile and Alton Sterling (and numerous others) have become hashtags after being gunned down on camera. This has sparked outrage in the black community because even though we know there is police brutality, we have seen law enforcement face zero consequences after the shooting of a black person. Some of us have become so numb and desensitized to this violence, that when an innocent black man or woman gets shot by the police, it's "oh, another one got shot?".
Some of you may be thinking:
Well they were resisting, if they were innocent why did they run, if they did not do anything why were they (*insert some bullsh*t here), they had a record, they were in a gang, they (*insert more bullsh*t here)...
Why does anyone think it is okay to justify the killing of a black man or woman? Why is it that after a black person is killed by an officer, the media and others bring up whatever dirt they can find, but Brock Allen Turner raped a woman and his swim times were shown over and over again?
Is it because we will never be viewed as human therefore making it okay to kill us and justify it by bringing up something from our past? Is it because our lives do not matter?
When we say Black Lives Matter, it is not devaluing your life.
It is not saying non-black lives do not matter.
It is not saying blue lives do not matter.
But, when you say “all lives matter” it is an insult. It is a smack in the face. For some reason, when people say all lives matter, you are insinuating that black lives do not matter. Black lives are included and in all lives, but some just feel the need to say “all lives matter.” When someone says black lives matter and you respond with blue lives matter, all lives matter, or anything other than “yes, black lives do matter” then you are a part of the problem. Black people, especially men are being killed at an alarming rate because of police brutality. You cannot deny this because it is all over the news, it is on video, we are living this and we know it to be true.
You’re probably thinking, well what about black on black crime? My initial response to this is would be “what about white on white crime?” But if an officer was to gun down a white person, I would not ask about white on white crime. I would experience the same sadness if it was a black, latino, or asian person that was gunned down. I would not question what they did wrong, I would not question their criminal record, I would not question their past or present. However, if you were to question any of these, I would question your humanity. At the end of the day, it all boils down to your humanity.
People are losing their lives, black people are losing their lives, cops are losing their lives. We are a nation, but we are not united. We need to fix this, we as a nation need to do better. The hate runs so deep, it is in our roots and that is what our country was built upon. But I know we can overcome this, we must stop the hate against Blacks and other minorities. We must stop the hate against law enforcement. We must stop the hate against the LGBTQ community. We must stop the hate.
