Minorities know all lives matter. But do you?
Ever since the hashtag "#BlackLivesMatter" became directly associated with the movement to bring attention to the injustice to the black population of the United States, another hashtag popped up along with it. "#AllLivesMatter" was created by ignorant white people who don't understand what the #BlackLivesMatter movement is all about and want to devalue it by taking away the worldwide attention it had gathered.
You can see it all over social media. White people crying out, "Why are minorities being so racist? Do they really expect us to help them when they say our lives don't matter too?" Because innocent white individuals are being shot on the streets of their neighborhood. Because they are afraid of seeing their child next on the news, shot to death by a police officer claiming that he was afraid of his life. Because it is possible to be racist towards a race that makes up the majority of the government and isn't specifically targeted by the police.
Everything is always about white people but the one instance where it isn't, when people are losing their lives again because of the color of their skin, they want to be included. "Don't fight fire with fire," they chant! "World peace can be accomplished with love!" This isn't a protest for the Vietnam War, this is a nationwide protest for the lives of an oppressed minority again asking for basic human rights. They want to live peacefully, rightfully respected. #BlackLivesMatter isn't a declaration of superiority, it is a declaration that black people are also human beings, and not animals to be hunted down.
There are Americans that say that racism no longer exists. They say that our generation is just too sensitive, ready to jump at any event with accusations. How can one say that racism doesn't exist when recently, Leslie Jones was openly attacked on Twitter because of a hashtag trend started by Milo Yiannopoulos? Hundreds of ignorant people, hiding behind their screens, hurled racist comments at this talented black actress because of this man in the name of "freedom of speech," forcing her off of the website after a few days of the abuse. Before she left, she tweeted, “I leave Twitter tonight with tears and a very sad heart. All this cause I did a movie.” How can one say that racism doesn't exist when the police have killed at least 136 black people in 2016? "I was afraid for my life," is never a good excuse. Do you have to shoot them dead? Can you not fire warning shots? Just because you have stopped them for whatever reason, do they not deserve to live?
I am not saying that minorities cannot be prejudiced against white people, but that comes from fear and anger and perhaps even hatred, and it is understandable. The negative attention directed towards minorities and this movement is troublesome, especially after the murders of cops making news because of the prejudicial views rising along with the tension on both sides of this battle for civil rights. Instead of support for the protests in the major cities in the United States, there are complaints, and "#AllLivesMatter" supporters are covering up the crimes against black people with useless mottoes, as if they could stop the discrimination in this so-called "land of freedom and justice."
Instead of whining about how you can't help the cause and how your white Republican family thinks black people are animals—help. Start fundraisers to raise money for the families of victims, do community service and share the progress of the movement in social media. That's really the biggest problem: white people are complaining about how often black people are being shot and unfairly arrested, ridiculed and killed in jails, but not doing a thing about it.
History does repeat itself. It's the 1950s all over again.
