Sacrifice. It is one of life’s greatest pains. Having to give up something you love, something that could not be lived without, is a task whose difficulty is too much for many to bare. The worst part about sacrifice is that we never truly know how much what we lost really meant to us until it is gone.

Sacrifice is unique to the individual. For me, throwing away a box of cigarettes is simple because I am not a smoker. But for one who is, this would be an arduous task. A cell phone for some is nowhere near a necessity, but for me it would be difficult to go one week without it.

So for some to not understand Black Lives Matter and the pain felt through the scarifice of African-American citizens almost daily, makes sense.

But that does not mean the problem is non-existent.

What people fail to recognize, which is especially epitomized by those who exclaim “All Lives Matter” are the sacrifices made by the injustice that occurs in our country. People who say “All Lives Matter” do not feel the pain that African-Americans feel when they see Alton Sterling, Philando Castile and Delrawn Small bleed on the news.

The ignorance is understood, but it needs to change because that ignorance comes at the expense of another’s life. When a law enforcer makes that decision to pull the trigger, he has chosen to make the sacrifice of the victim’s life. It is not his place to do so.

And to the officer who pulled the trigger, tell the truth. When you are asked why you pulled the trigger, tell the truth. The protestors, the ones who are hurting, want justice because you are taking away brothers, fathers, uncles, nephews, husbands and friends without saying why, and I mean the real reason why.

You do not value their lives. That is the truth, no matter how you disguise it.

The life of the victim and the ones who are hurting by their sacrifice are of little value to you. It is easy for you to take away what is of little importance to you.

Now, to the shooter of the officers in Dallas and Baton Rouge, you are no better than those men who believe they can willingly take lives of others. Your actions have done nothing to better the movement. With unjustified killings, you prove that you do not feel the pain of sacrifice, and thus you contribute the problem we as a country need to look to escape.

You do not feel the pain of sacrifice that police officers across the nation and the families of the victims feel. This erupted into a Blue Lives Matter movement, which I hope simply stands as a symbol of respect to police officers and is not a mockery of Black Lives Matter.

Because it’s true, Blue Lives and Black Lives matter alike. But because of this unresolved war between both forces, we have all been left black and blue. Bruised both physically, mentally and emotionally. Our wellness as American citizens has been scarred.

Violence has been used. Protests on either sides have been seen. Yet there has been no resolution.

Until we can see the pain of one another, there is no resolution.

I’m not asking everyone to love one another like they are brothers. The fact of the matter is we are not. But please try and understand the pain of the victim’s brothers. The pain of the victim’s spouses, children, parents, coworkers, teammates and anyone who has lost someone who is special to them.

Stop sacrificing what is not yours. The burden is placed on another.