I would like to consider myself a very tolerant person and pretty open-minded. I respect those that are different than me in race, ethnicity, religion, and political views. However one thing I am not very tolerant of is bigotry and ignorance, two things I am seeing way too much of lately. I think where I see the most of these two negative things is when the Black Lives Matter movement is discussed. I hear things like “Why isn’t it all lives matter?” and “Well, why didn’t they just cooperate with the cop?” which are said out of ignorance. There are some who do understand the movement, but don’t agree with it for whatever reason. I think this movement is very misunderstood, and in lieu of current events, I want to explain Black Lives Matter, because it’s very clear they are being treated like they don’t.

Imagine this; you have seen breast cancer affect you first hand. Your mother, aunt, sister, and best friend have all died because of this terrible disease. You have suffered enough from this disease so you decide to do something about it. You organize a foundation for breast cancer research in the name of your deceased loved ones. Many join you in raising money for your foundation. They help you organize fundraisers and are there for support, because they feel your pain. Then one day during a fundraiser, someone filled with rage comes up to your and other supporters of your foundation screaming “Are you kidding me? Don’t you know all diseases need to be cured? This is sickening and ridiculous!” How would you feel? You weren’t doing anything wrong with your fundraising for your organization. All you did was experience something terrible, team up with others of similar stories, and work together to make a difference. You are not saying your disease needs to be cured first or is more important to find a cure for, you’re just saying it needs a cure. That’s what the Black Lives Matter movement is. It is not saying Black lives matter more, it is saying they matter too. The person filled with rage represents what happens when someone says "All Lives Matter." Obviously all lives matter, but there is very clear evidence, making it seem like the lives of black individuals don’t matter. The amount of lives that have been taken by police brutality is absolutely sickening, and it is why we need the Black Lives Matter movement.

One of the most common things I hear every time (which is WAY too much) another black life is taken by police brutality is “Why didn’t they just cooperate with the cops?” Well imagine this; police treating you differently just because of who you are. You are profiled because of the color of your skin because of stereotypes that surround that. Stereotypes that suggest you are a thug and a criminal just because of your skin. That’s it. The color of your skin determines how you are treated by those whose job it is to keep us safe. If you are constantly target and profiled, you eventually get less and less willing to cooperate with the police. I am not saying that is right on the victims’ part not to cooperate, but you also have to look at the police’s role.

I went to a lecture at my school called “Race and Policing” and there was a panel of three white law enforcement officers and three black students and faculty. The policemen at this seminar said they get frustrated when people ask them questions and said it is my generation's fault of asking too many questions and wanting answers that things escalate. To that, one of my professors stood up and said “How many seconds does it take to answer a question? If you just answered the question at hand or explained what was happening, you would save so much miscommunication and the situation escalating.” I totally agree with this. If during a simple traffic stop or a robbery, policemen and women did not profile the person at hand based on race, answered their questions and explained what was happening, and weren’t so quick to draw their guns, so many lives would be saved and we would not see the tons hashtags of black victims of police brutality that trend much too often.

I do not want any confusion here. I am not writing this article with an “all or nothing” mentality. I am not saying all cops are racist killers, because I know they are not. There are some genuinely good cops out there and I’m sorry your reputation is taking a hit. I also know that some deaths by police brutality are those who did pose a serious threat and were dangerous and were shot and killed for a legitimate reason. However we can clearly see there is evidence way too many cops think way too many black lives don’t matter, when they clearly do. Supporting the Black Lives Matter movement does not mean you hate cops or think black individuals are superior to everyone else, you are simply standing up to injustice. I will support this movement until it is clearly understood and displayed in our society that Black Lives Matter.