Following the brutal shooting of Philando Castile in Minnesota by a police officer and the death of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, Louisiana at the hands of two police officers, the Black Lives Matter movement rallied back into protests in various cities, seeking justice for Philando, Alton and their families. Following a peaceful Black Lives Matter protest in downtown Dallas, Texas, there was open fire and bullets sprayed into a sea of police officers. As a result, five officers lost their lives and a major debate of Black Lives Matter vs. Blue Lives Matter has erupted across the nation.
The issue with this debate is that both sides have various, extremely valid points. Let me flesh them out for you.
Black Lives Matter started in 2013 following the death of Trayvon Martin, but became nationally recognized in 2014 after the death of Michael Brown struck up protests in Ferguson, Missouri. The movement calls for justice to be brought for black individuals that have been unjustly killed by police officers that used excessive force. In order for justice to be brought, the officer is to be called out on and held accountable for the actions that took place. The officers never seem to face any repercussions resulting in the movement growing more and more every day that passes. This movement is not an "anti-cop" movement. It's a movement that wants justice of the individuals responsible. In fact, the whole movement started when an armed civilian shot and killed an unarmed black boy. It wasn't a police officer that started it all, it was an armed civilian who faced no repercussions for his actions. Those supporting Black Lives Matter are not responsible for the innocent lives taken in Dallas. It even states on the Black Lives Matter website, "Black activists have raised the call for an end to violence, not an escalation of it. Yesterday's attack was the result of the actions of a lone gunman. To assign the actions of one person to an entire movement is dangerous and irresponsible."
Blue Lives Matter started as a parody of sorts of the Black Lives Matter movement, but has sparked into a serious, nationwide backlash. Although it is hard to find a definite mission statement or specific purpose of the movement, it's safe to assume the movement has a similar idea as Black Lives Matter. Blue Lives Matter means that police officers should not be targeted and killed for wearing their uniforms and doing their jobs.The movement humanizes police officers, reminding others that they have friends and families. Police officers shouldn't fear their lives when they are working crowd control at a peaceful protest or work the beat every day.
These two movements seem to be on completely different sides of the spectrum, but in reality, they're almost identical. Both movements are saying, "Please stop killing us." Both movements want justice for wrongs committed by a minor group amongst a majority. It's time to stop categorizing those filled with hatred and the need to kill with those that are trying their best to get their voices heard and do what is right. Those backing Black Lives Matter need to keep making it known their movement is peaceful and those using violence do not represent the movement as a whole. Police officers need to call out the bad seeds and stop justifying the actions taken by officers if the horrific murders don't end.
Yes, not every cop is bad. In fact, most cops are amazing people who dedicate their lives to keeping everyone in their community safe, on and off duty. Yes, their job is a dangerous one and they know that going into it, but they don't deserve to be shot for the actions of a few bad cops who didn't deserve their badge in the first place.
Yes, there are people who proudly shout "Black Lives Matter," then go and seek out justice with blood. Yes, there are radicals amongst a group that just wants peace and justice. But there is no need to hold those deaths against those who want justice to be served for the families who had a loved one taken away by one of the few bad cops.
Now here's the question I pose to you, who is to be held accountable? All those backing the Black Lives Matter movement? All those backing Blue Lives Matter? Every police officer? Every black person?
None of the above.
The justice system is to blame. Not individuals, not all black people, not all cops, but the way our justice system is set up. Looking back to all the hearings of officers responsible for using excessive force that resulted in death, the justice system tends to favor police officers.
So, how do we fix this? How do we fix the broken, misconstrued views people have of each movement? Understanding. Understand that just because, "Black Lives Matter!" is proclaimed, it is not being said that white lives, blue lives, hispanic lives and all other lives don't matter. It means black lives need help getting justice and black lives need to be saved. We need to understand that the few bad cops that have been brought to life and the others that have yet to be seen are not a representation of the majority. Not all cops are bad cops. Not all black people want to kill cops. Retaliating against violence with more violence just feeds the fire, it doesn't extinguish it. We need peace, understanding and love to get through all of this. And remember that old saying: An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.
