Last month, I stumbled upon a brutal post that was going viral across social media. My friend had shared this image, requesting her friends help her report it so that it might be taken down. Her husband is a police officer, and in her mind, the worst thing that could happen to her family would be for her children discover such an image. How does a mother explain to her children that their father leaves the house every day to protect the kinds of people who draw and support these violent pictures?

Don't get me wrong, I'm an absolute supporter of the freedom of speech. I did report this post, because my personal conviction was to help a friend in need. This was to no avail, as it was for the hundreds who tried reporting this post as well. Facebook told us this:

There was no way to have the photo removed, we discovered. It had been reported under several categories of offense, but none had the post removed. I decided to dig a little deeper and eradicate the source of the post. You see, my friend had shared it from an "Alton Sterling" fan page, of sorts. Alton Sterling was the name of the profile, and the profile picture was of a black man sitting.

While I was horrified by the police cartoon, I wanted to check out this fan page. If it was spreading any sort of positive message, I would decide to leave it be. However, that was not the case. This is a screenshot of the first post shared by the page.

I reported it not because of the support for the Black Lives Matter movement, which I support, myself. I could even let the first paragraph go. However, BLM supporters don't deserve this as their front runner. They don't deserve a "Hell yeah," "Get off yo ass to make a statement." *gun emoji, gun emoji*. I did some research. The creator of this page, who will not be named, hasn't gotten off his own "ass" to do anything for the movement. His idea of activism is creating a Facebook page and painting it with hate filled obscenities. His idea of supporting Alton Sterling is the ultimate death of white police officers. I reported the page. Not because it violated any community standard. When reporting a profile, several options are listed.

I reported "Alton Sterling" as a fake account. In the first place, the page creator didn't need to run a page which didn't promote the ideals of the true Black Lives Matter movement. Stirring hate only causes more trouble for all parties involved. Secondly, Alton Sterling did not deserve to have his name attached to a crime-supporting, hate-inducing web page he never agreed to begin. There are no words to express Alton's sentiment because Alton Sterling is gone. The tragedies that have occurred in this season are traumatizing, heartbreaking, and entirely avoidable. However, it is important to understand something.

Running a Facebook page is hardly activism. It is passivity at best.

I researched what we can do to effectively support the Black Lives Matter movement. The Washington Post created an awesome article, using the leading voices of the BLM movement to share with the world just what it means to help the cause. Sally Kohn wrote, "It is not up to Black Lives Matter, nor any movement led by and for communities of color, to make space for or articulate a vision for white people." These are some statements white people should consider when trying to support Black Lives Matter.

1. Stop saying, "all lives matter."

Yes, of course they do. However, this phrase only silences the voices of those who are actually in need of justice reform. Stop saying it. Stop ignoring BLM.

2. Stop saying that racial profiling doesn't exist.

No one has ever said racial profiling is intentional. It is ingrained, dangerous and must be addressed.

3. Pick a side.

Elie Wiesel, Holocaust survivor, died on July 2, 2016. We stand on his side of history, because we are aware that the Holocaust was a cruel, mass genocide which has affected generations to come. Is police brutality really that different? Will it take the same amount of fatalities for us to take a stand? Elie encouraged everyone to battle for the right side of history. Not making a decision is a decision, itself.

To learn more about what you can do to support Black Lives Matter, check out the website. To find out how you can get involved, read this page.