I was scrolling through my news feed the other day, and came across a video. In this video, protesters crossed the dangerous lanes of I-95 in order to be heard about "black lives matter." 13 protesters were arrested in the incident and I watched the video again (Freeman and Rarrick). I saw how they put their lives in danger, and the lives of others, just to protest. I fully believe peaceful protest is a right we all have, but as soon as you put someones life, or multiple lives, in danger, that is where I draw the line with your right.

I couldn't fathom these protesters though. the slogan, "black lives mater" never made sense to me. Why just black lives? Don't the lives of every human matter? Does every human not have the right to matter? Do the countless people they endangered, got stuck in traffic, maybe made late to pick up their children, maybe made late to see a family member, maybe made late to the hospital, do these people not matter? And I say maybe because I don't know where the people on I-95 were going exactly, but that's my point; neither did the protesters. Those driving could have had an emergency to get to, or could have been in an emergency themselves, or could just be going home. I don't know, and neither did those who stopped traffic to hold up signs that said "black lives matter."

I don't believe in all of these slogans that say "certain lives matter." It shouldn't matter if you're black, white, Hispanic, gay, straight, male, female or any other identification. All lives are important, and putting a label on a sign saying, "these lives are more important," is just going to separate these people even more. There are always going to be people who only see color or only see the flaws in peoples differences, and these people will always find a way to start boundaries to separate individuals and make them feel different. Let me tell you something though, you're not alone. Everyone in this world is different and diverse, and that is what makes this world so beautiful. We each bring something unique to the table, and that is not defined by race, gender, sexuality, religion, or anything else.

There is definitely separation in the world, and it's not just by color. The way to fight back is not by being violent, not stopping traffic, and not being hateful to people who are different, or to people who think your different. The way to fight back is with love and compassion, and to prove to people that you aren't a stereotype, You. Are. A. Person.

Source:

Freeman, Vernon, JR., and Chelsea Rarrick. "13 Black Lives Matter Protesters Arrested." WTVRcom. N.p., 18 July 2016. Web. 03 Aug. 2016.