We've all heard it by now. "I'm not Racist but I don't support Black Lives Matter." I have just a few reasons why these words sound racist.
1. Your response includes "BlueLivesMatter" or "AllLivesMatter"
Think about telling a person about a problem in your life and them responding with everyone has problems. You would feel dismissed and unheard maybe even worse than you did before. Then say you try to talk to someone else and they say the same, but they tell you about someone else's problem and you listen. You would feel dismissed and unheard wouldn't you? Maybe even a little resistant to hear about the other person's problem. This is how it feels when a person responds to #BlackLivesMatter with #BlueLivesMatter or #AllLivesMatter
2. You say you don't support BLM but then say you don't want to talk about it.
Have you ever tried to get your point across to someone and they both disagree and refuse to listen to you? Did you feel angry, enraged, tired of not being acknowledged when you just want to feel like your thoughts matter? This is how it feels when BLM supporters try to talk to non-supporters and they refuse to engage in conversation.
3. You don't say you don't support BLM, you don't say anything.
A child is being picked on in class. A lot of children have been picked on in class before but this particular child can't defend themselves. The other children never say anything. I'm sure you see what I'm getting at here. Even though it may feel safe to not say anything to you, to the person or people being hurt, you not saying anything makes them feel even more alone.
4. You don't have clear reasons why
Every movement that comes along will not be supported. To the people in the movement though , the movement is important and in some cases worth risking their lives for. So, when another person doesn't support the movement, a simple reason explaining why wouldn't hurt. Think about willing to die to protect something and another person saying it is not that serious. Would you look at them differently? Would you question who they are as a person?
5. You generalize the whole movement
If in one breath you can say not all cops are bad and in the same breathe you refuse to say not all BLM members are bad you might be being a little prejudice. Imagine someone on your team, Team A, kills a member of Team B, would you be upset if a member of Team B called you a murderer? That is how generalizations feel and the feelings aren't good. The feelings are enough to call everyone on Team B liars and dismiss their claims even if some of those claims hold truths.
The bottom line is saying you're not racist but you don't support Black Lives Matter sounds.. well... racist. Instead of voicing that you don't support BLM show that you aren't racist by supporting the cause through a different organization or maybe create your own. I just beg you don't dismiss the hardships of a group of people for a group within that group.
