Last week, a man was shot six times by the police while selling CDS. Less than 24 hours later, another man was shot in traffic while reaching for his license at the request of police. The controversies that have surrounded these killings have already raised hundreds of questions worth answering, at least from my point of view. Even if you are against #blacklivesmatter, I suggest taking the time to read and understand this side, as I have done yours.

1. How exactly are these an example of police brutality?

Alton Sterling was selling CDS outside a store when he was approached by a homeless man asking for money. The man was persistent, even after Sterling turned him down. The homeless man was uncompromising, and Sterling showed him his gun out of defense. The man called the police, and soon after they arrived Sterling was thrown on the ground by the two officers. The video that captured these events shows no clear sign of resistance from Sterling nor do we see him take out his own gun. This footage is unclear and not a completely accurate representation of what occurred. However, there most certainly was unnecessary force toward a man who showed no threat toward the homeless man or officers. Philando Castile’s situation is even more straightforward. Him and his girlfriend were pulled over for a defective taillight. Casile explained that he was permitted to carry a gun, and was shot when reaching in his pocket for his license with his daughter in the backseat. A general summary of these incidents should be enough to raise questions and concerns about a breach of power by the officers involved.

2. Store owners say Alton Sterling started carrying a gun out of fear of being robbed, so the second amendment crowd should defend him, right?

While those in support of second amendment rights advocate the carrying of guns as a precaution, such a right only seems to be supported when white people are involved. In other words, white people only defend carrying guns when it is white people carrying guns. Sterling began carrying a gun after he was mugged, in other words, as a form of self-defense. He told the homeless man that asked him for money to leave him alone, when the man persisted, he showed him his gun. Being armed in situations like these is what pro-gun groups are so very adamant about. As far as we know, Sterling was not using the gun to harm others, only to protect himself. It seems as if pro-gun people have forgotten what they believe in, instead calling Sterling “dangerous” for being armed.

3. Don’t all lives matter though?

Absolutely, what many fail to realize is that the #blacklivesmatter movement does not mean exploiting other races, nor does it mean that blacks think of themselves as being superior to, or mattering more than other races.

Imagine you are at dinner with friends, and the waiter announces that everyone will be receiving their dinner except you. Naturally, you’re going to ask where your dinner is. “Doesn’t my dinner matter to you?” “Hey, all of our dinner’s matter,” protests your friend. “Are you saying your dinner matters more than the rest of ours?” “But everyone else was promised their dinner, except me,” you argue. “You have a history of under tipping,” admits another friend. “Maybe you don’t deserve your dinner. “My past does not determine the way I should be treated in my future,” you protest. “Just because I’ve been known to undertip doesn’t mean I don’t deserve the right to eat a meal I’m paying for.”

Everyone’s meal at the table matters. But by saying that your dinner matters, you are not implying that your meal is superior over over your friends’, but that yours has been neglected, and you have been treated less fairly than the others at the table.

If all lives matter, would that hashtag be a response to those fighting for peace with BLM? Pro-black is not anti-white, or any other race. We are not targeted, we are not profiled, and we are not harassed. Our ancestors were not enslaved by our own race and denied access to restaurants, or jobs. As whites, our lives matter every day, it's time we begin to think of the ones that don't.

4. What about their criminal pasts?

It is almost comical to me when people bring up the previous wrongdoings of victims as if their past somehow justifies their murders. “He was a registered sex offender, he was a shoplifter, he was a heavy drinker.” He is not his past, he is not his crimes. His faults are not the only thing that define him, and they should not determine his fate. If the sins of a man should justify his murder, then perhaps we should all be condemned for mistakes we made long ago when we were different people, with different morals. Let us forget about the importance of learning from these mistakes and allowing ourselves to grow from them.

5. #Bluelivesmatter too though, right?

What many fail to understand is that the condemning of certain police officers does not mean the condemning of all police officers. Police are completely necessary members of our community that protect and save lives. Their kind as a whole is not perfect, but neither is any other occupation. One teacher being a sex-offender does not make every teacher a sex-offender, just like one officer wrongly killing a victim does not mean all are untrained and dangerous. It is unnecessary to encourage the notion that “all cops are murderers,” but it is also time that we begin to accept that there is an abuse of power among some of them.

It is possible to grieve the losses of the officers in Dallas, while still being aware of the abuse of power some officers demonstrate. These two things are not mutually exclusive. You can have great respect for law enforcers and still want them to be thought of as ethical.

The main issue with the blue lives matter movement comes from people that created it. When cops die, everyone else is to blame. When a civilian dies in the hands of police, the only one blamed is the victim. I pray for everyone who has ever been wrongly killed. However, the people I have seen posting prayers for the Dallas officers are the same that have stayed silent during Sterling and Castile. I saw no prayers for them, no condolences for their families, only long posts defending the officers that killed them. Only when white police are killed are they interested in a need for reform and change. Do not favor one victim over the other, do not sit in silence while innocent black men are killed because you are too blinded by the “rights” of police. Grieve every unjust murder, and seek justice always.

We must recognize the severity of the situation blacks are facing. We are living in a country where a black man is unable to reach into his pocket without being gunned down. The murder of the police is a tragedy, but the murder of blacks is a trend.

6. Why aren't you discussing the death of the Dallas Police Officers?

Their murder isn't any less important. I mourn for their friends and families and am heartbroken at the fact that more innocent people have died. However, to blame this on the BLM movement is unjust. The protest was peaceful and the shooter was not a part of it. The murder of whites is just as terrible as those of any other race. The cops did nothing wrong, and neither did the 135 black people killed this year by police. Once again, grieve every unjust murder, and seek justice always. The murders of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile have caused more controversy and raised crucial questions about BLM vs. ALM that needed to be the main focus of this article. In no way am I devaluing these officers lives nor am I calling their murders any less tragic.

A murder at a routine traffic stop is not something that can be excused, regardless of a man’s race, background, or criminal history. What matters is what he was doing in that moment, and if it truly was just reaching for his wallet, then he is not the one who deserved to be punished. A white rapist was just sentenced to six months in prison, a black man selling CDS outside a store was murdered. A Muslim officer was suspended without pay for refusing to shave his beard, but the two cops that murdered Alton Sterling are on paid leave. I am tired of excuses, I am tired of hearing about the rights of officers. The wrong people are being favored in these situations, and it’s certainly not the minorities. “A black man is killed by cops and media prints his prior records. A white teens rapes a girl and media prints his swim times.” Open your eyes, but more importantly, open your minds. African-Americans are almost four times as likely to experience the use of force during encounters with the police.

I will never fully understand what black people have to deal with on a daily basis, but I hope that by taking action, by making BLM more than a hashtag, that I can help make a difference. I do not know the struggles you endure, but I will stand by you.