Since the beginning of the Black Lives Matter movement, I have been a supporter. My heart breaks at the fact that hundreds of people are dying because there are people out there who are closed-minded bigots. My heart breaks even more because someone taught them to hate and now they're probably teaching their children to hate because they're supposed to. More importantly, my heart breaks because we have to have a Black Lives Matter movement....AGAIN!
To me, all lives matter, whether you're red, yellow, purple, black or white. No one should be out there killing you because it's easy and they've been taught to hate you. But as it's been said all over the internet, "The Black Lives matter movement is like going to the doctor with a broken arm and the doctor looks at you and says, 'All Bones Matter.' Well yeah, but I'd really like to focus on the broken one right now." By supporting the movement I'm not saying all lives don't matter, what I'm saying is we need to fix America's broken arm.
But then there's this awkward moment where I'm a little white girl from the suburbs. I can't even count on two hands how many times I get side-eyed or looked at with this face of contempt for saying I support the Black Lives Matter movement.
"You don't even know what it's like to be judged by the color of your skin,"
"You just want to be one of those white people who does something good for black people so you can go home and brag to all your other white friends,"
"You just want to look like the good guy."
You're right, I don't understand what it's like to be black or to be judged by the color of my skin, but what you're not understanding is that I want to be part of the reason you are no longer judged by those things. I want to be the reason you can let your kids go outside to play and not have to worry about whether they'll come home at night. Just because I don't know what it's like doesn't mean I can't support the movement.
No, I'm not doing this to brag to my other white friends and I'm not doing this because I want to look like the good guy in a world full of bad guys. I stand behind this movement because I've seen what happens when we let hate win. I've been right here with you and watched the senseless killings of innocent people. I've heard the stories, seen the live-streams and watched the dash cams. I have been raised in a society where we're creating apps just so we can send in video of police brutality. A society where people fear sending their children, black or white, to school for the sheer fact that they might not come home.
So I'm asking you, from the bottom of my heart, please stop giving me these one-liners and awful looks because I support the Black Lives Matter movement and I'm white. I'm behind you 1000 percent; just let me stand with you to make change happen. Stop dividing us because I'm not like you; just let me stand with you and prove to the world that Black Lives Matter.
