If you have access to a radio, television, or the Internet then there is no way that you have not heard of the Black Lives Matter movement at least once since it was created in 2012. The movement was created after George Zimmerman, the man accused of murdering 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, was acquitted of his crime, in an attempt to bring light to “the virulent anti-Black racism that permeates our society.”
In the time that this movement has been around it has gotten a lot of hate. There have been many people who are arguing that the creators and supporters of this movement are implying that Black lives are the most important and all other lives are worth "less". However, these arguments are not the case or the basis of this movement. The Black Lives Matter movement is not about putting Black lives above the lives of others or saying that Black lives are any more important, in any way, than the lives of their peers. This movement is about the ways in which Black lives are, and have been, deprived of basic human rights.
Yes, in a literal sense, all lives matter. There is not a life that should be thought of as “more important” than any other life. However, that is not what the Black Lives Matter movement is about. This movement was established in order to expose the number of Black lives that have been taken due to police brutality. By using the counterargument “all lives matter”, one is implying all lives are equally at risk, which is in fact not the case.
Black Americans have been systematically and institutionally oppressed and treated as though they are less since slavery, and although slavery, Jim Crow, "separate but equal," etc. laws have been deemed unconstitutional does not mean that the levels of inequality, racism, and prejudice against Blacks has decreased. And that is what this movement is about. It is about spreading the word and bringing attention to what is happening right under our noses. It is not about a group of Blacks claiming their dominance over anyone else; they are simply stating that their lives, just like the lives of everyone else on this planet, matter.
Another argument is that if the victims had listened to the officers and complied, then they would not have been in that situation. This is something I believe we can all agree on. But, someone not listening or having a bad attitude is not an excuse for an officer to use force so brutal that it causes serious injury, or death if their immediate safety is not directly at risk. So, yes, I do believe that if some of the victims had simply done what they were told they might still be here with us today. However, I also believe that if an officer is going to become so enraged and emotional over someone not complying with them, then they should not be working for law enforcement in the first place.
This movement is solely about Blacks trying to gain the rights that they, as humans, deserve. They’re not trying to take away the rights or worth of other lives; they are only trying to become equal.
But, if you ask me, they should not have needed to create a movement in order to gain the equality that they so rightfully deserve.
Race is only skin deep. We are all human, so let’s start acting like it. #BlackLivesMatter
