Which lives matter?
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There's been a movement in America for some time. It has its dogged supporters and its vehement detractors. It's a topic I've flip-flopped on since its inception. I've actively avoided talking about it. But it's been back in the news after a brief lull and I feel compelled to make a statement.
It's actually the #BlackLivesMatter. I have to admit that I initially felt strongly against it. All lives do, in fact matter. That is a valid point. We fight to end segregation and ease racial tensions and our big move is to start a trending movement around one race in particular. It seemed counter-productive and, frankly, dismissive of the plights of all but one group. Black people are not the only ones who have a difficult time. I've seen lots of stats about who has it worse, etc, and so forth. The world overall is in tough shape, so let's not pick one over the other.
And I desensitized myself to the concept and promptly ignored as a cause du jour. But it didn't go away. So I sat back quietly and thought on it for some time.
I think Black Lives Matter is important. Let me be specific. I think it's important to address individual issues individually. Maybe Black Lives Matter is a mistake. I don't really know. What I do know is that the need to crush things that are individually important to people and homogenize society is the true mistake.
We have all kinds of initiatives and fundraisers for so many individual causes. Should we stop funding AIDS research because there are other diseases? Should we start a "sickness fund" and put all our efforts into one place. We don't treat AIDS and cancer the same. They don't have the same doctors. They don't have the same research. Why blend the 2? We'd never consider it.
Don't raise awareness for homeless veterans anymore, please. Just homeless people. Pay no special attention to any one category. Don't build homes for soldiers who lost limbs in the war because some people are born without limbs. None of this paragraph makes a damn bit of sense.
Now... if blacks, whites, hispanics, asians, and whoever else all got the same treatment in every part of life, then all lives would matter as one big blended cause. But that's not the case. Just because we bleed the same, doesn't mean we get treated the same.
I'm not, by any stretch of the imagination, saying that all of those killed are automatically exonerated and all cops are out for blood. There are good and bad in every bunch, but that's a conversation for another day. For now, all I'm saying is that we can treat every situation equally when everyone in these situations is treated equally.
Until then, racism is an issue and replacing "black" with "all" is to pretend it doesn't exist. If there are other issues under the ___LivesMatter umbrella that exist, then address them. Give them their own time and effort if they matter to you. Don't cut off one issue because there is a 2nd. Just have 2 issues.
Believe me... I long for a day where BlackLivesMatter doesn't matter because we don't even notice the difference in people on the surface level. That day is not today unfortunately. If you're a specific BlackLivesMatter detractor, wake up. There's still a race problem here. If you're a BlackLivesMatter proponent, then keep it civil. Protest without violence if you want to be heard.
I worked hard at choosing my words so they could not be twisted. Please don't molest this message. All lives do matter, but addressing problems individually instead of a lump is an important decision.
It's actually the #BlackLivesMatter. I have to admit that I initially felt strongly against it. All lives do, in fact matter. That is a valid point. We fight to end segregation and ease racial tensions and our big move is to start a trending movement around one race in particular. It seemed counter-productive and, frankly, dismissive of the plights of all but one group. Black people are not the only ones who have a difficult time. I've seen lots of stats about who has it worse, etc, and so forth. The world overall is in tough shape, so let's not pick one over the other.
And I desensitized myself to the concept and promptly ignored as a cause du jour. But it didn't go away. So I sat back quietly and thought on it for some time.
I think Black Lives Matter is important. Let me be specific. I think it's important to address individual issues individually. Maybe Black Lives Matter is a mistake. I don't really know. What I do know is that the need to crush things that are individually important to people and homogenize society is the true mistake.
We have all kinds of initiatives and fundraisers for so many individual causes. Should we stop funding AIDS research because there are other diseases? Should we start a "sickness fund" and put all our efforts into one place. We don't treat AIDS and cancer the same. They don't have the same doctors. They don't have the same research. Why blend the 2? We'd never consider it.
Don't raise awareness for homeless veterans anymore, please. Just homeless people. Pay no special attention to any one category. Don't build homes for soldiers who lost limbs in the war because some people are born without limbs. None of this paragraph makes a damn bit of sense.
Now... if blacks, whites, hispanics, asians, and whoever else all got the same treatment in every part of life, then all lives would matter as one big blended cause. But that's not the case. Just because we bleed the same, doesn't mean we get treated the same.
I'm not, by any stretch of the imagination, saying that all of those killed are automatically exonerated and all cops are out for blood. There are good and bad in every bunch, but that's a conversation for another day. For now, all I'm saying is that we can treat every situation equally when everyone in these situations is treated equally.
Until then, racism is an issue and replacing "black" with "all" is to pretend it doesn't exist. If there are other issues under the ___LivesMatter umbrella that exist, then address them. Give them their own time and effort if they matter to you. Don't cut off one issue because there is a 2nd. Just have 2 issues.
Believe me... I long for a day where BlackLivesMatter doesn't matter because we don't even notice the difference in people on the surface level. That day is not today unfortunately. If you're a specific BlackLivesMatter detractor, wake up. There's still a race problem here. If you're a BlackLivesMatter proponent, then keep it civil. Protest without violence if you want to be heard.
I worked hard at choosing my words so they could not be twisted. Please don't molest this message. All lives do matter, but addressing problems individually instead of a lump is an important decision.