First let me start by saying that I hate that I have to write this article. To me, this is a concept so simple that it truly baffles me that it needs to be discussed and even explained to people. But here it is, the Black Lives Matter debate. Instantly some of you reading audibly sighed and mumbled “All Lives Matter” and yes, you are correct. Even the Black ones, hence the desire of these protesters to draw your attention to that fact. Why are there protesting doing this you ask, well it seems that people haven’t forgotten that Black Lives, are also lives. Just blew your mind, didn’t I?

As a reminder I was going to list for you the Black Americans that have been killed in 2016, in six and half months, by police, however that is 136 names. Yes, 136. You have heard a few, Michael Brown, Eric Gardner, and most recently – in the past week – Alton Sterling and Philando Castile. But please realize there are 134 more young lives snuffed out needlessly.

Does that upset you? It should. “Oh but I am upset, that is just awful … But ...” and I’ll stop you there, because anything before a but doesn’t matter. It’s a platitude meant to hide your real feelings. Plus, I know the arguments, “they were breaking the rules” “he had a record” “he was carrying a gun.” I retort with who cares? Are any of those indiscretions (and in the case of carrying the gun, a civil right if you ask the NRA) really meant to be punishable by death? Would you accept the same if it was your husband, father, son, daughter? If they did the same, and acted the same, would their death be just as understandable?

To make my point I will link you this video from the 1996 film, based on the 1989 novel (that could just as easily happen today) titled "A Time to Kill". This tell the story of a young white lawyer in Mississippi defending a black man for shooting and killing two white men who raped and beat his daughter, and are likely to escape judicial retribution.

Schumacher, J. (Director). (1996). "A Time to Kill" [Video file]. Retrieved July 13, 2016

In the clip the lawyer, played by Matthew McConaughey, tells the story of the beating and rape to the jury, then after they are all physically disturbed at the details, he asks that they picture them to be white. So I will ask the same, looking at that list of men and women killed in the past year, all black, all of who’s families saw the person who killed them walk home to their own families, imagine those people were white. Would your outrage change? Don’t answer aloud, that’s not necessary, and your outrage against the “Black Lives Matter” people is really just another feigned attempt at proving how “unracist” you are. “We are all the same” and “all lives matter” seem so inclusive and tolerate, but I hate to tell you this my dear, they are most racist statements you can be making.

I say this because I’m going to clue you in to something very important, Black people are not the same as you. Black American’s have a history very different from yours, they live in a very different America than you. Even if they didn’t, they have a culture their own, traditions their own, and they shouldn’t need to be accepted as “the same” just to make all the sad, uncomfortable and ugly truths go away. We are here for a reason, and fake pleadings for inclusion in the a world that isn’t genuinely offering them is frankly, gross and needs to stop. Maybe then, the hate, the fear, the protests, and the killings that spark them, will fade away into the past with all the other gross parts of our history we so long to forget or rewrite.

Now I am not here to vilify law enforcement. In fact I don't see them as the problem, they are simply the consequence of the problem. The problem is that as a society we have too long ranked ourselves as better off and worse off. Proper, and improper. Classy and trashy. As soon as one group has been subjugated enough it seems as though all crimes against them cease to matter. This extends beyond young black men. Drunk women are instantly guilty of "asking for it"; teenagers are guilty of "being reckless" and their parents as "failures" - but shall I remind you all - there, but for the grace of God. We are all guilty of some sin in our lives, and each one of us has put ourselves, knowingly or ignorantly, into a position to do great harm to ourselves and others. We are not superior just because we were lucky enough to walk away unscathed. We are not superior just because the world looks upon us more kindly based on our circumstance. Yet, for some reason, we insist on believing we are, and refusing to see that as a problem.

Citation:

Grisham, J. (1989). A Time to Kill. New York: Wynwood Press