A few weeks ago “49 Killed, And 53 Injured In What Is Said To Be America’s Biggest Mass Shooting” was headlining all over the news. How did we feel during that attack? Were we worried for just one specific race or one specific victim? No. We were worried, and heartbroken for all of the victims, families of the victims, and witnesses. We were broken for all of those effected. At that point, everyone mattered.
Now, a few weeks after the Orlando attack, there have been two black men — very innocent, in my opinion — shot and killed by police at point-blank range. Then, after all of the madness begins from those two cases, Dallas got attacked. This time, it was specifically an attack towards white officers. I get that all of these tragedies sit differently with every person, but responding to violence with even more violence is not the answer. You cannot combat hatred with more hatred.
The Alton Sterling and Philando Castile cases absolutely broke my heart. I watched the videos and I almost couldn’t finish them. Seeing things that are so violent really just forms a giant pit in my stomach. Knowing that those things are so real, and that’s what actually happening in the world around me just makes it that much worse. Whenever I heard about those things, #BlackLivesMatter and its campaign really began to make sense to me. I can’t really speak from personal experience, but I have seen and heard of lots of racism and unjust cases — especially recently. A broken tail-light, which lead to death for Philando Castile, could have lead to a simple traffic violation for me. That’s just not right. Alton Sterling, who was selling CD’s at a convenient store, was shot at point-blank range. Again, that is just not right. These two cases, along with many others, deserve a lot more time and consideration, and all of the families effected deserve justice more than anyone. I can’t understand their pain, but I can see it.
However, after the Dallas attacks, although supporting #BlackLivesMatter and all they stand for, I began to understand that violence surrounds us all, not just one ethnicity. The suspect admittedly said that he wanted to “kill whites, especially white officers.”
Ya’ know what that tells me? That black people are not the only ones being attacked. The police officers in Dallas that died, and those that were injured were punished for someone else’s wrong-doings. That’s just not right, either. After the Dallas shooting is what made me realize that #AllLivesMatter. It became so much more than just Black, Blue, or White lives. It became innocent people’s lives being taken by their own people. Because every single person who was killed in recent attacks, was taken by one of their own. Whether they were Black, Blue, White, Red, or Yellow, I don't care. They were all part of one race — the human race. Which means they were all taken by one of their own.
I don’t say that to marginalize those who support #BlackLivesMatter. I say that in hopes that people will one day realize just how impactful humans can be as a whole. I know that there are plenty of unjust police brutality cases, I understand that Black people have to deal with racism every day, but that doesn’t make the person next to them matter any less. We have got to stop all of this. Because everyone who was killed in recent attacks, had their lives taken by one of their own. Whether they were Black, Blue, White, Red, or Yellow, I don’t care. They were all a part of one race — the human race. They were all taken by one of their own.#BlackLivesMatter will be a success whenever people can swallow their pride and come together to protect some of their own people. We can #BackTheBlue whenever police brutality cases come to an end. But, until then, these lives will not start mattering more until everyone treats them like they do. As of now, though, it really is a shame that some people will have to work harder for their lives to matter more than others.
So, I will end with this: I'm tired of being surrounded by corruption. I'm tired of seeing "Pray for Orlando" headlining all over the news, and I'm tired of waking up to see "Pray for Dallas" plastered all over my social media. I don't mean to sound insensitive. If anything, I'm thankful that there are still people who have an ounce of sympathy and compassion left in them. However, that doesn't change the fact that innocent people are being killed at alarming rates, and that is what I am tired of — and I hope everyone else is, too.
It's time to wake up America. Stop shooting innocent people, with the justification of "Black Lives Matter" or "Blue Lives Matter." Stop trying to justify violence. We all matter. Stop broadcasting hatred. Instead, respond to these events with compassion (even when it gets hard), and the drive to change this place into something better for all of us. Not just some of us.
And remember this:
"If you wish to see a change in the world, you must be that change." — Ghandi
