With so many articles and videos surrounding the Black Lives Matter movement vs. the All Lives Matter and Police Lives Matter movements, I wanted to take a step back for people who know about the situation and want to help. There are very few things more influential than Facebook, in a day and age where a majority of people base their beliefs on things they find on the Internet.
Facebook is a great tool for keeping your family updated on the fun things happening in your life. However, Facebook is also a great way for people to "lobby" belief systems that have very little factual basis or are based on biased facts. This is how the idea that all police officers immediately think "shoot to kill" whenever he or she encounters a black person. This is also the reason why some people believe that black people are all from the streets and were raised in a criminal lifestyle. The Internet has only solidified the stereotypes that have been created for every race. As soon as someone creates or finds something that fits these seemingly harmless stereotypes, it gets shared. It gives some people a good laugh here and there. But in the end, people end up with a compilation of what they believe to be pieces of evidence as to why these stereotypes are true in every case. As a result, police officers doing their job end up dead because another officer acted a certain way. Black teenagers are given a bad reputation because according to Facebook they all weren't raised well. There is no way to say that one side of the argument is the sole reason for this. But over time, it has been a collective arms race with both sides using social media as their main medium for their propaganda.
In the end, there is only one answer. We must hold everyone accountable for his or her actions, regardless of their position. Whether that be arrester or arrestee, how you act will determine your consequences. If you resist arrest, more force will be used against you. If you refuse to comply with an investigation or ID check, the police will not let you walk away. Rebelling against the system isn't going to fix the broken parts. If you are acting the way you should be to a police officer, it will be much easy to weed out those who should not have a badge.
Do not disrespect someone who is trying to make sure everyone is safe. Do not act like you are more important than what the police are trying to do. Do not post on Facebook attempting to make people believe that black people all hate police. Not all black people are criminals. Not all cops are killers. Not all white people are racist. To help fix the problem, you have to embrace the facts, not rebel against authority. Accept that neither side of the aisle is 100 percent right. Don't cast judgement until you have been in a situation that requires a life or death decision.
