Philando Castile, shot and killed at a traffic stop. Alton Sterling was shot and killed while complying on the ground with cops. Delrawn Small shot and killed after confronting an off-duty cop in a road rage incident. All three are black men shot by police only within a week and America is outraged. Correction: black America is in an uproar. As I scroll through my newsfeed I wait and wait for my non-black friends to speak up about the injustices that are taking place, yet I see nothing. These are the same people who have black friends and enjoy black culture. In the deaths of innocent black people, they seem to have nothing to say. If you’re not going to support black people here a few things you don’t get to do.
1. Disrespect #blacklivesmatter with any other hashtags.
Black lives matters was created to explain that black people are dying at an alarmingly high rate at the hands of officers. It is there to tell people that black people deserve respect and to not be looked at as criminals straight off the bat. I am not saying, however, that other lives don’t matter, they do. But right now we need to focus on the black ones because those are the ones that are in danger. In case you’re still not getting it: during the Holocaust, were we concerned with Asian lives? No, not because Asian lives don’t matter but because Asian lives weren’t the ones under immediate threat.
2. Tell black people to “calm down.”
When in the history of the world has telling a person to calm down ever actually made them calm down? All it does is piss them off further because you are brushing their issue aside. You’re invalidating their feelings. You are trying to dictate how people feel about an oppression you aren’t suffering through. Black people have every right to be distraught, sad, and most importantly, angry. Waking up every day to the same horrifying images of black people dying is enough to make any person angry, especially if you are black.
3. Bring up black on black crime.
White on white crime is a thing. Asian crime on Asian crime is a thing. Crime happens within each community. So because that happens, that justifies police killing unarmed black men? Wrong.
4. Demonize the victims. They are dead.
Saying they had a gun or a criminal record does not change the fact they are dead or that a cop was unjustified in killing them. Brock Turner raped a girl and we got his swim times and his pristine yearbook photo. Adam Lanza of the Sandy Hook shooting killed people and we got his mental health records. All we see of black men are mug shots or “threatening” photos to make them seem like wild animals and thugs instead of fathers.
Understand that the world is not what we want it to be. Black people are not free to walk around without this inescapable fear that they may not make it home. If you aren't willing to stand up in solidarity with black people who are struggling, your silence is a part of the problem. However, if silence is what you choose I can't change that. If your choice is to stay silent, then do not disrespect this movement or try to give advice. As Jesse Williams so eloquently said "If you have no interest in equal rights for black people then do not make suggestions for those who do. Sit down".
