Let's talk about #blacklivesmatter

Okay so today at school a club I'm in called No Place for Hate decided to silently protest police brutality by wearing victims' names and sitting in our school courtyard. We were stopped by one of our assisstant principals before we even started, and all 30 of us ended up in the head principal's office. Long story short, we spent two hours in there talking about equality and being told why we couldn't do what we were about to do. Do I believe it was entirely our principal's fault? No. I do, however, believe that we live in a nation with a screwed up system that needs to be fixed. Now, before people start arguing, I want to make a point.

60 years ago civil rights were a big issue. It's not even a question to us now that racism was rampant and that change needed to come. The funny thing, however, is that people who were alive back then don't typically remember it like how our history books teach it. Not all white people members of the KKK, and not all black people were part of the Black Panthers. There are bad people on both sides of every issue. No one is saying all police officers are bad. If this was an isolated incident then that would be one thing, but it's not and it continues to happen, and there is no justice for the victims of this. Something you have to remember when talking about all of this is that black people were definitely discriminated against and there was serious injustice in our society. Looking back on it, we know that those laws were stupid, and every white person who ever attacked a black person seemed ignorant. The funny thing is, they didn't see it like that back then. Back then, that was just the laws, and no one batted an eye when a white person attacked a black person. The only people who seemed to notice where the people who led the civil rights movement that eventually led to reforms in the law. So for anyone who thinks that we can't make a difference, just take a moment to reread the second half of that sentence. Now, 60 years later we look back on that and we think it's insane that the laws were like that. What are people going to think in another 60 years when they look back and see all these cops who walked free and all this racism running rampant? We have a chance right here and now, with our generation to make a difference. We can start a new movement.

Finally, to conclude, I want to talk about why I support #blacklivesmatter over any other equality movement. It's a quote you've probably heard before. Look at it like this: a house is on fire in a subdivision. The fire department isn't going to show up and put water on all the houses because all houses matter. No, they're going to put water on the house that's burning beccause that's the house that needs the water the most. It's not about saying black lives matter more than anyone else, that's just ignorant. Let me end with this: if you were being treated unfairly, wouldn't you want someone to stand up for you?

No justice, no peace.