There are a few things that everyone should be able to agree on...
A day with your friends at the beach, or really anywhere else, is a good day.
The Dallas Cowboys are not, and never will be, America's team.
Puppy kisses are the best.
Quarantine sucks.
Mint chocolate ice cream will cure most blues.
Black Lives Matter.
For reasons that do not make sense to me, that last one is the hardest for people to get on board with. And not only that, but a lot of people who say they are on board with it, refuse to tell anyone else about it.
Let me preface by saying: Nobody is saying that other peoples' lives don't matter. Literally no one.
When people hashtag, say, chant, or cry "Black Lives Matter," they are asking for a fundamental respect that some humans give others every day. They are asking for you to see people of color, specifically Black people, as equal human beings, and therefore respect their lives. They are asking for you to treat our friends of color as not only equals, but equitable whole human beings. They are not asking for your life to not matter, or even to matter less. I think that needs to be reiterated continuously until everyone not only knows, but believes it.
Black Lives Matter as a movement, and also simply as a sentence, is so important.
As I write this I have tears in my eyes and a pit in my stomach. The anger that I and thousands of Americans feel is overwhelming and exhausting, and I hope that it never goes away.
I speak about BLM a lot. And I don't do so to make a name for myself, or to be a social media super star, or to make my friends and loved ones of color think I am simply an ally. I speak about BLM a lot because it matters to me. I speak about BLM a lot because I want my Black friends, and their friends and families, to feel and be safe living their every day lives. I want them to have the same fundamental rights and opportunities as me. And that will not happen unless we are all talking about it, and then going out and doing something.
I speak about BLM a lot because coming from my place of privilege, it would simply be wrong not to.
I was raised by a police officer. I have been handed an unbelievable amount of privilege as a result of this. And with any privilege comes responsibility. I feel an absolute need to not just speak, but do.
In my life, when I have seen a police officer, I have felt safe. I have always experienced that blanket of comfort. It is very clear in America today that my blanket is not the norm, and that gives me a strong feeling of disappointment and anger at a system designed to protect and serve its peoples. If everyone does not feel the safety I have felt, there needs to be a change. A change in the system. A change in humanity. A change in the way we look at and value peoples' lives.
The way I was raised by this particular police officer brought me a lot of my core values. Conviction in my own beliefs. Trusting my gut. Telling someone when they are being unjust. And knowing when to stand up for all of that. That is why I would shout Black Lives Matter off of a frickin rooftop if I could find one to stand on. Because knowing it or not, my parents raised me to not only have strong morals, but to stand for them.
That is why when I went to that first protest, my parents didn't ask if I was going, but instead texted me "stay safe," knowing that I would.
That is why when I hear people saying that they cannot be "for BLM" because they know and love someone in law enforcement, my cheeks burn. Black people are being murdered. There is no political ideology, career choice, or personal relationship, that can be accepting or tolerant of that. Our friends and loved ones in law enforcement need to know that Black lives matter, too. They need to not only know it, but be involved in it. Because at the end of every day, they get to take off their uniform, and return to their privilege. And like I said, with great privilege comes great responsibility.
That is why I KNOW that this movement is important. Because there are peoples in our towns and cities, our country, and the world, who do not have the same privileges that I do, and that is fundamentally wrong. And there are people who are ok with that. And my parents raised me better than to stay silent about something that unjust.
That is why I can say with pride that Black Lives Matter. And it is way more than a slogan, or even a movement. The simple sentence "Black Lives Matter," needs to be something that everyone is comfortable saying. Bottom line, it is asking for respect, and equity among our peoples - something that certain individuals who quote the bill of rights and the bible should be very knowledgable in. You know the type.
That is why it irks me to my core when people push back by saying, "All lives matter," and even more so "let's agree to disagree." Again, nobody is saying that other people do not matter. And we cannot agree to disagree on peoples' lives. We just can't.
That is why it is unacceptable to be shy in your support for BLM. Educate yourself, and support the movement however you can. But if you find yourself afraid of what your friends and family will say if you are caught saying Black Lives Matter, I challenge you to check that privilege, and get to work. Educate yourself, and then educate others.
Learning about privilege, racism, BLM, and everything that comes with these topics, is a lot like oxygen on a plane. You need to put your oxygen mask on first, and then assist others. And you don't stop assisting others until everyone on that plane has theirs on - until everyone is able to breathe. Right now, our plane is going down. We need to educate ourselves, and then show others to do the same. And we can't stop doing this until everyone we know is not only educated, but advocating for and helping others.
Being uneducated on racism is a privilege that so many people don't have the luxury of having. And because of that, we cannot afford to have it either.
We cannot agree to disagree on something as simple as a group of human beings mattering.
We can talk about it. We can share literature, and film, and podcasts, and we can regroup and talk some more. And we can continue to educate and discuss until you are as angry as I am. And then we can continue doing the work.
Being uneducated is not an excuse. Not having first hand experience is not an excuse. Not having time is not an excuse. Having friends and family in law enforcement is not an excuse.
People are dying. It's time to put on our oxygen masks.
Black Lives Matter.
Learn it. Know it. Scream it from the roof tops. Repeat.
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