WHAT REALLY "MATTERS" IN LIFE TODAY: Of course "All lives matter!", but countless shared posts on Facebook to that affect do not deserve the accompanying request for an "amen". It demeans and minimizes the cause "Black Lives Matter" which draws attention to the undeniable systemic discrimination and abuse suffered by the Black race, primarily African Americans who run afoul of police and the justice system. Black Lives Matter deserves the support, respect and compassionate understanding of all right thinking individuals. Clearly, history shows that black lives have not always mattered and sadly they will continue to not matter as long as attitudes in general across North America do not change accordingly and substantially. For hundreds of years, ours has not been an all-inclusive society...and that, my friends, is just not right. We cannot undo history, but we can learn from it and somehow further learn to live humanely as brothers and sisters, all the while making allowances for each other along the way and until such time as human rights for all are fully and mutually accepted and acted upon. Downtrodden and disrespected for generations, Black people today deserve to know that their lives do matter, as has been the case for the rest of us. That's the point...I hope you get it!
Black Live Matter, not because they are special or different; but because they are just like the rest of we humans -- and should be treated as such.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT THE CONTROVERSIAL BLM ORGANIZATION:
While current anti-police protests have adopted the slogan "Back Lives Matter", I feel it pertinent to take a look at the organization under that same name.
Founded: 2015
Mission to foster connections between black people and their allies in the fight against anti-black racism, spark dialogue among black people, and encourage social action and engagement.
About the Organization:
Black Lives Matter works to affirm the lives of all black people, including those who have been marginalized by earlier black liberation movements — LGBTQ people, the disabled, the undocumented, people with conviction records, women, and others. The organization got its start in July 2013, when workers-rights activist Alicia Garza reacted to the news of George Zimmerman’s acquittal in the killing of Trayvon Martin by posting a statement on Facebook: “Black people. I love you. I love us. Our lives matter.” Her friend and fellow California activist Patrisse Cullors added a hashtag, and, with the help of New York-based immigration activist Opal Tometi, the #BlackLivesMatter movement was born. With the help of volunteer cultural workers, artists, designers, and others, the movement became an online forum for efforts to roll back racist policies, practices, and social structures that negatively affect Black lives.
Even though some tactics and training of recruits are questionable, there is nothing wrong with the original intent of the organization. It's all about a segment of society advocating for constitutional rights afforded to most of the rest of us.
The following article states the situation far better than I ever could.
https://thefederalist.com/2020/06/23/the-two-very-different-meanings-of-black-lives-matter/?fbclid=IwAR3jPjeiuyBQOseq2Dz8A9JOG2GKnKqCtxo8qiha4PJp_d1ur_0_o7TZcyY.
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