Do you understand what "Black lives matter" mean? Are you willing to learn?
No, it has nothing to do with "Black supremacy", it isn't about Black lives being more important than anyone else's. Simply put it is about Black lives mattering.
The issue of Police brutality against minorities, especially black people, in the US has been happening for years, centuries even. Colin Kaepernick began kneeling during the national anthem at games, saying “I’m not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color. There are bodies in the streets and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder,” he said, referencing deaths caused by law enforcement.
There is an unimaginable list of unarmed black people who have fallen victim to systematic racism. Here are just a few:
Tamir Rice, who was a 12-year-old boy was shot and killed by a police officer as he was carrying a toy gun. The officer shot him almost immediately upon arrival to his location. Philando Castile was shot and killed by a police officer during a traffic stop after he informed officers that he was legally carrying a licensed firearm. Officers neglected to disarm him or give him clear instructions on what to do afterward and instead shot several bullets into him as he was in the car with his girlfriend and her child. Breonna Taylor, an EMT was shot dead by police who stormed into the wrong home; her home, on a no-knock warrant investigating a drug operation searching for a suspect who was already in custody. Travon Martin was a teenaged boy who was walking back to his father's house, and was stereotyped and followed. When his killer approached him and a fist-fight occurred, his killer then feared for his life and killed Trayvon. His killer was the initiator and Trayon should've been the one who feared [i]his[/i] life, yet, he was killed and his killer walked free. There are many more instances such as this with the latest being George Floyd. He was a man who was [i]suspected[/i] of paying with a counterfeit $20. As cops arrived, he was pulled out of his vehicle and compliment the entire time. On the ground, he was handcuffed as officers held his down and one had his knee down on his neck for nine minutes. As George pled he couldn't breathe, the officer still didn't let up. George died underneath the officer's knee. This is a continuation we see in America as we see white Americans are treated differently. We can look at situations such as Charleston, the murders of black churchgoers by Dylan Roof, and the variety of mass shootings in America. When we look closely at the mass shootings in schools, restaurants, movie theaters, etc., they are usually white men and these criminals are taken into custody safely. They are put in prison, but they have their lives. What is the difference? There are things called Systematic racism, institutional racism, and downright racism that exists in our country. There also exist, White Privilege. White Privilege isn't about being rich or wealthy. It is simply about being White in America. Did you know that over 40% of drug arrests are not for selling any drugs but just for possession of marijuana? And that White and Black Americans are about equally likely to use marijuana, but Blacks are 3.7 more likely to be arrested for it? And that even if they don't get convicted of a crime that arrests can stay on their record and affect their chances at good jobs, housing, and bank loans for the rest of their lives? Blacks are seen as threats while White men and women are not, even when they are innocent and unarmed. There have man [b]MANY[/b] cases in America over the years where innocent and unarmed black men and women's lives are taken by the people who are supposed to protect and serve us, but instead after they have taken the innocent lives, they are not held accountable. There often is no jail time. Police Officers are not above the law. Black lives matter is [b]NOT[/b] about violence. (there might be some agitators in the group BLM, but Black lives matter means that black people need to stop be stereotyped, feared, and killed because of our skin color. We are often treated like or less than animals. So when people say, "black lives matter,". In no way, shape or form do we mean that your's or anyone else's doesn't. We simply have to stress and empathize that our lives matter, when we are often treated as if it doesn't.
Now, be honest. take any one of these black victims I mentioned and imagine if they were a white man or woman. Would the officer(s) have been arrested? Would the incident have happened in the first place?
The issue of Police brutality against minorities, especially black people, in the US has been happening for years, centuries even. Colin Kaepernick began kneeling during the national anthem at games, saying “I’m not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color. There are bodies in the streets and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder,” he said, referencing deaths caused by law enforcement.
There is an unimaginable list of unarmed black people who have fallen victim to systematic racism. Here are just a few:
Tamir Rice, who was a 12-year-old boy was shot and killed by a police officer as he was carrying a toy gun. The officer shot him almost immediately upon arrival to his location. Philando Castile was shot and killed by a police officer during a traffic stop after he informed officers that he was legally carrying a licensed firearm. Officers neglected to disarm him or give him clear instructions on what to do afterward and instead shot several bullets into him as he was in the car with his girlfriend and her child. Breonna Taylor, an EMT was shot dead by police who stormed into the wrong home; her home, on a no-knock warrant investigating a drug operation searching for a suspect who was already in custody. Travon Martin was a teenaged boy who was walking back to his father's house, and was stereotyped and followed. When his killer approached him and a fist-fight occurred, his killer then feared for his life and killed Trayvon. His killer was the initiator and Trayon should've been the one who feared [i]his[/i] life, yet, he was killed and his killer walked free. There are many more instances such as this with the latest being George Floyd. He was a man who was [i]suspected[/i] of paying with a counterfeit $20. As cops arrived, he was pulled out of his vehicle and compliment the entire time. On the ground, he was handcuffed as officers held his down and one had his knee down on his neck for nine minutes. As George pled he couldn't breathe, the officer still didn't let up. George died underneath the officer's knee. This is a continuation we see in America as we see white Americans are treated differently. We can look at situations such as Charleston, the murders of black churchgoers by Dylan Roof, and the variety of mass shootings in America. When we look closely at the mass shootings in schools, restaurants, movie theaters, etc., they are usually white men and these criminals are taken into custody safely. They are put in prison, but they have their lives. What is the difference? There are things called Systematic racism, institutional racism, and downright racism that exists in our country. There also exist, White Privilege. White Privilege isn't about being rich or wealthy. It is simply about being White in America. Did you know that over 40% of drug arrests are not for selling any drugs but just for possession of marijuana? And that White and Black Americans are about equally likely to use marijuana, but Blacks are 3.7 more likely to be arrested for it? And that even if they don't get convicted of a crime that arrests can stay on their record and affect their chances at good jobs, housing, and bank loans for the rest of their lives? Blacks are seen as threats while White men and women are not, even when they are innocent and unarmed. There have man [b]MANY[/b] cases in America over the years where innocent and unarmed black men and women's lives are taken by the people who are supposed to protect and serve us, but instead after they have taken the innocent lives, they are not held accountable. There often is no jail time. Police Officers are not above the law. Black lives matter is [b]NOT[/b] about violence. (there might be some agitators in the group BLM, but Black lives matter means that black people need to stop be stereotyped, feared, and killed because of our skin color. We are often treated like or less than animals. So when people say, "black lives matter,". In no way, shape or form do we mean that your's or anyone else's doesn't. We simply have to stress and empathize that our lives matter, when we are often treated as if it doesn't.
Now, be honest. take any one of these black victims I mentioned and imagine if they were a white man or woman. Would the officer(s) have been arrested? Would the incident have happened in the first place?
36-40, F
