Black Lives Matter

With all of the discrimination and racism that is going on in this world, and all of the police brutality that is happening to people across the country, it is hard to find what words to say. With that being said, I decided that it was time to take a step back and really think about the person that I am, what I believe in, and what I stand for. 

            In the past I will admit that when people first started hash tagging black lives matter, I didn’t fully get the concept. I was a person that would think, well.. all lives matter and it didn’t seem right to just be saying black lives matter. However, I have seen more of the world as I’ve gotten older and I think I now have a better understanding of what the true meaning behind the black lives matter movement is. 

I’ll admit, I am not always the smartest in the room and can be naïve to situations that I have not had to face myself. After reading “dumbed” down/simplified explanations of the reasoning behind what BLM really stands for, I support it. I will never know what it is like to grow up as black person (or any other minority for that matter) and I will never have to endure the things that they are going through. However, I will continue to educate myself on the matter and try to educate others when possible. Together we can all make a difference.   

            As time goes on, I see more and more questionable police interactions that involve the blatant brutality and murder of black people—and it truly hurts my heart to see. When I heard multiple stories from black parents that consisted of them instructing their kids how to act just to go to the park—so that they could make it home alive—is when I truly realized the struggles that black individuals face. No parent should have to have that kind of conversation with their child. They should be able to say, “Go and have fun with your friends, just come home when the streetlights come on”. No parent should have to fear that their child may be apprehended—yet alone killed—by police, when they are just at the park playing with their friends. It is not fair that black individuals have to constantly “be the bigger person” because other people were raised to be racist. Seeing this pain in a parent’s eyes and hearing it in their voice is something that just hits a different way.

            You shouldn’t judge a person by the color of their skin. You really shouldn’t judge anybody at all to begin with. I hate the way the news portrays events and groups of people. Personally, I feel the news plays into stories to create division more than anything. When I first saw stuff about the protests and how people were looting stores and causing chaos, I thought, “How is this supposed to do to help your case?” However, when I read into it deeper, I realized that for the most part the people creating this chaos aren’t the protesters or a part of the BLM movement. In reality, it is a group of people who are taking advantage of the situation by initiating madness at peaceful protests and by inciting violence—since this is something that is easier to get away with right now.

With that being said, the vast majority of people are peacefully protesting. AS THEY SHOULD. People need to be heard and I think that is starting to happen. At the end of the day, I believe everybody just needs to be a decent F****** person. Treat people with respect. Be kind to one another. Have an open dialect with kids when they have questions on these issues and explain to them how it is wrong to judge another person by the color of their skin. If everybody were to just be kind—and truly treat people how you would want to be treated—this world would be in a better place. 

 BLACK LIVES MATTER

            Much Love and God Bless