Do black lives really matter, or is it just BS?

Do Blacks Lives
Really Matter?

Or is it all B.S.? ©2015


BY SAMUEL K




When a black person is killed by a white cop, protests are inevitable. This is the case even if the person killed was in the act of committing a crime. However, when a black person is killed by another black person, it apparently is no big deal, and protests are rare. After Michael Brown was killed in Ferguson, MO, protesters took up the chant, “Black Lives Matter.” Indeed, black lives should matter. But black lives should matter all the time and not just when a white cop kills a black person. Black lives should matter when Blacks are killing each other as well.


We don’t defend or excuse white cops killing Blacks. We just think it’s even more reprehensible when we do it to each other, and we are doing it to each other in numbers that overshadow what the police is doing to us.


In Ferguson, 9-year-old Jamyla Bolden was doing her homework, when a crook fired five shots into her home. Jamyla was killed, and her mother was wounded. Other than family and friends, the black community did not make her death a cause for protesting.


In Chicago, 9-year-old Tyshawn Lee was intentionally executed by a gang member who wanted to get back at his father. As heinous as Tyshawn’s execution was, there were no major protests or community outrage as was in the case of LaQuan McDonald.


“When I found out he (Tyshawn) was targeted, I thought this is a new kind of killer, a new kind of shooter," said Joewaine "Joe" Washington, a former gang member and CeaseFire violence interrupter who was monitoring the ongoing violence in the area. "It was a time bomb, but in my wildest dreams, I never knew it was going to escalate to a kid."



The "Black Lives Matter" mantra has now been taken up by many Blacks. However, it’s not what we say that matters; it’s what we do. If black lives truly matter, let’s prove it.


When people shout, “Black Lives Matter,” they are nearly always referring to situations where a white cop killed a black person. They’re being selective about when black lives matter. But those killings shouldn’t be the only times we think black lives matter.


The Black Lives Matter group, and their supporters, took great issue when Spike Lee was producing the movie “Chi-raq” about Chicago’s black-on-black violence. They attacked Spike on social media and elsewhere. Some even likened Spike to a white racist, or a Tom. Spike Lee, likened to a white racist? Spike Lee a Tom? All because he wanted to shine a light on black-on-black violence?


Fortunately, more Blacks now recognize the hypocrisy of the Black Lives Matter movement, and they are pushing back. Seattle Seahawks Cornerback Richard Sherman added his voice to the issue:

“As a black man, I do understand that black lives matter," Sherman said. "I stand for that, I believe in that wholeheartedly. But I believe that there is a way to go about things and there’s a way to do things.

“I dealt with a best friend getting killed, and it was by two 35-year-old black men. Wasn’t no police officer involved, wasn’t anybody else involved, and I didn’t hear anybody shouting, 'Black lives matter. If black lives matter, then they should matter all of the time.”


For individuals who do participate in these protests, make sure you’re not an extra in someone else’s protest or agenda. Groups with different agendas often join protests, but they have a totally different agenda to take over the protests and to steer those protests in a direction they would like, be it violence, looting, or anarchy.


Here’s a thought. When the Black Lives Matter people target the police to make the point that black lives matter, they’re essentially picking low-hanging fruit. For, despite the actions of rogue cops, police officers have cameras to monitor their behavior, and they’re under increasing scrutiny internally and by the media.

But the issue of thugs in the ‘hood is a different story. Black Lives Matter proponents feel it’s safer confronting the police than it is to confront thugs in their ‘hood. That’s the real reason they’re not protesting black-on-black killings. It’s also easier for the protesters to jump on the victim’s bandwagon.

But it take guts and commitment to confront the thugs in the ‘hood. We’ve got to stop the madness and fight the instinct to do harm to each other.