Do Blacks Lives
Really Matter?
Or is it all BS?
©2015
When a black person is killed by a white cop, you can count on protests. However, when a black person is killed by another black person, it apparently is no big deal. 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 not matter just when a white cop kills a black person. Black lives should matter just as much when Blacks are killing each other. But it does not.
In the picture, a woman is carrying a sign that asks, “Is my son next?” The bitter truth is, her son is more likely to be killed by another black person than a rogue cop.
In Ferguson, 9-year-old Jamyla Bolden was doing her homework, when a crook fired five shots into her home, killing Jamyla and wounding her mother. 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 to get back at his father. As heinous as Tyshawn’s execution was, there was no major protests as was the case for LaQuan McDonald.
Though the mantra of Black Lives Matter has been taken up by many Blacks, it is not what we say that matters, it’s what we do. If black lives truly, matter, we should prove it.
To date, when many people shout, “Black Lives Matter,” they only mean when a white cop kills a black person. They’re selective about when black lives matter. We should protest questionable police shootings. But those killing shouldn’t be the only times we think black lives matter.
illings. We should also protest those killings. However, when you look at the big picture, our outrage has been selective. While we are protesting police killings and their bad behavior, we have been ignoring the avalanche of black-on-black killings and bad behavior.
Now, however, many Blacks are starting to push back on the hypocrisy of the Black Lives Matter movement. 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,” Sherman said, “then they should matter all of the time.”
“Some of it is being brought to light because of video cameras; everybody has a camera on their phone," he said. "These are things a lot of us have dealt with our whole lives.”
Blacks killing Blacks dwarfs the number of Blacks killed by white cops. But we act as if a black person is 10,000 times more dead when killed by a white cop than when killed by a black person. We have become so numb to Blacks killing each other, we don't protest and try to find solutions to this epidemic. Also, we have become so obsessed with racism, that is the only evil we see, but there's plenty of evil in our own neighborhoods as well. The easiest thing for a black person to do is to jump on the victim bandwagon. that doesn't take courage. But it takes conviction and courage to stand up for what's right whether it's accepted or not. Finally, we have to be smarter about protesting because others with different agendas will join our protests and exploit our anger to advance their own agenda.
The Black Lives Matter people can become quite upset when their hypocrisy is exposed. But when they adopt the lofty name, “Black Lives Matter,” they should expect scrutiny. Moreover, when they chant, “Black Lives Matter,” while ignoring the number one cause of black deaths, they will be called hypocrites.
This group and their supporters took great issue When Spike Lee was producing the movie about Chicago’s black-on-black violence, “Chiraq,” he was immediately attacked on social media and elsewhere—by some Blacks. They so resented Spike’s critique, they likened him to a white racist, a Tom. Spike Lee, likened to a white racist? Spike Lee a Tom? All because he chose to shine a light on a serious problem the black community treats like incest in a family—black-on-black violence?
Really Matter?
Or is it all BS?
©2015
When a black person is killed by a white cop, you can count on protests. However, when a black person is killed by another black person, it apparently is no big deal. 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 not matter just when a white cop kills a black person. Black lives should matter just as much when Blacks are killing each other. But it does not.
In the picture, a woman is carrying a sign that asks, “Is my son next?” The bitter truth is, her son is more likely to be killed by another black person than a rogue cop.
In Ferguson, 9-year-old Jamyla Bolden was doing her homework, when a crook fired five shots into her home, killing Jamyla and wounding her mother. 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 to get back at his father. As heinous as Tyshawn’s execution was, there was no major protests as was the case for LaQuan McDonald.
Though the mantra of Black Lives Matter has been taken up by many Blacks, it is not what we say that matters, it’s what we do. If black lives truly, matter, we should prove it.
To date, when many people shout, “Black Lives Matter,” they only mean when a white cop kills a black person. They’re selective about when black lives matter. We should protest questionable police shootings. But those killing shouldn’t be the only times we think black lives matter.
illings. We should also protest those killings. However, when you look at the big picture, our outrage has been selective. While we are protesting police killings and their bad behavior, we have been ignoring the avalanche of black-on-black killings and bad behavior.
Now, however, many Blacks are starting to push back on the hypocrisy of the Black Lives Matter movement. 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,” Sherman said, “then they should matter all of the time.”
“Some of it is being brought to light because of video cameras; everybody has a camera on their phone," he said. "These are things a lot of us have dealt with our whole lives.”
Blacks killing Blacks dwarfs the number of Blacks killed by white cops. But we act as if a black person is 10,000 times more dead when killed by a white cop than when killed by a black person. We have become so numb to Blacks killing each other, we don't protest and try to find solutions to this epidemic. Also, we have become so obsessed with racism, that is the only evil we see, but there's plenty of evil in our own neighborhoods as well. The easiest thing for a black person to do is to jump on the victim bandwagon. that doesn't take courage. But it takes conviction and courage to stand up for what's right whether it's accepted or not. Finally, we have to be smarter about protesting because others with different agendas will join our protests and exploit our anger to advance their own agenda.
The Black Lives Matter people can become quite upset when their hypocrisy is exposed. But when they adopt the lofty name, “Black Lives Matter,” they should expect scrutiny. Moreover, when they chant, “Black Lives Matter,” while ignoring the number one cause of black deaths, they will be called hypocrites.
This group and their supporters took great issue When Spike Lee was producing the movie about Chicago’s black-on-black violence, “Chiraq,” he was immediately attacked on social media and elsewhere—by some Blacks. They so resented Spike’s critique, they likened him to a white racist, a Tom. Spike Lee, likened to a white racist? Spike Lee a Tom? All because he chose to shine a light on a serious problem the black community treats like incest in a family—black-on-black violence?