Confused about Black Lives Matters?

This is my personal opinion on the Black Lives Matter Movement. So many of you are WRONG about it!

Mark Wilson

I normally keep my opinion to myself, but I have seen so many comments that let me know people really don't understand what Black Lives Matter means!

People like former NYC mayor, a person responsible for upsetting race relations in his city, Rudy Giuliani, have called the Black Lives Matter movement racist. I have seen countless people on social media counter the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter with #AllLivesMatter. Yes, it is TRUE! All lives do matter! However, in America, bad police officers have been allowed to abuse their power without any justice being served, therefore, it seems to Black folks as though Black Lives DON'T matter. This is the reason for the movement, we want to matter just like everyone else!

You wouldn't go to an AIDs walk and say ending all diseases matters, because that's inherent. There are people who focus solely on raising awareness for causes from fighting diseases to saving animals. People don't question their agenda like they do the Black Lives Matter agenda. I never hear people say to someone raising money and awareness for cancer, "Well fighting all diseases matter, so why are you highlighting cancer?" never. Never. NEVER have I heard someone question that! But possibly, because of Black people's history in this country, people feel comfortable questioning WHY Black lives matter?!

When police are caught on camera pulling up on 12-year-old Tamir Rice and killing him within seconds, because he had a toy gun, and still DON'T get indicted for murder, manslaughter or even misconduct, something is BROKEN in the justice system. I have heard SICK people justify the MURDER of a 12-year-old by saying he shouldn't have had a toy gun. Meanwhile, Ohio, where Tamir lived, is an OPEN CARRY state. "Open Carry. Ohio’s concealed carry laws do not regulate “open” carry of firearms. If you openly carry, use caution. The open carry of firearms is a legal activity in Ohio." The police disregarded the law and executed this child without asking not a single question, when asking one question could have saved his life! What if that was your son, your brother, your grandchild, would you be so quick to condemn the actions of a child and praise the actions of police?

Dylann Roof, who killed 9 people in Charleston, SC is able to face a judge and jury for his crimes, yet Tamir, who committed NO crime, was gunned down by officers who decided it was their right to be judge, jury AND executioner! The Boston Bomber, Dzhokhar Anzorovich "Jahar" Tsarnaev, who three people and injured at least 264, was taken ALIVE by police. He was given the opportunity to face justice! These are two examples of murderers, with bodies on them, but were not killed during apprehension. Yet Philando Castile was shot for following the directions of the police officer! But people will still argue that we live in a society where everyone is treated fairly. Bad cops kill people of every race and rarely pay for it, but the data shows that the killing of Blacks by police is disproportionate:

"As of Sunday, 1,502 people have been shot and killed by on-duty police officers since Jan. 1, 2015. Of them, 732 were white, and 381 were black (and 382 were of another or unknown race).

But data scientists and policing experts often note, comparing how many or how often white people are killed by police to how many or how often black people are killed by the police is statistically dubious unless you first adjust for population.

According to the most recent census data, there are nearly 160 million more white people in America than there are black people. White people make up roughly 62 percent of the U.S. population but only about 49 percent of those who are killed by police officers. African Americans, however, account for 24 percent of those fatally shot and killed by the police despite being just 13 percent of the U.S. population. As The Post noted in a new analysis published last week, that means black Americans are 2.5 times as likely as white Americans to be shot and killed by police officers" according to the Washington Post

So until bad cops face consequences for their actions AND if people can focus on fighting breast cancer, Alzheimer's, AIDs, childhood obesity, diabetes without people saying #AllDiseasesMatter, then Black Lives matter should be able to focus on Black Lives! And quiet honestly, the Black Lives Matter movement is not just Black people, our brothers and sisters from different races, religions, nationalities, socio/economic backgrounds, etc. have joined the movement because they understand it's not a racist movement, it's a movement for equality and justice. Black folks don't want anything beyond the same treatment that other people in this country enjoy!

This is my personal opinion on why you are WRONG about the Black Lives Matter movement! Leave your thoughts below!