I know that some people look at my posts about Black Lives Matter, anti-white supremacy, and others and think that I’m against white people. I want you to know, I like you, white people. These posts are just as much for your benefit. Here’s why.
Black Lives Matter vs. All Lives Matter
When we start talking about Black Lives Matter vs. All Lives Matter there’s a reason that one trumps the other. It’s quite simple. One is a dire situation and the other is a distraction.
The easiest way to explain it is this:
See, white lives are not currently being killed at a higher rate than Black lives. They are not seeing home values cratered because of redlining. They do not face the same rate of discrimination or voter suppression.
You may feel differently, but you can check out the links to read more and see if that changes your perspective.
Here’s the thing, you may not realize: I like you, white people. That’s one of the reasons I’m a strong supporter of equality for all: because doing good for everyone means everyone does better.
Riots, Unrest, and Peace
Martin Luther King Jr. once said “… a riot is the language of the unheard.” Just before he said that he said “These conditions are the things that cause individuals to feel that they have no other alternative than to engage in violent rebellions to get attention.”
This was not a call to violence – Martin Luther King Jr. believed in non-violent protest. At the same time, he realized that people can only take so much before they have had enough.
You can’t expect humans to live with unequal conditions and just accept those conditions. Not only is it not right, it’s not easy to swallow. What’s more, the more it becomes the norm, the worse it gets. The pay gap between the wealthiest and the poorest continues to increase as does the ratio of CEO compensation to the average worker.
As we get lax in fighting for equality, soon there is no other option for people but to react. Peace without justice is a false peace and it is temporary. True peace can only come as a result of justice. Anything else is simply rolling a snowball further and further, letting it become an avalanche. You either deal with injustice now or you deal with it later when it becomes intolerable. History has taught us this time and again.
I Like You, White People
I like you, white people. I’m one of you. When I fight for Black lives, I’m fighting for all of us.
As Martin Luther King Jr said “True peace is not merely the absence of tension: it is the presence of justice.” As long as all we want is peace while others face injustice we are simply bringing an even greater unrest to our future selves and our children.
If you want to live in a peaceful world – a happy world – then all citizens must have an equal seat at the table. As long as the requirements are higher for some, or the bar to entry is lower for others, we are only breeding future unrest.
We must give up what we have acquired through ill-gotten means and share equally with those who have been treated unjustly.
For the good of all of us, for the peace of all of us, we must care equally about all of us. And that means that – those of us that are treated unjustly and unfairly – those are the people who we must champion, lift up, and fight for equality and justice. When we don’t, we not only fail them, we fail ourselves.
