I’m supposed to be writing a
paper. I’m not supposed to be
contemplating two dead black men who died at the hands of police. But I am.
So here’s my thoughts. Take them
however you want, but here they are.
Two black men are dead, and
right now the reason isn’t clear. Sure,
I could say that he was resisting arrest.
But people resist arrest all the time and live. I could say that it was because he might have
been reaching for a gun. But that
happens and people live. But I’m sitting
here, and I’m not even sure it is the facts of the cases that bother me – two black
men died at the hands of police officers.
It takes an awful lot to justify killing someone in my book, but I’ll
hold off on that. I could address that
there does seem to be a terrible problem of racism that permeates how police
react to a situation, be it conscious or not.
But I’m not even sure that is what is bothering me. I think it is reactions that are getting to
me.
#BlackLivesMatter. They do.
I’m not afraid to say that. Some
people seem to think saying it is part of the problem. Recognizing that racism exists only furthers racism. Recognizing that race exists only furthers racism,
so I’ve read. But here’s the
problem. Race DOES exist. At least it does right now. I don’t care how much of a social construct
race may be, it doesn’t mean that it doesn’t exist and doesn’t play a role in how
people are treated. Do all lives
matter? Yes, and it is honestly a bit
silly to ask if they do. Because this
isn’t about all people. I’m reminded of
the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus didn’t
walk up there and say “Blessed are All People”.
This is literally how I see it when people say things like
#AllLivesMatter. No, Jesus saw people
who needed help, and he called them out, one by one. So I believe that Jesus himself would say “Black
Lives Matter”.
Because it isn’t saying that
ONLY black lives matter. It isn’t saying
they want special treatment because they are black. No, this simple statement is one that says black
lives should not matter as well. No, black lives should matter because they
are lives. They should matter without
considering the lives of anyone else.
They should matter equally with other lives. The problem is, because they are black, they don’t
seem to matter as much to some. And that
is a problem. I cannot speak for the
black community. I can only speak as to
how I see this, and how I want to address it.
But this is my fight, because if I don’t stop and say that, yes, black
lives matter, then I’m ignoring the plight of my brothers and sisters. I’m ignoring that God has called me to see
that all of God’s children are equally deserving of love and grace. They should be given equal protection under
the law. They should be able to not fear
that the color of their skin could be the difference between life and
death. I can only fathom what that must
feel like. But what I can do is stand up
and say it doesn’t have to be this way.
I can stand up and say there is a problem with race relations. I can say that I don’t think there’s an easy
answer, but I think there’s a path forward.
And it begins by accepting we
have a problem. It begins by accepting
that black lives matter. Because I
refuse to accept that all lives matter – some just seem to matter more. In order to be able to say that all lives
matter, I must be able to believe that all lives are valued equally. Until I can say that, I call out to those who
have been marginalized. I must call out
to those who do the marginalizing.
Tearing down the barriers set up by racism won’t happen by pretending
racism doesn’t exist. It does. It won’t happen by pretending race doesn’t
exist. It does. And I’ll be honest – it is easy to sit here
as a white man and think those things.
Because I have that luxury. So
instead, I lay down my luxury, and I lift up my voice. Black Lives Matter. Because we must say it until we no longer
feel that it needs to be pointed out.
Thank you. I think I can get back to work.
Cameron. D. St.Michael
