Black Lives

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