What Black Lives Matter Really Means- blogged by @niksofly

One of the most incredulous things in life is to be reprimanded by someone you love for saying #BlackLivesMatter. Nothing can prepare you for someone who  you believed held the same values rip to shreds the movement because it doesn’t encompass ALL Lives or speak for the masses. It is incredibly painful, but you have to continue because the movement isn’t about your pain. It isn’t about your personal feelings. It is about seeking justice and accountability for those that society has attempted to sweep under the rug. It is about making your voice heard promoting change so that your brother’s  or son’s life wont trend next; so that we won’t have to be reminded to #SayHerName because your mother or sister was harassed.  It is more than a saying, it’s a civil right that has been denied historically.

The Meaning of The Movement:

The misconception is that #BlackLivesMatter denies the importance of  the lives of others, I personally feel that it’s a tactic to diminish the necessity of the movement, but for those that seem to be a bit confused, I’ll clarify. Saying that my life matters does not equate to saying that ONLY my life matters.  It is saying that my life is just as important. BLM was created to seek accountability for those that unjustly take lives and aren’t rendered a consequence.  It is saying that I AM WORTH YOU SEEKING JUSTICE FOR ME. My life is just as important as the next man’s. Don’t diminish my life based on a skewed perception of who you think I am.  It is not an anti-cop, oppose other races campaign. It is an accountability platform. Hold those that use excessive force and continually harass to the same judicial standards you would hold us as civilians. Stop murdering blacks for existing when mass shooters are allowed to live to see a trial. Give  blacks those same opportunities at life. 

The Reason #AllLivesMatter is Deemed Disrepectful:

If my nephew is missing and I say, “ My nephew is gone. I have to find him. He matters”, but I’m greeted with “ Many children in the world are missing. All children matter” as you hold your nephew; while this is true, it doesn’t eradicate the point that my nephew is missing and surely doesn’t aid me in my chief concern in finding my nephew.  If anything it spits in the face of my adversity. I can’t begin to look for any other child without securing the whereabouts of my nephew. That is what #AllLLivesMatter does. Yes, life in any form matters, but at this current time, we are speaking on BLACK LIVES.  The idea of inclusion further exemplifies the necessity of the movement.  Saying all lives matter still hasn’t addressed the concern of the accountability issues and injustice blacks face. Referring back to my analogy, saying all children matter, doesn’t address the problem I am experiencing with my nephew.Further more, ALM doesn’t show up until someone states that black lives do matter. It isn’t an inclusion campaign, but rather a campaign of exclusion. ALM is excluding the struggles blacks are facing with the very people our taxes pay. If ALM, then speak against the injustices. Don’t wait until BLM says something before you counter it with ALM. That is where the disrespect is perceived. 

I don’t want to sound redundant and keep repeating the same things, but the misconception has to be addressed. BLM is not a terroristic organization It doesn’t promote violence. It promotes change. And if wanting change is a problem, then the issue is you. 

If after reading this, the only thing that you can do is question  intracommunity crime in relation to blacks, you are the reason why BLM exists. You would rather deflect the issue than to confront it. I ask you this question. Think about the profile that committed domestic acts of terrorisms  ( Columbine, Oklahoma Federal Building, Aurora, Tucson, Sandy Hook ). Reflect on the profile of the shooters in the Pulse and SanBernido cases . Why is it that society can be so outraged over the latter, but excuse the prior ? No one says excuse the latter radicals because we do terroristic things as well. So why tell blacks to concentrate on black-on-black crime when blatant atrocities are committed against them? It’s rather hypocritical don’t you think? Society should allow heinous crimes to occur because a few individuals commit crimes within the community. I’m just drawing the parallels in hope that someone sees how foolish they sound and will subsequently want to change the way they think. 

-Niko Rose