The Washington Post has a database on police shootings. If you download it into a spreadsheet and crunch the numbers as I have you will find that an unarmed black man is 5 times more likely to be shot by police than an unarmed white man. The reason for the protest is real.
However, the media and Trump sweep the reason under the rug in favor of arguing over the means of protest.
While I agree with the purpose of Black Lives Matter, I disagree with the method, starting with the name itself. Black Lives Matter is a segregationist statement. It sets up an us-them reaction and implies that ONLY black lives matter and perhaps other lives don’t, making the movement an easy target for its critics.
Instead the name should be “EVERY life matters.” That’s a unifying statement that nearly everyone can get behind.
As of the method employed, the protestors are within their First Amendment rights to take a knee during the National Anthem. But once again, they hand their enemies a weapon to use against them. The action can be seen as a cheap-shot bid for publicity much in the same light as flag-burning and it divides us yet again.
Instead of symbolically flag-burning, protestors should be standing tall and demanding, “This is everyone’s America!. We have a dream … that all people be full Americans.” I cannot kneel with them during the anthem, but could stand with them for Every Life Matters.
The Washington Post has a database on police shootings. If you download it into a spreadsheet and crunch the numbers as I have you will find that an unarmed black man is 5 times more likely to be shot by police than an unarmed white man. The reason for the protest is real.
However, the media and Trump sweep the reason under the rug in favor of arguing over the means of protest.
While I agree with the purpose of Black Lives Matter, I disagree with the method, starting with the name itself. Black Lives Matter is a segregationist statement. It sets up an us-them reaction and implies that ONLY black lives matter and perhaps other lives don’t, making the movement an easy target for its critics.
Instead the name should be “EVERY life matters.” That’s a unifying statement that nearly everyone can get behind.
As of the method employed, the protestors are within their First Amendment rights to take a knee during the National Anthem. But once again, they hand their enemies a weapon to use against them. The action can be seen as a cheap-shot bid for publicity much in the same light as flag-burning and it divides us yet again.
Instead of symbolically flag-burning, protestors should be standing tall and demanding, “This is everyone’s America!. We have a dream … that all people be full Americans.” I cannot kneel with them during the anthem, but could stand with them for Every Life Matters.