I, like many others, can not bear to wake up to another news story about another unarmed person shot dead by the police in this country. I generically use the term person but I could very easily put the word black in front of that statement and it would be virtually synonymous.
I had to resist the temptation to pass on a social media article or meme that cleverly describes why #blacklivesmatter is necessary, but those are ubiquitous at this point and those who don't have it by now aren't likely to get it anytime soon.
I hate talking about race with most (white) people. I find it so irritatingly frustrating that I would rather be getting dental work done by my barber. As I wrote earlier in my post about the confederate flag, it isn't because people who don't get it are bad, they just literally can't take the pain. Except unlike people of other hues, they don't have to, so usually they don't. That is what we call white privilege. Hell sometimes I wish I never took the pill all those years ago, my mind would probably be more at ease.
So to those, who like me, feel that #blacklivesmatter is important, here is my point. The black lives matter movement is imperative, not because it seeks to convince white people to be nice, but because it helps black people assert that "yes- I matter also." It is important because it is a powerful statement of self love that asserts "I am important and I will not be silent." It is statement that is diametrically opposed to the reality of most of our collective US history. It is a statement and a movement that seeks to right real and present wrongs- and to begin a reversal of generations of psychological trauma.
Though I believe fervently in the power of the blacklivesmatter movement, I know many who do not believe or do not understand. I am not black, so my understanding of these issues will always be incomplete. So I get it when my brothers and sisters (white and otherwise) who don't want to give credence to black lives matter. Again it is hard to grasp when you don't have to. The inability to grasp the challenges faced by others who are different is not the mark of an inherently bad spirit, it signals a lack of empathy. This does not mean black people are inherently more empathic, it means that they are much closer to the ugly truth on this one. People aren't necessarily bad, many of us just live in bubbles until our bubbles get popped.
So how do we reverse the startling killing of unarmed (mainly black) people by law enforcement agencies? Cameras are good, citizens police committees are good. We also need to work together. This means, speaking for myself, we work with anyone who believes that killing of unarmed people is a problem (including white people, black people, Latinos, Asians, Native people, Muslims, gay people, Jewish people, butchers, bakers, candlestick makers and the 1000's of police officers who who have worked for years without engaging in unnecessary brutality ). On the other hand.
This may sound cynical but this is the United States of America, the ultimate answer lies in capitalism. Over the course of decades the US and individual states conducted massive public health campaigns to end smoking. These public health campaigns were of questionable effectiveness, however the rates of smoking did drop dramatically. These rates dropped dramatically in correlation with rising cigarette prices. In effect the smoking rate didn't change until it hit the pocket book of individual smokers. This effect is a principle of controlled capitalism whereby they increase the price of a commodity to create scarcity or price consumers out of individual markets (kind of like red-lining, gentrification or luxury goods marketing).
So how does this relate to officer involved shootings of unarmed people? It is simple. We can continue to encourage others to be good people and to pay attention, some will. However this issue, like global warming, will not get proper attention until it hits the pocket book. So, if you really want to effect change take one from the Erin Brockovich handbook- SUE!
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