An Open Letter to #AllLivesMatter

All Lives DO Matter

I believe when most people say that #AllLivesMatter they are expressing a good thought. They truly believe that all lives do matter and as a society we should be outraged and saddened when someone, anyone, is killed. It’s true. It’s right. It also misses the point.

Because there’s something more in #AllLivesMatter. It’s not just an idea unto itself but a response to #BlackLivesMatter. In order to be understood, it needs to be placed in context and that requires a little more understanding and awareness of what the #BlackLivesMatter movement represents beyond a hashtag slogan.

First, when people use the expression #BlackLivesMatter, what they’re saying is that Black lives matter too. Because here’s the thing: society very clearly says that white lives matter. When a white police officer is killed in the line of duty everyone says it’s a tragedy. The system (the criminal justice system and society in general) swings into action and no expense is spared to find the killer and bring them to justice. People who kill cops, people who kill white people in general, are the subject of large police manhunts, prosecuted vigilantly by the largely white district attorneys, and punished harshly by the court system. That’s as it should be. It’s already happening and we don’t need any large social movement to make it happen or to improve the system in that regard. You don’t need to say #AllLivesMatter when talking about white police officers because everyone already agrees with that.

On the other hand, when a black person is killed, especially at the hands of a white police officer, the system often treats it as if it doesn’t really matter. It doesn’t get wide coverage in the media. It doesn’t create any outrage or upset in the majority population. The assumption is that the black person deserved it. The system doesn’t investigate it as thoroughly – the police officer isn’t treated as a suspect, they don’t have to give a statement right away, the people who do the investigation are the officer’s coworkers, often their friends, the district attorney who decides if any crime has been committed is a regular partner of the police and is hardly impartial. So while it may be true that the police officer was justified, the system is not a fair and impartial determiner of that fact. That’s what people are complaining about.

And make no doubt, the system is flawed and it takes herculean efforts to prove that white police are in the wrong and that black people have been victimized. There are many cases where the truth is in question and normally nothing comes of it. But it does happen. It happened in South Carolina. It happened in Cincinnati. It happened New York. So we know that sometimes police officers are not justified in their killing of unarmed black men. But what about here, and here, and here, and there’s a list of more here. That’s just this past year. And just the deaths. It goes to reason that there are many more cases where bad cops injured, unjustly detained, or simply harassed Black people without killing them so it was never noticed by the media.

And if you wonder why so many Black suspects resist arrest or try to flee, it’s because they know the system is rigged against them. White people can simply take a ride down to the station and get it sorted out. That doesn’t work so well for minorities. They might not make it to the station, like Freddie Gray. Once in custody they’re still not safe, like Tyree Woodson. And then they face our criminal justice system, has a clear statistical bias against them.

This isn’t to say that all police shootings are wrong or that all police are racist and corrupt. There are lots of fine people working in law enforcement and most are simply trying to do their job to the best of their abilities. But some police officers are bad. Just like some kindergarten teachers are bad. Some cooks are bad, some carpenters, some auto dealers, some doctors and even some politicians are bad. It would be perverse and irrational to assume all police officers are good and decent and perfectly scrupulous and fair when doing their job. No large group of people is perfect. History has many documented cases of bad, racist law enforcement, like the Rampart Scandal and the Chicago Corruption and many, many more. So let’s admit that there are bad cops and instead of arguing about exactly how many we should be trying to find ways to weed out and eliminate as many as we can.

The evidence is very clear that policing in this country is not the same for White people when compared to Black people. If you’re white, you may not have experienced it, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t true. You can’t look at the statistics, read case after case of racist policing, hear story after story of the daily lives of Black people (including those in law enforcement) and still say our system is fair and equal. The system is broken.

That’s what #BlackLivesMatter is protesting. No one is saying that white lives don’t matter. They’re saying we need to recognize the bias in the system - not just pass it off as a few random, racist people - and make a change. All those fine law enforcement officers who are trying to do the right thing would be better served if the right thing were made a little clearer and the bad apples were removed. The movement is not trying to divide – the divisions already exist. They’re saying that Black lives matter too.

What #BlackLivesMatters wants are a series of policy changes and criminal system reforms that have been suggested before by academics and experts - but without anyone listening because there was no public outcry (at least among the majority). They want less militarization of the police, more community involvement, and more accountability. They want what most of us want: fair and equal treatment with systems in place to better train police and someone outside to oversee their activities. You can read more about it here: Campaign Zero. Don’t read into it what you think it means. Don’t respond to some random quote that was passed around on Facebook. Don’t get offended and reply before thinking. Actually listen their position and understand what #BlackLivesMatter means.

How should you respond to #BlackLivesMatter? That’s up to you. If you have issues with any of the points of Campaign Zero, go ahead and argue them. Tell us about the specific problems with having police wear body cameras or why for-profit policing is actually a good idea. Explain how having an independent body reviewing police actions is bad even though our country is built on the idea of checks and balances in government. Try to defend the fact that many minority neighborhoods are policed by mostly white forces and how that’s a good thing. At least that would be a productive discussion.

But if you say #AllLivesMatter, you’re saying the system is just fine as it is and we don’t need to address any issues regarding race in America. You’re discounting the lives and experiences of millions of minorities. You’re trying to silence the disadvantaged who are crying out for justice. I don’t think that’s what most people want to be saying, but it is. If you really believe that all lives matter, then you should realize Black lives matter too.