Since I was little I was taught that we are all children of God. It doesn't matter what your race, job, religion, or sexuality is; you are a child of God. Your divine heritage has been, and will always be, that you are God's child. He created you and loves you unconditionally. My goal is to live in a way that I can return home and live with Him again! To do that, I must follow His commandments and keep the covenants that I have made with Him, including the commandment to "love one another as I have loved you".
A few years ago I heard about the #BlackLivesMatter movement. In the beginning I honestly supported the movement! I felt like they were standing up for something important; there is still racism in the world today and it's something that everybody should fight against and be aware of. I don't feel like that is what is happening anymore.
I think a majority of the people are still striving to bring to light that racism is real and that it needs to be stopped. However, I also feel like there is a very loud minority that is taking it into a different direction.
For those of you that haven't heard about the Milwaukee Riots, here is a link. A very short version: an armed black man was shot, and killed, by a black police officer after he refused to drop his weapon. Shortly thereafter riots broke out where two cop cars were destroyed/burned, six businesses were burned down (gas stations, banks, etc), and there was a call to attack any white person they saw on the street (this was the video that I saw on Facebook this morning about these riots in Milwaukee.).
This is not okay.
These riots don't solve any problems! The Black Lives Matter movement is meant to be about being treated equally. But how are some of the minority treating everybody? They are throwing bricks at them, beating them on the street, and hunting them because they are not black. Where is the equality in that? If anything, I feel like it's hypocrisy.
The police officer in Milwaukee did what needed to be done to help keep others safe. It had nothing to do with the fact that the man was black (remember that the police officer that shot him is black as well)! It was about protecting people and making sure that the neighborhood was safe. Racism had nothing to do with it!
On the Black Lives Matter page, under the Guiding Principles--Restorative Justice it states:
"We are committed to collectively, lovingly and courageously working vigorously for freedom and justice for Black people and, by extension all people. As we forge our path, we intentionally build and nurture a beloved community that is bonded together through a beautiful struggle that is restorative, not depleting."
I'm sorry, but that is not done with riots! That is not "lovingly", and is not a way to fight for freedom for "all people". When the phrase "all people" is used, it means all people! Whether you are Black, White, Asian, Christian, Muslim, etc. The extremists all over the US, for the past few months, have forgotten that! It has become "Only Black Lives Matter" to them, and again, that is not okay. All lives truly do matter! Your skin color does not make you better or less than anybody else!
On July 4, 1776 a document for our Nation was signed; it says:
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness."
The principles Declaration of Independence are what this country is built on. Movements like the Black Lives Matter movement is creating a Civil War where it isn't Black vs. White, it is American vs. American. We are a United States! If we truly "hold these truths to be self-evident", then I think we would do well to remember that all men are created equal; all lives matter.
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