#BlackLivesMatter #BlueLivesMatter #AllLivesMatter

I am a supporter of my peace officers and law enforcement. I have a few friends who are cops, and I appreciate the job they do and the risks they take every day to protect our community, my family and me. I know there are terrible people in the world, and I am thankful for the courage and sacrifice these men and women in blue take on daily - dealing with the darkest of darkness in our world, and trying to make the world a better and safer place. I know police officers are people, too - moms and dads working the job to bring income to their family and safety to the area they serve - and I believe with all my heart that MOST of them are good human beings. 
I open with that so there is no possibility to confuse or misconstrue the upcoming analogy. 

My friends, our country is at a breaking point. My friends and loved ones of color - those I know personally and those I do not - are suffering. They are dying at the hands of police officers. Obviously NOT the good ones. They are dying at the hands of rotten apples, but you know they saying how you can't let a few rotten apples spoil the bunch? What do you do with those rotten apples? FOR GOD'S SAKE YOU GET RID OF THEM! AND YOU WATCH THEM CLOSELY TO ENSURE NO OTHER APPLES TURN ROTTEN, OTHERWISE YOU WILL LOSE YOUR WHOLE BUNCH!!!!  No, they are not all "bad apples" - but the rotten ones are ruining the reputation of the masses in uniform because someone is allowing it. And by ruining the reputation I mean they are the brutes of police brutality and they are killing people of color. Some out there in police land heard one of their own say something inappropriate or racist and didn't call their buddy out on it. Someone out there in police land saw two people in the area of the scene of a crime and decided it was the person of color in a hoodie based on racial profiling. Someone out there in police land was arresting two people for public intoxication outside a bar and both were complying, but the black man was tackled while the white man was cuffed and placed in the police car without incident. These things happen every day at the hands of these rotten apples. We have to pick them out of the bunch. We have to call them out, discipline or fire them, and demand change in the way our communities are protected. 

Don't like the apple analogy? Do you have kids? Do they go to school... or day care... or Sunday School at your church? Do they have teachers? Do they have adults in their lives that are paid or volunteer to care for them in your stead? If you work outside the home or ever leave your children in anyone else's care EVER then think about one of those people. Think of the trust you have put in that organization or that person to care for your child. This is going to be hard, but think for a moment that your child is hurt by that person or someone caring for your child at that place of which you are thinking. Think for a moment that your child was hurt BADLY.  Think of the helplessness you feel, the sadness, the anger, the outrage. HOW DARE THAT PLACE THAT YOU TRUST HURT YOUR CHILD! Fortunately, this is an exercise and your child is fine. Imagine if your child was hurt beyond what the doctors could save. Imagine if your child died, and you were fighting for justice for your baby and the courts or district attorneys told you that ALL CHILDREN MATTER and to settle down about your loss. They know teachers need to be monitored, but they will get to it someday. YES, OH MY GOSH, OF COURSE ALL CHILDREN MATTER - BUT FOR THE LOVE OF GOD - YOUR BABY (this is really hard for me to say, so have to write "still pretending") IS DEAD AT THE HANDS OF THAT CRAZY TEACHER!  And maybe that teacher had hurt other children before, but complaints fell on deaf administrator ears because the child was not listening, not sitting still, not following directions.  And then it escalated. Or maybe that teacher had mentioned to other teachers how these children were out of control and he or she was going to do something about it one day. Those types of comments or complaints would surely have been investigated in a school setting.  What would happen if this were in a public school? The teacher would be investigated by law enforcement. There could be witnesses... maybe someone filmed the entire pretend incident and there is a full account - second by second - of that monster hurting your baby. That video would make it into court, and very likely, that teacher would be convicted and go to jail. But that school would put policies in place quicker than anyone could ever imagine to avoid the incident happening again. WHY IS A POLICE FORCE A DIFFERENT SETTING WITH A DIFFERENT SET OF STANDARDS?? These men and women of color that are dying at the hands of the bad guys in uniforms are someone's babies, y'all. THEY ARE SOMEONE'S BABIES AND THEY ARE DYING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  And do you understand why it is wrong to say All Children Matter when it should be YOUR Child Matters - because your child was the specific child impacted - targeted - hurt or killed - at the time? 

I imagine that since two weeks have passed from when our latest black man was murdered by police officers, some of you might be getting tired of this white girl sharing and commenting that Black Lives Matter. I imagine some of you are still adamantly thinking, and I have seen some of you saying, that it is not ok to destroy property through looting and rioting and protests should be peaceful. Of course everyone should want peaceful changes. But change is hard, yall. It doesn't feel good and it goes against our human nature. As a society we have created a problem and as a society we must work together to fix the problem. We have made people of color in our nation (in our world, really) feel LESS THAN. Less than important. Less than equal. Less than white. Less than human.  It is our role, whatever color you are reading this right now, to help fix the problem. Have difficult conversations. Look inward and honestly assess what you are doing to contribute in a positive and negative way. And change yourself. We all have bias. We all have experiences and family values and community morals - or lack thereof - that color our world and our view.  Look through someone else's eyes for a while. Share their experiences and be compassionate and be empathetic. Instead of blaming each other - instead of reliving our shameful history and treatment of our people of color any longer - let's put in the hard work to change ourselves and grow together.  It can be done... one issue at a time. Addressing and removing one bad apple at a time when negative comments are made, rather than after he has literally crushed the life out of someone, or shot someone running, or got a choke hold because he did not get into the police car peacefully. 

I want a better world for my son. I want a better world for the babies that will come to and through my home. I want a better world for your babies, your grandbabies. I want a better world for ME AND YOU RIGHT NOW. Won't you join me in thinking outside your own personal circumstances and begin to discuss hard issues and understand new things and learn to be better, think better and do better and unlearn the yuck stuff? Won't you at least try?