You know that tinge of resistance you feel when you want to speak out against blatant instances of police brutality? That faint need to justify or apologize for being passionate about pervasive racial injustices? That’s not by coincidence, it’s by design.
Why is it that there is so much pushback when it comes to the defense of black lives? Who else in America is consistently villainized for defending their right to matter?
The suggestion that advocating for fair and just treatment for a segment of the population that is disproportionately disenfranchised somehow equals hate, malice or disdain for all others is not only fallacious but a constant distraction from the issue at hand.
To put this issue to rest, once and for all, here is a list of seven ridiculous arguments I’m done disputing when it comes to black lives.
1. Black Lives Matter vs. All Lives Matter
This is not an argument, it’s a diversionary tactic. When the focus is on dismantling racism and advocating for social justice, detractors will always find a way to try and derail it. DeRay Mckesson said it best in his interview with CNN’s Chris Cuomo, “I would never go to a breast cancer rally and yell out ‘Colon cancer matters!'”
2. What about Black-on-Black Crime?
Crime is dependent largely on proximity and opportunity. People who live within close range of one another fulfill both. Since the U.S. is residentially segregated along racial lines this explains why, for the overwhelming majority of crimes, victims and their aggressors typically share the same race. This accounts for black-on-black, white-on-white and all manner of crimes. Add to this equation a system that has systemically robbed a people of equal access to education, property ownership and wealth building opportunities for generations, and watch that statistic grow.
Further, what we’re asking for is justice. When black people kill other black people, a guilty verdict is rarely an issue.
3. Respectability Politics
Can we retire all arguments, both within and outside of the black community, that present class and respectability as the remedy for overcoming racism? Ask Harvard Professor, Henry Louis Gates how that worked out for him when he was arrested and booked for breaking into his own home.
4. Race baiting
This phrase is used to characterize the vocalization of racial inequality as groundless and malicious. It is the fear of the consequences that accompany this label that causes so many to remain silent in the face of gross injustice. The term race baiting is both distracting and insulting in it’s assumption that minorities are monoliths incapable of processing their own experiences and frustrations until goaded by some group thinker.
5. “But, what did he do to provoke it?”
If the first reaction upon witnessing the live execution of a fellow human being is to ask oneself “yeah, but what did he do to deserve it,” then this is pretty telling of one’s hard coded perceptions. The knee-jerk assumption of guilt over innocence when it comes to black men in particular is evidence of a deep-seated internal bias. To be clear, choice of attire, tone of voice, volume of music, the selling of DVDs or loose cigarettes, is never justification for killing someone.
6. Not all cops are bad
This is true. There are plenty of really great people who are police officers and they should not be judged based on the brutality of some. Stereotyping an entire group of people as savage thugs based on a few bad experiences and the prevailing images purveyed in media is not only wrong but dangerous, as it encourages unwarranted aggression and disrespect. So, if this logic is true for blue lives, than it’s true for black lives too…right?
7. Stop playing the race card
This victim blaming catch phrase, designed to invalidate the experiences of hate, discrimination, and microagressions directed toward people of color, is often implored to impose social penalties on people who call out instances of racism.
“Black people are literally saying “Stop killing us!” And there are people saying, “But”… ” -unknown #truth
— Frank Abney (@iFrankAbney) July 6, 2016
The underlying question beneath every one of these arguments is, “who are you to be human?”. I’m done explaining because people who only tolerate our existence will always invent ways to be offended by our defense of it.
