Where the fuck do you even begin with this? I feel dirty for writing this because it feels like it’s politicizing tragedy. It shouldn’t be a conservative vs. liberal, but it kind of is.

Fox and conservative media outlets spin a very different narrative than liberal ones: black deaths caused by police are quickly written off and excused because these black people must have been criminals and the officers involved were just doing their jobs. Liberals spin the unfortunate victim of racism story. Neither is entirely accurate, but one of them is a lot closer to the truth. Have there been black criminals shot and killed by the police? Absolutely! But, have there been a disproportionate number of black people killed by police when compared to white deaths? Yes! Police kill white people for no excusable reason too, but we white people live with less fear than our black fellow humans.

Something has happened online since that crazy black guy (apparently he had actual metal health problems) gunned down two officers. “Share if you stand with our officers” and “Stop the war against cops” memes have spouted up faster than a teenagers acne after falling asleep with a pizza on their face. That’s great that people are outraged over senseless violence against those who are supposed to serve and protect us. However, and maybe it’s just my pool of online acquaintances, but there weren’t that many “Black Lives Matter” memes shared, despite the larger number of deaths and violence against the black community. Dozens of black people are murdered and the movement that sprung up is dismissed by so many because “racism is over.” Two officers are shot and it’s a war against cops. Some media outlets have been blaming the Black Lives Matter movement for the shooting, despite no connection between the shooter and the movement other than the color of his goddamned skin! It’s being called a “hate group” and the “Murder Movement.” Shut the fuck up!

While it’s hard to find reliable or trustworthy sources, most numbers will show a much higher incarceration rate for blacks than whites and a disproportionate number of black deaths from police brutality than whites. Also, and there are some conflicting reports, there’s been no significant increase of violence against officers.

Black Lives Matter doesn’t advocate violence against law enforcement, or anybody! The reason we’re saying, specifically, “‘Black’ Lives Matter” is because those are the lives being cut down most frequently right now. Do police lives matter? Fucking duh! Do white lives matter? Fucking duh! All lives matter, but not all lives are receiving the same same amount violence, or outrage at said violence. When a regular Joey-Bag-O-Donuts even looks at an officer the wrong way the offender is tried, convicted, and locked up quickly, no questions asked. But when officers kill Joey-Bag-O-Donuts, we’re lucky if there’s even an investigation, let alone a trial and conviction.

I stand with and support our men and women wearing the blue uniforms (even though most of the ones I’ve encountered have been dicks, they don’t deserve to die, and they have a high-risk, high-stress, occupation) but I also stand with and support Black Lives Matter. Basically I’m on the side of less killing each other. Everybody’s on that side – with the small exception of some extremist, violent, and or crazy people, who probably would have ended up that way regardless.

But also, no matter how much you support the boys in blue, don’t tell me you don’t get anxious, or even scared, when you’re driving and a police cruiser pops up behind you – even if you know you’re doing nothing wrong. But that’s because we’ve all heard the stories of people, both black and white being killed, or brutalized by the police. Now imagine you’re black (only if you’re not black, cause actual black people don’t have to imagine) and you suddenly have a lot more stories and stats to make you afraid. Hell, if you’re black, you probably have personal experiences telling you to be wary of law enforcement. Police brutality and abuse of power are very real and black people have to deal with the brunt of that bullshit.

So let’s not go with the one dimensional narrative the media portrays and instead understand the nuances of the situation. There are good and bad people in every occupation and walk of life. We can condemn police brutality and at the same time condemn violence against police officers. But only one of those is pandemic.

~David T. Kukulkan~