“Does Black Lives Really Matter?”

Charles Etoroma
Jul 28, 2017 · 5 min read
Photo cred: Jamie Robbins

I want to simply and blatantly say, I don’t have all the facts.

Honestly, I don’t think anyone does when it comes to this wave of recent and brutal police shootings on African Americans.

This, in itself is the real problem:

The media picks and chooses which stories are worthy of national broadcast and those who are easily swayed by the constant bombardment of the choice presentation fall victim.

Let me explain.


I, myself, am an African American. I’ve faced my fair share of prejudice, racism, but can happily say those instances have been few and far between.

Most of the ridicule has, ironically, come from other black people, but that’s another story for another day.

My parents did a good job of raising me to respect authority, and in the very rare instances I have had with cops (maybe 4 ever) to show restraint.

This leads to an interesting problem and one I actually sympathize (ever so slightly) with some police officers. There are too many instances where people, in this case, blacks, do not respect the authority of cops.

When they are told to do something they ignore it because submitting to authority is not something they want to do. This lack of respect or restraint from them, forces some cops to panic and loose their God-given minds.

By no means is this a justification for any cop killings but it is a slight problem that exacerbates the entire situation.

Restraint has to be shown on both sides of the aisle.


With that little prelude taken care of, the heart of my question lies on the shoulders of black people, a lot of whom are part of a cancerous movement known as “Black Lives Matter.”

I mentioned in my mini prelude that the media often picks and chooses the stories and soundbites that will insight the most reaction from the public to boost their ratings.

Picture this, “White Cop Guns Down Unarmed Black Teen Outside Convenient Store,” sounds much better than, “Black Teens Blast Series of Shots In Chicago Neighborhood.”

If you look at those two, the headline grabbing title is obviously the first one. This is the point far too many people miss. In the overall grand scheme of things black on black crime is far greater, from both the sheer numbers and percentage perspectives. That’s a fact.

Why isn’t this being reported? Blacks kill other blacks all the time, everyday, and in great numbers.

Where is the outrage from the so called “Black Lives Matter” over kids and innocent men and women being gunned down by their own race?

I truly need help to understand the double standard of this nature.

Since Obama took office in 2008, there have been well over 3,000 deaths in the city of Chicago due to black on black crime, highest it has ever been. The racial divide is as wide as it has ever been and the country is in desperate need of leadership. Leadership that doesn’t further a specific agenda, just helps people.

Now, I realize it is not all of Obama’s fault but as I think back to President Bush’s reign (not the biggest fan of his second term) I can’t remember our country as polarized as this.

It doesn’t help that Obama has had the leaders of this radical “Black Lives Matter” group over to the white house on numerous occasions, which, all but signs his signature of approval for their wild antics.

This group preys on the chaos that these cop shootings provide. They use it to “acceptably” promote violence, looting, and calls for death. How then can this group be accepted into the White House by a president whose job it is to help heal the nation of multicultural individuals?

A lot of the people who support the “Black Lives Matter” movement probably aren’t radical or violent individuals. They just believe that, at this point, too many black lives are being taken away by cops who don’t know how to control themselves. This then leads them to say that black lives matter. If we go down this avenue, I completely agree.

The only thing I would caution is that black lives matter, if not more, when it is another black person pulling the trigger.

Furthermore, it is concerning that in the wake of the Dallas terrorist, who was black, I didn’t hear anything from this “Black Lives Matter” group.

All lives matter. Those cops ran straight into the gun fire to protect the public during a peaceful protest in which many of the cops were deeply sympathetic to the cause and helped as much as they could.

I heard about one of the cops who died as he tried to rush towards the gunman. He had 6 kids and 3 grandkids. I froze when I heard that and simply shook my head. What else is there to do than feel for the loss of his family?

Everyone, on both sides, is hurting. Mothers lose sons, kids lose fathers, and so on and so forth. ALL LIVES MATTER, whether black, white, or blue.

Cops, more often than not, are good. You never hear of the cops who come to the aid of African Americans which I think is particularly troubling. Those stories don’t sell enough papers or get enough people outraged enough to flip the channel from ESPN to whatever news channel they prefer.

There are so many problems in this country and this is the most tragic for me. The good stories are out there but are continually squashed to insight rage and polarize our country.

I don’t know what more to say or where the answers are, but I do have one theory.

The fatherless epidemic among African Americans is at the root of the problem. Without the fathers, respect, values, and restraint are lessons that unfortunately go by the waist side.

This country needs leaders. It needs heroes. People willing to do the unpopular things this country needs to help us get back on track (Queue the Batman music)

If you are one, stand up and be a beacon of light during this dark time.


I’d love to hear from you. What are your thoughts on this sensitive topic? Comment below and let’s start a real dialogue on what we can do in our lives & individual communities to start to heal this country.


Charles Etoroma

Written by

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