Philosophy
My Opinion on #BlackLivesMatter
And why I believe the hashtag should be reconsidered.
I’m very well aware that once I publish this article there will be no turning back, and I might be getting a lot of backlash, hate, and shame from people who won’t even read what I have to say, but please just hear me out.
I’m a 24 years old Latin American, Queer, Light Skinned Female. I’m also a huge equal rights activist. A teacher once called me the «Community Lawyer» because I was always getting in people’s trouble trying to defend what was fair. My mom comes from a long line of Black-Indigenous-European mixture and so does my dad. I come from a country where Black Policeman kill their own people and abuse them on the streets. I mention my background for readers to understand I come from a place where privilege is claimed by everyone and seen by none. Trust me when I say, I relate and sympathize with this battle because it is my own, but I strongly feel that fighting only for Black People’s rights is a setback for society’s growth as an equal community.
Yes, it is true that black people have been victims of oppression, racism, and injustice historically, and the battle to show our worth and beauty to a world that has over and over despised us has now turned into war. But the truth is, not only black people carry this burden, not only black people lack privileges and not only black people lose their lives to the police.
Latinos and the LGBTQ+ community have been suffering from this same evil for decades, too. So does outspoken women.
I’ve heard stories of Latin girls who have committed suicide because they were raped by an officer. I’ve witnessed police men stopping and stripping down drag queens naked in public as an act of humiliation and then taking pictures of them while laughing. Just writing about this makes my blood boils and my eyes watery.
We are currently battling a war that might save a community that’s been struggling for as long as history can tell. But what happens after this war is over? What happens after we win, if we win? Corruption and cruelty will still be running through the veins of those who are poisoned and hungry. It’s only a matter of time before the system finds a new minority group to bully.
In three years we will be fighting #LatinosLivesMatter and five years after that #LGBTQLivesMatter and so on. Can you see the cycle here?
I get it, saying #AllLivesMatter feels too inclusive of those who have never carried a burden for their skin tone or culture, but saying only #BlackLivesMatter leaves an enormous group of people who walk with fear on the streets of being abused and condemned behind.
We are trying to fight a system who finds it easy to cover the sun with one finger.
I take this example from a girl trying to explain why is #BlackLivesMatters and not #AllLivesMatters:
Let’s say you have three kids, Johnny, Amy, and Bobby. One of them cuts their finger. You are not going to give a bandaid to all of your kids, right? You would just give the bandaid to Bobby, who got hurt. Well, that’s how she explained the meaning behind this hashtag, but in this case, from my perspective, it’s like you are ignoring Johnny’s headache and Amy’s anxiety just because Bobby’s bleeding.
You have three children, but you are just taking care of the one who’s crying for help, while you left the other two feeling like they had no right to express their emotions because you can’t physically see how they are hurting.
We are trying to fight a system who finds it easy to cover the sun with one finger. We are leaving room for them to never change; for them to replace one victim with another. Minorities will always be the first pick, because they know minority groups will never be strong enough to fight and win completely.
But what if all minority groups fought at the same time? What if we could all team up and bring down a stablished red that’s been enforcing its power on us during centuries.
We would be more, and we would be louder. Stronger. Unstoppable.
Do we have to see people die to include them on the list of lives worth saving?
It might as well too late to change the course of this rebellion, and too scary for the people who are still afraid to speak up. But, it is not impossible to redirect the meaning of this war, make it bigger and speak up for more people.
Is it really a defeat against enforcement if injustice still wins?
Do we have to wait until we see on the news a gay man being smothered by the cops and filmed by civilians?
Do we have to wait until the Latin girl next door kills herself because she was raped by the people who were meant to protect her?
Do we have to see them die to include them on the list of lives worth saving?
How many more lives could we save if only All Lives Mattered, and not only a specific group.
I write this as a Queer, Latin, Black Woman. Because my life, and the lives of the people I love (who are all included in at least one of the three groups mentioned above) matter, too.
#MyLifeMatters.
Writer’s Social Media:
@itsqueengg
