Who’s Lives Matter?

Last week marked the one year anniversary of the death of George Floyd. The media has taken this moment as an opportunity to write hundreds of articles on the BLM movement, what it represents, and what we should all be doing in response.

Little do they know, the creation of the BLM movement has sparked various other movements. Whether it be Blue Lives matter, Red Lives matter, etc. people everywhere are uniting behind these causes in reaction to Black Lives Matter and the agenda they promote.

I’ll preface by saying that I wholeheartedly believe that black lives matter. Racism against any particular group of people is blatantly wrong and immoral.

One of the most common remark to BLM is, “All lives matter!” To this, those who support BLM say, “Yes, but we are calling attention to black lives specifically.” This same logic is the basis for the Blue Lives Matter movement: "Of course all lives matter but, we are calling attention to the lives of officers specifically.”

Is this a valid argument for either side to make? No. And here’s why. Calling attention to any specific group of people is collectivism. Deciding to categorize people by groups, instead of their individuality, results in the overabundant mischaracterizations of everyone within that group.

Blue Lives Matter identifies police officers as a whole. It emphasizes the good that police provide, but completely ignores the reality that some bad cops do exist. Using Blue Lives as a method of promoting police officers is a lazy publicity stunt that completely ignore the individuality of the officers themselves. Instead, departments should promote the individuals who do the most good within the community. Recognizing and rewarding the achievements of the best officers incentivizes the entire department to become better as a whole.

BLM is just as guilty of this crime. Saying that systematic racism exists, completely undermines the hard work of everyone who served in the civil rights movement. It ignores the fact that our country elected a black president not for one term, but for two. How can the United States be racist to its core when a black woman is our vice president? BLM promotes the narrative that black people are oppressed, yet are they aware that Justice Clarence Thomas, a black man, has served on our country’s most powerful court, the Supreme Court, for over 15 years?

Every person in this country, black, white, male, female, gay, or straight, all have equal rights under the law. There isn’t a single demographic in this nation who is systematically oppressed through the laws which we abide by.

As a young adult living in the greatest country to ever exist, I’ve had enough. Listening to people say “my life matters”, or “I’m oppressed,” is getting on my nerves. A certain psychiatrist worked for a European prison during the early years of his practice. He told a story that I believe all should hear.

A prisoner came to him and said, “Doctor, do you believe my criminal tendencies are caused by my upbringing?” In response the psychiatrist said, “No. You’re just too stupid and lazy to work for the things that you want.” The prisoner laughed. Why? Because he understood that there was truth in the psychiatrist’s statement. The prisoner knew that his question was ridiculous enough to laugh at once he heard the proper answer.

This week we will discuss each “my life matters” movement in detail: the good, the bad, and the ugly. In the process, we will search for what actually makes one’s life valuable. I’ll give you a hint… it has absolutely nothing to with the color of your skin, or the groups which you choose to identify with.