Black Lives Matter!

On May 25, 2020 George Floyd had an altercation with a Minnesota police officer.  He did not survive.  Since then, people nationwide have taken to the streets, the airwaves and the internet in response.  Some want change, some want answers, some want status quo.  

Some want to argue whether ‘Black Lives Matter’.

Frustration and fear make for the stupidest arguments.  In the face of such tragedy and the many more like it, people argue semantics.  Verbally stepping over Mr. Floyd’s body, they debate a controversy that doesn’t exist.  Black Lives Matter, all Lives Matter, and anyone who doesn’t agree with them is either a racist or a fascist.

In my professional roles as a writer, researcher and humble public servant, I make a living breaking down complicated and confusing material into bites-sized, easy to understand pieces.  After years of listening to this crap, I hoped those involved would get tired and return their attention to the tragedy at hand.  I used to hold the same optimism when it came to misapplications of police force.  But seeing as we are right back where we were, allow me to work my magic and set this straight:

Black. Lives. Matter.  Put these three words together and you come up with a statement that a vast majority of the population agree with: 

Black lives matter. 

I’m surprised by the number of people that agree with the statement but are still offended.  Even the people who argue about it are not really arguing about its meaning at all.  Most non-black people agree with it, politicians, ministers-most police officers too.  

Yes there are some out there with such hate in their hearts that they truly don’t agree that black lives matter.  I’m not going to waste my breath attempting to educate an idiot and I suggest you do the same.

The sentence consists of three words, an adjective, a noun and a verb.  The statement is restrictive by design.  That is all the author wants to talk about.

And that is where the arguments fall flat. There are no quantifiers, no determiners, no additional descriptive qualifications.  It doesn’t say “Only Black Lives Matter” or “Just Black Lives Matter” or even “White/Yellow/Red/Brown/Non-black/Ethnic/Non-ethnic/Mixed/or What-Happened-In-Vegas-Stayed-Nine-Months-Later Don’t Matter.” 

It reads Black Lives Matter. 

And that is what makes the argument so dumb. It's not like we are literal thinkers incapable of understanding simple abstract thought.  We hear statements like this all the time and still function.  When you hear the Chili’s jingle “I want my baby back.” you don’t assume it is a child custody plea, right?  

What if we treated every catch phrase with the same sentiment?  

Save the Children would close for public safety to discourage supporters from putting a hit on Grandma in order to save those starving kids in Africa.

Save the Whales would also be dismantled by the EPA for its potential impact on sea turtles.  

An Executive Order would be issued requiring consumers to present a resume when buying a box of Wheaties. They are the breakfast of champions-not losers, right?

The Budweiser Corporation and the King of Beers would shutter for violating the constitution.

So why are the same people disputing Black Lives Matter not urging Coca Cola to cut Sprite loose? Obey Your Thirst? Where are the calls to overthrow the oppressive beverage regime?

But Nike says Just Do It. It's time to stop arguing about silly generalizations. Clinging to stupid arguments hasn't changed a thing. People are still dying.

No one should live in fear of being disadvantaged.  Those lives lost as a result of fear, bias, misunderstanding, misapplication of police duties or malpractice matter.  They died in spite of the lip-service and half-hearted assurances from decades of leadership that it would never be repeated.  That matters.  

It also matters that in spite of the number of decent, hardworking police members on the force today, innocent people still died, children have been orphaned, families torn apart.  They died even though most of the people questioning the validity of Black Lives Matter insist they are not racist.  They died after every riot, every protest, and every demonstration.  Every t-shirt, icon or Instagram post couldn’t save them.  Nothing has changed and people are still dying.  That matters.

To those normally decent, reasonably intelligent people who find themselves hung up on imaginary sentiments, supposed messages or omitted words, you are mistaken.  You fell short.  You are barking up the wrong tree.  You missed the pass. You are wrong.  Deal with it.

Black lives matter.

And until we correct this in every community, until each and every department puts the training, support and systems in place to prevent this from occurring again, nothing else matters.

My name is Jennifer Beck and I’m Jenuinely Jennifer.

Writer, Researcher and believer that Black Lives Matter.