I Have An Issue With Movements...

Hear me out.

I have an issue with movements.

Black Lives Matter. Feminists. Standing Rock. LGBTQ+. All Lives Matter. Police Lives Matter. Trumpism. Obamaism. 

Okay, now maybe I am just making words up. 

But I have an issue. It's probably not for the reason you think. 

Already pre-judging?

You see, I consider myself part of some of the movements previously listed. 

I support Black Lives Matter. I support(ed) Standing Rock. I support LGBTQ+. I am a Feminist. 

I think black lives matter. I think police lives matter. I think all lives matter.

Still following me, or do I have you fuming with those last three sentences?

So why do I have an issue with movements, though I support some?

In order to truly grasp my issue, I have to take it back and I hope I do not lose you along the way.

All of these movements that occur start with a seed. I can't speak for all movements, but all that I personally support began with injustice. It began with someone(s) completely "turning off their humanity" to defile another human being that has not done one thing to deserve their treatment. 

Now might be the time to say that I am not a statistic person. I have disliked numbers since--if I am remembering the class correctly--my calculus days, when Mr. King taught me an equation / formula can have two numbers as an answer. Two plus two did not equal four anymore. I was then done with numbers and math. 

Enough with the humor, I am a humane person. I drive forward with humanity glossing my vision, and when I stumble across something that gives me an ache around my heart, I lose myself for a time period, effected in some manner. The effect can last minutes. It could last hours. It could last days. It could possibly even last years, if I allowed myself to stay in that mind space. 

An empath is what most would call me. 

I also should disclose that I consider myself a believer of God, though I will never claim perfect.

That being said, my heart aches when a LGBTQ+ being is completely torn down for who they love or for who they know they are. My heart aches when an LGBTQ+ being commits suicide, is beaten, harassed or even killed for only being who they know they are. And don't take my "who they know they are" the wrong way, because I am an avid believer in it not mattering what anyone thinks--myself included--about that human being, because no one is them and neither am I, meaning only that individual should determine themselves.

I some times wonder if people who claim to be Christian have actually read the entire Bible, because I read it from beginning to end and all I could see was the message of love. Not hate.

But that's another story.

My heart aches when a black human being is violently taken from this world at the hands of a police officer. 

I want to leave that right there.

Mind you, I did not say at the hands of a white police officer. 

This will need to be broken down further too.

Have I lost you?

This is the moment where some allies are lost in the movement. This is just one of the many parts that I have came across people constantly arguing, and it is pointless.

This is the part where I feel all hope becomes lost.

Can I remind you that I see through humane-glossed eyes?

The main thing I see when these videos come about in regards to police officers using unnecessary force against a victim is the humanity of the situation, or lack thereof. 

I do not care what race the police officer or victim is. If the victim is unarmed and if the victim is not a threat, there is zero need for brutal force to be used, or even for a gun to be drawn. And if I am being more honest, even if the victim had a weapon (which I am certain it can vary from case to case), I believe in tasing first. And if that does not work, shooting at a part of the body that does not aim to kill, but incapacitate or dull the threat. Of course, a gun pointing at you is the most debatable one. You can't bring a taser to a gun fight. But I have read articles of victims only having a knife, and that threat hardly compares to the quickness of a gun being fired. 

My heart aches for any race that falls victim to unnecessary tactics that results in severe injury or death. 

And while some also feel this way--they took a look at George Floyd's video (no matter their race) and said this is not right, that what was done to George was inhumane, and joined the Black Lives Matter movement, some have drawn a line.

Should I remind you, I do not care for statistics. So I hope you are still with me.

Maybe now is the place I should mention that I do believe white police officers profile black human beings. I believe any police officer race can profile any human being race. 

Profiling DOES exist. 

Anyone who thinks otherwise, I have to give you a round of applause because I imagine you have had a pretty smooth-sailing life. This entire movement might actually be making you upset and frustrated because you take partial of the very same belief / vision that I have (that race does not matter, inhumane is inhumane), but you disassociate it from Black Lives Matter and make it an All Lives Matter issue. 

And now, I see where you're coming from. I do. A human being is a human being. But the the fact that a black man is being killed by a white police officer has to be taken into account--as does any race.

I keep saying black, white and all races because I want to make it very clear that there's so many different avenues of these situations. We are not hearing a Latino lives matter right now. Or an Asian lives matter. Or a Native American lives matter right now. I acknowledge those lives matter. Even white lives matter through my humane-glossed eyes. 

We are not inside the minds of these police officers who decide to take a life without justifiable means. There is a very REAL possibility that these officers are racist. We do not know. All we know and see or hear is that a white officer kneeled on the neck of a man who continuously said he couldn't breathe, and was not a threat (three other officers were on him). All we know and see or hear is that a kid was walking home with some Skittles and tea and a man (trying to be a vigilante) pursued him, killing him [I am aware this was not a police officer involved situation, but this case is just as vital] . All we know and see or hear is a man saying he was licensed to carry and getting shot because an officer flipped out (at least that was how it came off to me watching the video). All we know and see or hear is a man being tackled to the ground for selling cigarettes and placed in a choke-hold. All the while, officers ignored him as he said the words "I can't breathe." 

Should I stop there? I can go on. 

And the hardest part is knowing that these are only the cases that got some heat to them in the news. Just imagine the many cases that have gone barely heard of. 

You cannot disregard race as a factor, because honestly, only the shooter knows. Unless they are like the shooter in Charleston that made his bias very clear. 

So coming from a humane-glossed person, while all lives matter has a point--because I think all lives are a precious gift from God--completely discrediting Black Lives Matter does not settle right to me. Black likes are a part of all lives, and if you believe in all lives, having concern for what is happening / has happened time and time again should make you stop and really open your mind to the possibility that countless black human beings have been targeted, carelessly discarded away for solely their race. For solely being black. 

I feel like I should point out again the fact of being unarmed, hardly a threat and in some cases, minding their own, going about their daily life.

But I have that issue with movements, right?

All movements have their extremism. 

I see supporters of Black Lives Matter (some, not all) talking down on people who declare all lives matter or even reverting to calling them racist. 

I see this as a divide, where in actuality, this is a possible ally.

Again, I cannot speak for anyone else, but I like to believe not everyone who says all lives matter is racist. Ganging up on someone does not make the situation better. It hurts the foundation of the movement. 

Educate them the best way you can if you feel so strongly to debate, but yelling, calling names, etc. does not help. That is the quickest way to lose someone that could have been an ally. And you may say that person was not necessary to have as an ally any way, but I beg to differ. Numbers is an amazing factor to this current cause. I have never felt more hopeful seeing all different races and backgrounds coming together to support the movement. And to really make a change, it is what is needed. 

Now, if that person is just hateful with their declaration for all lives matter and not budging, then let it go. Be the bigger person. 

Some people are literally feeding off the aggressiveness of some black lives matter supporters, and while you are trying to force people to see black lives matter, you are consequently pushing them to believe the opposite. 

I want to revert back to that seed.

Seeds are really vital here. 

Imagine a person being chewed out for their opinion or beliefs. Imagine that person being you. What taste does that leave in your mouth?

For some, they will be just fine and carry on. For others, they cannot let it go. One moment can last a lifetime for them, and they carry that moment on.

Do not allow that seed to come from you. 

I had a bad experience with a few cops, all at once, while I was in high school. I had done nothing wrong but know a person, and I was talked to in a way that completely dehumanized me, though I cooperated with all asked of me. The only thing I didn't give them was an admit of guilt that I was not guilty of. That infuriated a few of the cops. 

I held contempt toward police officers for a while. I got over it, partially chalking it up as them "just doing their job" but also thinking they were pretty sucky at it, because they had the wrong one. 

A piece of me just wished they had known me at that time. If they had taken the time to really see me and know me, they would have seen an honor student on her way to pursuing a business degree at the University of Louisville. They would have seen a teenager that did not have the time to be foolish because her mom was constantly falling and injuring herself in someway due to her MS; her mom needed her. They would have seen a highschooler working hard at her part-time job to help pay the bills because her mom was on disability, and it was not enough to make the bills on time.  

I know not all cops are bad. My experience opened my eyes to know there are bad ones out there, though. You can't ignore that.

I cannot help but only wonder if George Floyd, Philando Castile, Eric Garner or Oscar Grant and countless others thought the same before their lives were taken from them: if they only knew me.

I have seen some digs into some of the victims histories, which I cannot wrap my mind around. A person's past does not mean they deserve to be murdered for, basically, no reason. If your past is not just as tarnished, then your past is merely a different type of tarnished. Or, perhaps, maybe you just never got caught (lucky or privilege?).

I want to circle back to my problem with movements, though. Cause I still got that, right? 

The peaceful protests warm my heart to see. I find myself tearing up when I see police and protestors coming together, finding middle ground. Talking to each other like human beings. 

I think there should be more of that. In a fantasy world, I would back all interactions to be like that between police and protestors. Sadly, that is not always the case. 

Not all black lives matter protesters are looters or destructive. But some will light things on fire, and they have their own reasons (selfish or to make a statement). It's not my ideal way of protesting, but I can understand some of the frustration and reasoning to destroy (making a statement only). 

It can very heavily be debated if there's much difference from making a statement to being selfish. I mean, you never know someone else's intentions, unless you are them. And if they are destroying someone else's things, without thought to what the owner worked to build, isn't that the definition of selfish? 

You know what, I will let God handle that judgement and karma. Everyone has their ways of lashing out. Honestly, if I wasn't a writer that knew best how to "lash out" with my words, I could possibly be someone who lashed out with physical destruction. 

Who knows. 

I do not believe that all people are racist, but some sure as heck are. I have zero tolerance for racism. The ideal behind it all, no matter the race it is geared toward, is bull crap to me. God created us all, so in my book, that means we are all wanted. A kaleidoscope of races are beautiful to me. I want black people, white people, Asians, Latinos, Pakistani, Indian an all the other races I have left out in my world. I would not want it any other way.

Racism is a difficult battle. It is an ignorant one. I don't believe it will be crushed as long as this worldly world still exists. But I do believe in seeds being able to be planted in even some of the coldest hearts to get to, and I believe in leading by example to tackle racism. 

If you truly believe racism does not exist today, well I applaud you once more. Martin Luther King didn't march that long ago for civil rights. Not even 100 years ago. Crazy, right? Some times I even forget. But that's not enough time to put to rest those roots of hatred, "sticking to your own kind," etc. 

I really do not want to drag this out longer than I already have. But I do want to say this...

Black lives matter is not a trend, nor feminism. Nor is LGBTQ+, though I can only slightly situate on the outskirts of the latter movement / community and have a voice. Honestly, I feel they are more a community, the way I am precisely thinking of it right now. They exist, and are a piece of our community that is not going anywhere. 

This might be a good place to say one of the reasons why I have an issue with movements. Cause some make it a trend, when it is someone's life. 

One cannot change they are black. One cannot change they are female. One cannot change they identify with who they identify as. Granted, I know not all feminist are females, and boy do you males that stand beside us rock (just a little side note). But that brings me to one last thing...

I think of feminism. I think of black lives matter. I think of LGBTQ+. And to spice it up, I think of political supporters of different political parties. 

Facets / pockets of a movement should not stop you from being a part of it, if it is truly what you believe. 

 I think back to a philosophy class and gender woman studies class I took at Western Kentucky University when it comes to movements a lot. I can recall some people who identified as feminists being open and free to show or sell their bodies. They were in control of what they owned. It was freeing to them. 

Now, there were other people who identified as feminists that felt that being free and willing to show or sell your body hurt the movement. This gave men exactly what they wanted and fed into men's views of women being nothing but "a piece of meat." 

Personally, I will not freely display my body or sell it. So I could not relate. But just because some feminists believed in that freedom, was I to completely disconnect myself from feminism and the root of what it stood for?

If you know me, I decided not to discard myself. 

Feminism still had roots that I believed in, and still do today. 

So my issue with movements?

They are beautiful to see, when they do not spew hate. They are beautiful in action, when a system allows an action to take place. They best lead to true change, when God throws us the key. 

But this is a worldly world --  not everyone will be pleased. Change can come with laws, but not everyone will change. 

One of the beauties God gave us was free will. Even if I will never agree with one, I try my hardest to respect one. 

I have an issue with movements when one does not try to understand.