everyone counts

(Next in my series of observations while away last month…)

Roll up your sleeves. Take off those partisan hats. Exhale any opinion ready to pounce. Let’s talk about what we’ve observed regarding #BlackLivesMatter.

Originating in the wake of the acquittal of George Zimmerman in 2013, the #BlackLivesMatter movement campaigns against perceived police brutality in the United States. Note that according to Wikipedia and The Daily Beast, the movement is reportedly a decentralized network, with no formal hierarchy or structure in place. As summer has progressed, we have seemingly still witnessed an uptick in activity.

Many have felt oppressed. Many are frustrated. Many have experienced grievous injustice. Many cry out. At the very least, they/we deserve to be heard.

The danger for any of us, friends, based on our own experience and the depth of our individual passions, is when we conclude that we deserve to be heard more than anyone else — that it’s completely acceptable for us to drown out all other voices… all other perspectives… be rude, disrespectful, you-name-it.

In Houston, Texas last Friday night, 47 year old policeman Darren Goforth was off duty but still in uniform. He was innocently pumping gas at a Chevron station in a northwest suburb. A young African-American male came up and shot him from behind — with no known provocation — killing the officer — also, gut-wrenchingly, continuing to fire even after Goforth had fallen to the ground.

Ironically, planned ahead of time — and unrelated to Goforth’s murder — the very next day, 350-500 #BlackLivesMatter protesters shut down multiple entrances to the Minnesota State Fair. While their stated aim in this instance was to draw more attention to economic and social disparities, many of the activists still chanted, “Pigs in a blanket, fry ’em like bacon” — all while receiving a police escort for their protection.

Protests in Minnesota. A murder in Texas. Unrelated. But what can we observe?

On Saturday, in response to the death of his deputy, Sheriff Ron Hickman explained that investigators currently believe a “dangerous national rhetoric” against police officers led to the seemingly unprovoked attack. Hickman then, soberly added this:

“We’ve heard ‘black lives matter’ — ‘all lives matter.’ Well, cops’ lives matter, too. So why don’t we drop the qualifier and just say: Lives Matter. And take that to the bank.”

The reality is that all lives really do matter. If we’re all created equal, then yes, we all matter… black lives matter… white lives matter… cops’ lives matter… Hispanic lives matter… Muslim lives matter… evangelical Christian lives matter… Jewish lives matter… women’s lives matter… men’s lives matter… gay lives matter… elderly lives matter… babies’ lives matter… transgender lives matter… special needs’ lives matter… young lives matter… deaf lives matter… lives matter. Period.

Hence, from my observations — politically incorrect as they may or may not be — when we’re at the point where we can only acknowledge that one (or some) of the above lives matter — when we are no longer listening to any reasoning other than our own — we are then missing a vital, dire aspect of wisdom. A society that is unable to admit that all lives matter is a society that will forever suffer from oppression and inequality — as individual people groups only advocate for their own.

I think of my oldest son. Recently, he trekked off for his freshman year of college (yes, more observations coming here quite soon). He, no less, by all accounts, is quite proud to now be a Florida Gator (…insert appropriate chomping sound here…). 

I’m reminded even more of the University of Florida’s extensive, summer orientation — an informative, encouraging time when one of their programs was arguably emphasized above all others: “U Matter, We Care.”

Instead of the focus being on how much “I” matter, the university boldly proclaims how they care for all people; they know that everyone counts.

There’s a beauty and freedom in acknowledging all who count. If only we knew… and only believed…

Respectfully…
AR