I ask the
question –
But do black lives matter to black lives?
As for the Black
Lives Matter Movement
I suggest
first things first -
Black
lives should matter to black people.
We must be
held accountable, and take responsibility for the fact that
too many of
our black people are gunned down, cut down,
beat up and
beat down, stomped on
and left for
dead…by other black people.
Black children
should matter to their parents.
Black parents
should matter to their children.
Black brothers
should matter to black brothers and
black sisters.
And black
sisters should matter to each other.
One of the
conditions to become a member of a gang like the Bloods
and Crips was (and
maybe still “is”) the pre-condition of membership…
the candidate
was to draw blood -
To go out
and do harm, maim, or kill a brother – murder in cold blood.
So he’s
saying, as I see it,
his brother’s
life does not matter in the least,
of no
importance, of no worth, insignificant, irrelevant.
He can just
drive up and down the streets where black people live
and breathe, and make
their home, their sanctuary,
and just
shoot aimlessly and take a black life, any life,
a child innocently
standing by.
Black lives don’t matter so often to his own person
-
His own life
does not matter.
So many
young black men don’t think in terms of their future lives,
or their individual
lives.
Too many don’t
care if they live or die today or tomorrow.
It doesn’t matter.
If it doesn’t matter that over the 4th
of July weekend
there were over
60 murders in the city of Chicago,
where’s the
hope of living?
Life mattering,
as I see it, means your values matter,
your responsibilities matter, your duties and obligations matter;
individual honor and decency should matter.
If they don’t
matter, you are condemning your own
self to not mattering;
if you just don’t matter to yourself;
If your
people don’t matter; if your history
doesn’t matter to you,
how can you
really stand correct and honorably,
and require/request
that your life should matter to
someone else.
(Though in
all truth under God, we are to love one another, all.
And there’s
the matter of regard for humanity.)
Nevertheless,
as it stands, it is evident that our lives too often
have not mattered to one
another,
Also a
truth.
There is
blatant disrespect in all categories - men to women,
to our elderlies, parents; and
men and women disrespect themselves.
To express
someone matters, means a show respect
and honor
and dignity for yourself
and towards others.
Your character
should matter. Your integrity should matter.
Your
reputation should matter.
At the same
time, I’m not disagreeing that the lawlessness continuously
demonstrated
against black people by the establishment order
should be
brought to judgment and stand accused of crimes
against humanity, and against
all that is holy.
Why not let
us, black people, take hold of the teachings of Dr. King
and put on “The Drum
Major Instinct.” To quote a line or two –
“The instinct that I must be first, I must be
supreme…
it’s a good instinct if your use it
right. It’s a good instinct
if you don’t distort and pervert it… But I want
you to be first in love…
in moral excellence…in generosity.”
“Wisdom from above is first of all pure,
then it is peace-loving,
courteous (considerate), yields to reason,
full of compassion and good fruits; it is
whole-hearted
and straight-forward, impartial and unfeigned (free of
insincerity).”
James 3:17
“First take the beam out of your own eye”. Matthew 7:5
“The way of a fool is right in his own eyes,
but he who listens to counsel
is wise.” Proverbs 12:15
“Give instructions to a wise man and he will
be yet wiser; teach
a righteous man and he will increase in learning.” Proverbs
9:9
Special
Note: According to a Huffington Post report, 810 people
have died in jail since Sandra
Bland supposedly committed suicide
on July 13, 2015.
“Black people are more likely to die in jail
(than other groups) because
they are more likely to be arrested than any
other racial group,
for reasons that have much to do with double
standards
in the justice system and historic oppressions as they do with
crime.”
Story by
Dana Liebelson and Ryan J. Reilly – 7-13-2016)
“I will make justice the measuring line and
righteousness the plummet
(fall, plunge); and hail will sweep away the refuge of lies,
and waters will overwhelm the hiding places.” Isaiah 28:16
“You have not chosen Me, but I have chosen
you,
and I have appointed you…
to bear my fruit, to be the fruit of My
Spirit.” John 15:16
