Listen to the message

I open Twitter and Facebook to see what kind of news is being shared and I see the civil unrest in Charlotte. Protests have turned violent in that city and I wondered why, until I read a Washington Post piece on the recent killing of yet another black man.

How did I reach a point in my life where I’ve lost track of how many black people were killed in the hands of police officers? That’s not because I’ve stopped caring or I’ve buried my head in the sand. There’s just been so much injustice in the world that I just can’t keep count.

Before this week’s killings, the biggest story in media was Colin Kaepernick’s refusal to stand during the national anthem. His message was clear, though many didn’t really care about it. They just cared that he wasn’t “showing respect” to the flag. “There’s another way of sharing your message,” critics claimed. Then when Kaepernick showed that he really is serious about fighting against these injustices, critics were silent. Because they didn’t care about the message. They care more about a flag than the people it’s supposed to represent.

Now there’s been more slayings and there are two groups of people at odds against each other. One up in arms about the slayings while the other is more worried about the way people are protesting.

Because those who don’t care don’t listen to the message when unarmed men, women and children are being killed by the hands of police officers.

They don’t listen to the message when facts are presented about said police shootings.

They don’t listen to the message when an NFL player takes a knee during the national anthem.

They don’t listen to the message when there’s a peaceful protest. (Side note: USA Today columnist/blogger Glenn Reynolds was suspended by Twitter because he advocated that motorists should run over protests. Those who agree are exactly the type of people I despise.)

But now that there’s violence, rioting, looting and chaos in Charlotte, is that message heard loud and clear now?

It doesn’t look like.

I’ve already seen the posts. “Martin Luther King wouldn’t have stood for violence.”

Except King literally wrote in his Letter from Birmingham Jail that the goal of his demonstrations was “so to dramatize the issue that it can no longer be ignored.”

Unfortunately, the movement needs violence for it to catch the attention of the national media. Just take a look at what’s going on in North Dakota with the pipeline. Those peaceful protests are getting more attention on Facebook than on CNN.

The message needs to be heard. When the Black Lives Matter movement started, the opposition decided to interpret this as only black lives matter when actually it’s black lives matter too.

At the end of the day, there’s a recurring theme in our nation that’s the root of all this injustice. Black people are perceived as less than. Tell me one good stereotype about black people that doesn’t involve athletic prowess, music or sex. You can’t.

And since black people are seen as less than, those who don’t understand why there are protests try to point out that we’re in a “post-racial society.” As if having a black president (who to this day racial slurs are still being thrown at him everywhere I see an article mentioned about him) solved racism. As if being able to vote is good enough (except when lawmakers decide to pass laws that ultimately suppresses minorities’ votes). As if having basic human rights is good enough for black people.

The message is right there in front of your face and has been there throughout the violence, throughout the peaceful protests, throughout the fists being raised or the kneels taken during the national anthem, throughout the endless columns and news stories. It’s there. It’s up to you to listen.