Being a healthy society should matter more than a movement
By: CHRISTIAN HARGAS
Sports Editor
In the United States, the Black Lives Matter movement has been one of the most sensitive and consuming topics in local and national radio and television media. For the past 13 months, this has been the predominant storyline of our nation’s current ethical, racial and even political structure. This is something that has risen to prominence through the aggressive and enthusiastic effort of the supporters for their voice to be heard by the masses.
With that being said, this is also something that has been misconstrued, misinterpreted and even misrepresented by the very people who initiated it. Black lives most certainly matter, but being a healthy society should matter more.
Please do not misunderstand me; I realize there was a period of time in United States history when African Americans were not treated as equally as whites.
As an African American myself, I understand the significance of how our race was once treated in the past and I know it was not good.
Throughout the progression of my life, I look up to individuals like Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. for their fearless and determined efforts to make the United States an equal society.
As a result of their sacrifices, the change that was once a dream came to fruition because they understood there was a real issue at the focal point of American society.
When it comes to the Black Lives Matter movement, I just do not know if these same historical figures would be able to decipher the real issue.
In my opinion, the real issue has been twisted, contorted and disguised by many different subheadings and side stories.
The point of the movement is to spread the message to American citizens that black lives matter and they should be treated equally and fairly. The problem with this message is that there has not been a point in time since the late 1960s where blacks were not treated equally as a majority race in this nation.
Dare I say the United States has done an admirable job at making sure people of all races and ethnicities are afforded the same opportunities and rights?
There are instances where equality and fair opportunities among people with different races and ethnicities are challenged – even to a potential breaking point – but what does looting and destruction of property solve? What does burning down buildings, tipping cars, threatening police officers and breaking into and stealing from business corporations do but stir up more trouble?
Somewhere along the way, this new narrative has been created where blacks are not treated fairly and we are heading backwards as a society.
We are heading backwards as a society, but I can assure you it is not because of some misconstrued conspiracy against African Americans. As an African American, I am deeply offended by how our community has reacted and what the state of our public unity has become.
We need to be lifting each other up instead of tearing each other down. What happened to the society our grandparents grew up in? What happened to the days when we knew our neighbors and cared about them? What happened to the days where we did not have to be afraid to step outside of our homes?
I cannot speak for anyone else, but I want to live in a society where people of all races can get along. I want to live in a society where people of all races feel they are treated fairly and that no race believes their lives do not matter.
Black lives most certainly matter, but being a healthy society where we are all unified as one should matter much more.
