The Blue Lives Matter movement has valid arguments against them as well. One argument is that there are no blue people on planet earth to whom we should care about their lives. Secondly, the dangers to the lives of police officers are a hazard of their own choosing taken by conscious intent knowing the potential dangers of the occupation. Thirdly, the potential dangers a police officer faces are only periodical, relative for the times in active service of the occupational duties. A Black person cannot take a shirt off and relieve themselves from the dangers that come with their outward appearance like a police officer. These gaping holes, false narratives, and incomplete concepts are the reason for such extreme opposition. It is an insult to the intelligence of the person who questions or opposes your argument when you don’t even start with a solid, credible foundation for your argument. No one likes being insulted and especially not to the level of extremes that we have seen these three organizations pursue their narratives.
At #racismstinks we pride ourselves on respect with clarity of our purpose and values. We present our views for change at the unarguably lowest common denominator. Someone either agrees, yes, racism stinks, or, no, they love the smell of racism in the morning. Either or, but there is no argument. We are not here to convert anyone, pick your side. We can go off and work together, or we go our separate ways. #racismstinks is the educational introduction to anti-racism work for “Aspiring Allies.” Most people who argue against Black Lives Matter don’t identify themselves as racist and agree that there are racial disparities that we need to address.
Our “People Over Politics” foundational principle is one of our core distinctions from the three “Lives Matter” organizations. We are not a Democratic-aligned nor Republican-aligned organization. Being neither for nor against any political party gives us the leverage of speaking to anyone regardless of whether we have differing views. We can still have a respectful conversation with the hopes that our interaction leads to resolutions for our communities.
We respect the fact that no “one-person” or “one-organization” has all the answers to solving the issues with race relations in our country. We have a deep long rooted complex history concerning race and inequality in our country. Our motto “it takes us all” is the compass for our road map to end racism. We are seeking to amass a large diverse coalition of like-minded people from all political, religions, financial, and educational backgrounds. Our role is to educate and build confident Aspiring Allies.
We can all agree that the last two years have been some of the most trying times in modern history. With all the economic, social, and political disruptions happening globally, racism has been spotlighted as one of the central components in the majority of these disruptions. We suggest that now, more than ever is the time to align with thoughtful anti-racism work. The very foundation of the United States was built on economic and social racism. No one could reasonably argue that it was not. None of us were born at that time, or put these systems into place, so we don’t bear that blame. However, the legacy of those systems are very much a part of our world today. For context, those who were alive in the 1960’s experienced segregation in one of two ways. That was not very long ago at all. It is time for us as a country to stop pretending our racial issues were resolved when white segregationist “Jim Crow” laws were overturned. It will not be easy for some to face the ugly past and open their eyes to how that past permeates into the issues we struggle with today. For that very reason, we at #racismstinks are committed to walking with those who wish to be Allies through this journey. Together WE WILL change the world. It takes us all.
