4 REASONS WHY WE SHOULD NOT SHIFT THE CONVERSATION ON BLACK LIVES MATTER

PEASINAPOD
Jun 4, 2020
2 min read

Updated: Aug 9, 2020

Hello pod,

It is disgusting that every time a police officer shots a black man or woman, the conversation is often shifted to black on black crime. The goal of this blog is for us to empower other millennials like us. Even if you are not a millennial, we believe we could all do better in one way or another. I am going to get straight to the point.

By shifting the conversation away from the issues surrounding blackness, we open up room for dangerous myths to proliferate in our society. It is essential to know and acknowledge that crime is not a result of blackness; crime is a result of crime? So let's call it just that. Any person can commit a crime regardless of the complexion of their skin. When another white person kills a white person, do we say white on white crime? Of course not, so why are we allowing this conversation to go in this direction for black people. Let us call things what they are; it is a CRIME regardless of who commits it.

Let me break down this further

Using the term black on black crime is a form of gaslighting, why do we hear of black on black crime when a black person has been killed? could it be a form of gaslighting black people and telling them to "shut up."
the term "black on black crime" overshadows the real systemic issues that exist when it comes to black people. I am not implying it is okay for black people to kill each other, which it is not. Black people should stop killing each other BUT significant, BUT we do not want to hear that every time a person is murdered by police. There is no relation between the two, so no connection should be made.
Using black on black crime or all lives matter when black people are killed; this furthers white supremacy as it makes it okay to kill black people as an act of vigilantism. A clear example of this is the #AHMAUDAUBERRY case, why did two white men think it was okay to kill him. Even if he was guilty, which he was not, committing a crime does not mean a person deserves to die.
Using black on black crime typically leads to overpricing, which ultimately leads to the same kind of issues.

To conclude todays, blog all lives matter, but black lives matter more now: if one house is burning, do we say all houses matter, or should we go to the one house that is on fire and try to help. Use this simple exercise every time you want to shift the conversation away from this issue.