Written by: AllDolledUp

We live in the social media age, meaning most of us with a device have two lives: the real one, and the one online. Profiles are filled with snippets of our lives, the pieces we want to show, anyway. Hashtags are embedded in the intricate networks we forge, as most people become brands themselves. Most importantly, information is more accessable than ever. If you want to keep someone's attention, both cataloging with the means of a hashtag and visual communication are necessary. Therefore,  #BlackLivesMatter. 

You may occasionally ask yourself this: Why is the world so messed up these days? Well, it's always been that way. The rise of the age of surveillance and mobile cellphones has made people more aware of injustice and atrocities, just like the printing press brought people out of the Dark Ages in many parts of the world. The depravity of man is immortal.

WHAT PEOPLE NEED TO UNDERSTAND ABOUT #BLM

It may have started as a hashtag, however, people mobilized after being fed up with the acquittal of police officers that got away with murder of black teenagers and people in general, was becoming too normalized in the USA. Black Lives Matter is rooted in principles of human rights, dignity and respect. It is an affirmation, and statement aiming to remind everyone that ignores black people, that we will not remain silent.

Racism is different from racial prejudice, hatred, or discrimination. Racism involves one group having the power to carry out systematic discrimination through the institutional policies and practices of the society and by shaping the cultural beliefs and values that support those racist policies and practices. BLM aims to dismantle racism and for police brutality to go down with it. It is a fight against corruption and for protecting civil rights.

As someone who borderline lives within the framework of intersectionality (a topic I shall bring up in another post) I know all too well what it's like to be ignored and dismissed. The triple trifecta is me: black latina woman. Those three words  are grouped in the space of marginalization and for people with privilege, it is very easy to deny the existance of racism and discrimination if they live a sheltered life away from someone like me and other people of color.  

UNDERSTANDING WHY SAYING "ALL LIVES MATTER" IS MISSING THE POINT

I shouldn't have to prop up a white man to mansplain this at all, but Ashton Kutcher, (yes, the actor! and open supporter of BLM) recently posted this very simplified explanation of BLM that I thought was worthy of  sharing in this post:

“I think what folks that are writing ‘All Lives Matter’ need to understand is that for some people, black lives don’t matter at all.
So for us, black lives matter.

So, while you may have the best intentions in saying, ‘All Lives Matter,’ remember: For some people, black lives don’t matter at all.”

That being said, if the guy that played Michael Kelso is able to recognize his white privilege, and open up a dialogue about why Black Lives Matter is valid, then anyone else is just as capable of understanding this message. It is up to all of us to educate ourselves, wake up and recognize we all may live different realities, but we still make an impact on how the other person lives. 

Watching George Floyd's death on YouTube is just as disturbing as the thought of being there in person. It helps me understand why protests are happening. The BLM movement has gained momentum and is now being touted all over the world in a way that I am overwhelmed by. If you're wondering why people are claiming it's racism, go watch it.

RACISM ISN'T JUST IDEALOGY; IT IS A SYSTEM OF OPRESSION AND DEGREDATION. RACISM IS A PUBLIC HEALTH ISSUE IN THE UNITED STATES, JUST LIKE IT IS A THREAT TO GLOBAL HEALTH.

THERE ARE ROUGHLY 36 MILLION BLACK PEOPLE IN THE USA, AND COVID19 WILL CONTRIBUTE TO BRINGING THAT NUMBER DOWN TO 35 MILLION. THE DEATH OF BLACK PEOPLE DUE TO POLICE BRUTALITY SPARKED GLOBAL PROTESTS IN THE MIDDLE OF A GLOBAL PANDEMIC AS A RESULT.

BLACK PEOPLE ARE DISAPROPORTIONATELY DYING WITHIN EVERY MAJOR STATISTICAL FACET OF AMERICAN LIFE: THEY MAKE UP 65% OF COVID19 DEATHS IN THE USA - TO POLICE BRUTALITY AND HOW THE LEGACY OF RACISM THAT WAS ESTABLISHED OVER A CENTURY AGO, STILL OPRESSES PEOPLE OF COLOR AND OTHER MINORITIES DUE TO THE NEIGHBORHOODS THEY LIVE IN AND  HOW THE SYSTEM TRAPS THEM IN CYCLES OF PERPETUAL POVERTY.

Examples of racism as a system: redlining, mass incarceration, and racial profiling.

Redlining is the fundamental key for the racist system in the USA to work, it is connected to segregation. Modern real estate is still segregated in terms of what ethnic groups live in  any given neighborhood. Please understand this: "oppurtunities" are only available to people within a certain age range (if you're over 35 you are out of luck due to ageism), and geography fundamentally affects what kind of life you live.

History has proven that in the process of creating the ideal utopia, there will always be a marginalized group at the bottom, and a top percent benefitting from the work of the one's being oppressed. The result is a dystopia for those that are subjugated to create the illusion of utopia for those that live in blissful ignorance or denial of the stuffering it takes to make limited resources and capital into a plethora of abundance.

Have you ever wondered why some countries are more developed, and wealthier than others? Racism is the system that was built by countries that are developed today, through colonialism and imperialism. When you rob a place of its culture, exploit its resources, enslave the people that lived there, and subjugate them for a long time, you rob those displaced people of their future and any chances they had at developing and forging a path of their own. THAT is what racism is. THAT is why being a native indigenous person, black, Latino, Asian, Indian, and a woman is so challenging in a white man's world. No matter how many 'oppurtunities' are available, geography as well as your 'network' within a location matters. Rags-to-riches is a fairy tale. Conclusion: no one is equal, if one group is the only one benefitting from an established system.

In my opinion, the Civil Rights Movement never ended. One day, historians will write about our times, and recognize this as fact. The Civil Rights Act of 1968 may have ended the decades-long civil unrest in the US shortly after the death of Dr. King, however, that does not mean racism ended. The same lynching, excesive use of force, harassment, and displays of police brutality have existed for as long as the United States has been a nation. It took the age of cameras, computers, and phones to bring the truth to light. Globalization catapulted this movement. BLM's own co-founder expressed how BLM is fighting for all lives to matter by adressing POC deaths at the hands of cops. Instead of being divided, let's work together. Join us, and fight corruption. Start by educating yourself.

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to injustice everywhere."- Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King Jr.

Educate yourself. Donate. Sign Petitions.

(Stay tuned to my upcoming posts for resources and petititons.)