In a society dominated by racial inequality and whiteness, one may think that the push for white rights seems redundant. Yet, this is exactly what is happening with the Blue Lives Matter movement, proving once again that demands for equality by people of color is met with sharp backlash.
Blue Lives Matter, a countermovement that advocates for the protection and security of the U.S. police force, gained global attention when it responded to Black Lives Matter. The latter is a call for racial equality and campaigns against violence and systemic racism towards people of color.
Blue Lives Matter embodies the slogan, “All lives matter.” While this concept may seem innocent, it is nothing more than an ignorant rejection of racial brutality in America. The movement turns its head away from the clear history of racism that has stained every part of our country.
“All lives matter” is a refusal to accept that America does not value all lives in the same way, and we need to start acknowledging that.
Using white victimhood, Blue Lives Matter paved the way for a law that makes targeting police officers a hate crime. By extending legal protections beyond characteristics such as race, sexual orientation and gender identity, this law now factors in career choice.
It is no surprise that a law like this is met with criticism.
An individual’s job could never reach the level of significance and meaning that one’s racial identity holds. To compare the struggles that people of color face, expressed through Black Lives Matter, to the occupational hazards of a career choice, is pathetic and misinformed.
Police officers have dangerous jobs, but there has never been any doubt that their lives matter. There is seemingly no larger priority in the criminal justice system than when a police officer is harmed.
Black and brown identities and histories are constantly under threat while police officers do not, in the slightest, face any threats equal to those imposed on minorities. In society, police officers are typically respected and hold a position of honor. On the other hand, people of color in urban communities are often portrayed as aggressors, thugs and thieves.
The Blue Lives Matter laws are not only meaningless, but they are also senseless in practice. Attacking or targeting a police officer would already result in a harsher punishment than attacking a civilian, so the law itself is extraneous.
This points to the fact that the Blue Lives Matter laws were not proposed due to actual necessity or use. Rather, they represent a hidden attempt to extend white power and ignore the racialized conflicts between people of color and the police.
The Blues Lives Matter movement needs to be seen through its true colors: a justification of discriminatory policing and a support of racial profiling.
