Blue Lives Matter, too.

Over the past three years, there have been a number of high-profile police-involved shootings, several of which have sparked public, and violent, rallies.  Some of the shootings have been determined by the justice system to be justified uses of force, while others have been determined to be excessive force or negligence.  Criminal charges have been brought against some officers.  At times, officers need to protect themselves and others.  Sadly, also at times, an officer, poorly trained or lacking in good judgment, makes a tragic decision.   

 

The shooting incident of Michael Brown in Ferguson, MO, was hijacked by a small group of radicals who created the “Black Lives Matter” movement, based on the allegation that the killing of Michael was racially motivated.  This movement, dubbed “un-American” by African-American radio personality David Webb, has ignited violence against law enforcement and encouraged a climate of discrimination against white-skinned human persons and police officers. 

 

Following the report of each police-involved shooting – Ferguson, Baltimore, Cleveland, NYC, Chicago, Minnesota, Baton Rouge, etc. – we witnessed a similar response: the BLM movement took to the streets and the shooting was labeled by leftists as racially motivated, regardless of whether there was any evidence in support of the claim.  In the various riots, cars have been burned, police targeted and people injured. 

 

Last year, two NYPD officers were murdered in their patrol car.  Last night, five officers in Dallas were murdered by snipers in a planned, premeditated and coordinated attack.  The suspect with whom officers negotiated admitted that he wanted to “kill white people, particularly white officers.”  This individual’s attack on officers was explicitly racially motivated: by his own admission, the suspect wanted to kill people whose skin color was different from his own. 

 

The undercurrent of “Black Lives Matter” is that the lives of black-skinned human persons matter more than those of white-skinned or uniformed human persons.  It is itself a racially-motivated organization. 

 

Many of the same people who say they want to see an end to racism use race as a grounds for decision-making.  As long as we employ Affirmative Action and quotas in employment and education, rather than rewarding merit and accomplishment, we perpetuate a culture of racial division.  We need to learn how to evaluate others based on the “content of their character rather than the color of their skin.”  (Dr. MLK Jr.)

 

In order to build a society where race and skin-color no longer matter and where we see each person as a child of God, we need first to eliminate race as a factor in our decisions and thought processes.  This is both a systemic problem and an ideology corrupting the hearts of individuals, which cries out for conversion and healing. 

 

Bottom line about last night: there is no police-involved shooting so horrific nor feeling of discrimination so deep as to justify the murder of law enforcement.  Even when an individual officer acts out of line or possesses racial hatred, ambushing police is unacceptable. 

 

The spreading virus of hatred for law-enforcement is infecting our country.  The video posted by the girlfriend of Philando Castile includes her quoting her young daughter as saying “The police are bad guys.”  Where did she learn this belief?  Teaching our children to fear or hate police will only make our neighborhoods less safe.

 

As the virus spread, so does the “Ferguson effect.”  Law enforcement will pull back and be less eager to rush in to a dangerous situation, out of a natural sense of self-preservation and fear of ambush.  If we do not support them, they will not be there when we need them.  Heroically, police officers show up to protect the very protestors whose rallies incite violence against them. 

 

A very small percentage of priests, ministers, coaches and teachers have molested children.  This does not make every priest, minister, coach or teacher an evil person.  A very small number of police officers have made deadly decisions based on poor judgment and perhaps racism (through it is hard to know the heart of a man in a split-second decision).  This does not make every police officer an evil person. 

 

There is no evidence of a coordinated targeting of black people by law enforcement.  There is, however, evidence of a coordinated targeting of white police officers last night.  The slain Dallas officers had nothing to do with the shootings in other states.  They were innocent men whose families have now been devastated by senseless violence. 

 

BLM promotes violence and racism.  It is categorically opposed to American values, as well as to unity, charity and peace. 

 

Our first responders need our undying support.  They are our defense against crime, destruction and instability in our communities. 

 

Black, white, “blue”………ALL LIVES MATTER.