If I were to be asked whether or not I support the growing Black Lives Matter movement, I would undoubtedly answer yes. I believe that the Black Lives Matter movement is the beginning of a well-needed and long-awaited change in American society because there have been countless assaults and shootings of unarmed, innocent black people, because a systematic form of prejudice against black people has been present since the days of the Jim Crow laws, and because I find it unacceptable that human beings are consistently being denied opportunities based on the color of their skin. The news story has become a common one, “A police shooting occurred earlier today, a suspect gunned down…” and the situation never seems to change. An unarmed citizen, …show more content…
This response, while well-meaning in some cases, is missing the point. The entire reason for the Black Lives Matter movement is that black people are being killed and denied the opportunities that others have on a daily basis. A chief point of the All Lives Matter movement is fighting “reverse racism” or the oppression white people, which, if one looks at the definition of oppression, is nonexistent. There is a difference between prejudice and the systematic oppression of an entire group of people based on race. White people aren’t passed by empty cabs in New York City because of the color of their skin. White people aren’t incarcerated at a disproportionately higher rate than other races for committing the same crimes. White people are not automatically labeled as thugs or gangs if a group of three or more is seen together. White people do not get stopped or arrested because their car looked to expensive to be their own. White people are not denied jobs or interviews because their names sound white. White people do not even come close to being oppressed, while black people live with it constantly. The message of the All Lives Matter movement, while technically true in its’ name, is woefully unreasonable because it is fighting a non-existent force of