Value of Life

The absolute bottom line, as it pertains to the violence we see in society today, is the lack or loss of the value of human life.  

This was the gist of a comment I made in a post pertaining to the violence/killings this past week in Louisiana, Minnesota, and Texas.  I have tried my best to limit my comments on such posts because it opens up a messy can of worms if one agrees with "Black Lives Matter" or "Cop lives Matters"; it seems one cannot agree with both sides of the equation; one must chose one side or the other.  And there lies the problem with society; we are always having to pick sides.  If you are standing up for black lives, then you are assumed to be anti-cop.  If you are standing up for police, you are seen as anti-black.  Let me put this as politely as I can. That, my friends, is complete bullshit.  But, I'll get back to that later.

The bigger issue, as I see it, is the value of life or the lack there of.  When was it, in our society, that we stopped valuing human life? That question isn't hard to answer; we never have valued the lives of others of different cultures, heritage, or race.  From the time this country was stolen from those whom resided here for hundreds of years before us, fair-skinned European individuals ranked higher in life value than those of other race, culture, or heritage.  Throughout the history of our society,  those of European decent, the Anglo Saxon majority, have hunted, slaughtered, bought and sold, and abused those with less life value than their own.  This is not a debatable fact; history has documented these events in an almost glorious light as if there was absolutely nothing wrong with what they have done.

We, as a society, continue to write and re-write the past in our present and future.  We hide behind political correctness as if it is a shield from the truth.  We glorify the firsts such as, "first African American President; first African American coach to win a Super Bowl; bla bla bla.  We glorify these "firsts" as a showcase of our progression but, in reality, we have not progressed at all as a society.  These are mere tokens; facades that hide the ugly truth.  Like putting a fresh coat of paint on an outhouse and believing it is a royal suite bathroom.  It's still a smelly outhouse that will splinter your ass if you don't sit just right.

Why is it that we need social policies such as political correctness and affirmative action?  Why is it that we continue to have check boxes that label individuals based upon race?  Why is it that we continue to glorify all the "firsts"?  The brutal and blunt fact is, is because our social norms are still based upon the cultural beliefs of the "white" majority; the Anglo Saxon dominance still rules our society.  These social policies are an insult; the equivalent to giving a small piece of stale bread to a starving individual who stands outside the expensive restaurant looking in on all those whom are privileged enough to sit and have a meal.  That is not equality; that is a handout by somebody who believes he/she is better than that starving person looking in from the outside.  Let that soak in for a minute; "looking in from the outside".  

I was exposed to the brutal truth of racism and inequality at the age of ten by an aging teacher whom told me, "good little white girls don't sit with the colored kids".  That was a defining moment in my life and I have never forgotten how it made me feel.  I understood immediately that I would be labeled a "bad little girl" if I sat or played with kids with a different skin color than myself.  I did not conform and refused to take on the labels I was given throughout my school years.

Which takes me back to my original thought; the value of life.  There is a credible, factual, and undeniable need to emphasize that Black lives matter.  Yes, all lives matter but, if you understand the history of our society, white lives have always matter more.  To rebuke the "Black Lives Matter" campaign with the "All Lives Matter" slogan, you are, once again, giving a scrap of stale bread to the starving individuals looking in from the outside.  If this society is to ever survive (honestly I am not sure we will) we must see the value of human life as humanity as a whole and not based upon the value as it compares to the white majority.  All humans are 99.5% alike as it pertains to DNA.  Socially, the variance is considerably more.  How is it that .5% makes such a difference between humans?   It doesn't and it shouldn't.

It isn't a coincidence that young, black males are the target of unjustified violence by police; we, as a society, painted this picture for as long as we have been a society.  We have maintained and nurtured the belief that their lives are of less value than the white majority.  Just as all American Indians were profiled as savages and systematically executed in astonishing numbers, young Black men are profiled as "thugs" and receive the blanket label as deviant.  Social assumptions are powerful; not only for those on the inside looking out, but also for those on the outside looking in.  It is impossible for the insiders to understand how it feels to be an outsider.  The insiders say, "I'm a good person because I give you bread to eat" but the outsiders deserve more than bread; they deserve the whole meal.  But more importantly, they deserve to eat the whole meal along with those inside.  It is not enough to give them a meal; you must be willing to share the space.  And this is where society has lost the value of life.  The belief that it is enough to hand out scraps but not willing to share the space and the full meal.  Generation after generation resentment festers.  The insiders don't understand why there is still so much resentment because they continue to handout the scraps.  The divide widens and that .5% difference might as well be 95%.

People are good and people are bad in all facets of life.  To blame the whole for the actions of a few is ignorant.  I support the maintenance of  the law but will always hold those accountable for their actions.  I will always be a voice and advocate for Black lives and all minorities whom still stand on the outside looking in.  If you do not believe this is the truth about our society, I suggest you be careful on your perch because at some point in life, you will have to come down from it.

I love you all!