I don't want black men shot at traffic stops. I don't want cops shot by snipers. I don't want kids shot at school. I don't want any of this.
— EM Simpson (@charlie_simpson) July 8, 2016
While sitting in on CNN’s coverage of Thursday night’s events, journalist Charles Blow said all protesters want is to make sure everyone — civilian or police — goes home to their families at the end of their day…. “The protests themselves are ultimately about life,” Blow said. “The ability to live out your life and not have life unreasonably taken. Your response to this has to be about life.”…. He then pointed out that it’s time to stop making it an “arms race of atrocities.” A lot of what I’ve seen over the last few hours have been people rushing to try to figure out ways to see if something adds to an argument or doesn’t add to an argument,” he said. “I don’t understand when you stop being human, enough to slow down and say, yes the two people who were killed, who the protests were about, had families and they are hurt, and they are angry. These people have families too.”…. People need to admit that “everybody deserves to go home.”
It’s not exactly breaking news- anger begets anger and violence purchases violence. At some point, though, we have to be able to break the cycle…or we’re going to be left with two guys armed with clubs and stones fighting it out for the “honor” of being the last person left standing.
Blow’s certainly correct in his assessment concerning Thursday’s protests being about life. The outrage is real, genuine, and it deserves the attention of all Americans- especially our politicians and policy makers. We cannot idly stand by while madmen with anger management issues exact their revenge for perceived (or real) slights (yes, Proudly Closed-minded Gun Control Foes ©, I’m talking to you). Somehow, some way, we need to be able to stop, take a collective deep breath, and step back from the emotion of the moment. Acting out from a place of rage and pain is never a way to solve problems. In the end, it can only and inevitably lead to what Blow referred to as an “arms race of atrocities.” Continued bloodshed can only ensure continued suffering.
How many friends and loved ones must we bury before we come to recognize and understand that killing solves nothing? “An eye for an eye” may seem like a great punishment, but where does it stop? Who gets to decide which “crime(s)” deserve such Biblical retribution? When anyone feels empowered to take the law and the lives of others into their own hands, what ensues can only be redolent of chaos and anarchy.
In the end, only a commitment to non-violence and a calm heart can create peace. At the end of the day, all of us deserve to go home to our loved ones. Black Lives Matter. Blue Lives Matter. ALL lives matter. If our Prime Directive is the taking up of arms in order to address perceived injustices, eventually NO lives will matter.
“An eye for an eye” will inevitably make the whole world blind.
