Black Lives Matter Too... That extra word "Too"

[Bettie]

38. The first time I heard "Black Lives Matter"

I reflexively thought that it was obvious and devalued others' lives.

Then, I started paying more attention and realized that the point is that black lives DON'T matter to our society. They don't matter to the police, they don't matter to a large number of people in this country, and they don't matter to many of the people making our laws.

But, the big moment for me was the realization that if those three words make a certain class of people SO angry, it is clearly the right message.

They wouldn't be angry if it didn't make them uncomfortable. If they didn't understand why it needed to be said.

This has all been part of working my way to being better and actively working to empathize with life experiences that I, as a white woman, will never have.

Oh, and it is also a nice, short, easy to deliver message that gets the point across without requiring explanation, which is key these days.