Black and Blue Lives Matter

Words for the violent events of the past few days seem inadequate.  Disturbing.  Despicable.  Deadly.  It has felt as if all Hell has broken loose.

After the police-related deaths of two black men, Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, in separate incidents; and after the sniper ambush on police in Dallas that claimed the lives of five officers and injured seven others and subsequent attacks on police, it is important to affirm that "black and blue lives matter."

First, black lives matter.  As reported this week by the Center for Policing Equity, there is an implicit racial bias in many police departments that results in a higher rate of police use of force against African Americans.  For example, black residents are 3.6 times more likely to be subjected to the use of force than white residents.1     

Second, blue lives matter.  In every community, police put their lives on the line as public servants day after day.  The Dallas police department has shown a commitment to reform through improved transparency, increased use of body cameras, emphasis on de-escalation tactics, and more frequent training about use of lethal force.  In Dallas over the last five years, complaints against excessive force have declined 64%.2  These facts make the vengeful targeting of Dallas police even more reprehensible.   

Third, as a nation, we are all "black and blue."  We are all harmed by these acts of violence, even if we were not the intended target.  We experience trauma when we watch footage of the killings, and our spirits are battered and bruised as we feel solidarity with the victims.  

Charles M. Blow has observed: "So many - too many - Americans now seem to be living with an ambient terror that someone is somehow targeting them."³

As overwhelming as the circumstances seem, there is a ray of hope in the analysis of Martin Luther King:   

"The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it. Through violence you may murder the liar, but you cannot murder the lie, nor establish the truth. Through violence you may murder the hater, but you do not murder hate. In fact, violence merely increases hate. So it goes. Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars.  Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that."⁴

Despairing will not change anything, and retaliation only makes things worse.  Instead, we must dare to love.  

God help us all.

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¹ Timothy Williams. "Study Supports Suspicion That Police Are More Likely to Use Force on Blacks." The New York Times, July 7, 2016. Accessed July 9, 2016. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/08/us/study-supports-suspicion-that-police-use-of-force-is-more-likely-for-blacks.html?mwrsm=Email&_r=0. 

² Chris Haugh. "How the Dallas Police Department Reformed Itself." The Atlantic, July 9, 2016. Accessed July 09, 2016. http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/07/dallas-police/490583/. 

³ Charles M. Blow. "A Week From Hell." The New York Times, July 8, 2016. Accessed July 9, 2016. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/11/opinion/a-week-from-hell.html?smid=tw-nytopinion&smtyp=cur.

⁴ Martin Luther King, Coretta Scott King, and Vincent Harding. Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community? Boston: Beacon Press, 2010. 64-65.