A Canadian Student's Honest Perspective on Black Lives Matter and America

This article is a reflection of the author's views, not necessarily those of the Generation Z Media Organization.

You probably know the story by now. 

George Floyd, an innocent black male, was suffocated to death for eight minutes by a white cop in Minneapolis. 

Then, protests erupted across America. People burn down shops and buildings in all of the major cities in America. They fought back against riot police, withstanding tear gas and rubber bullets shot at them. For protests and riots like this, I usually think the protestors are troublemakers who damage the society by creating hate and violence to gain more followers for their radical, liberal agenda. 

But this time, as a moderate conservative, I’m siding with Black Lives Matter. Why? 

The problem with racial injustice in the United States spans for hundreds of years, ever since the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863. Although Abraham Lincoln abolished slavery in the United States, the African-American race has constantly been harassed and discriminated by the Caucasian race. The Jim Crow Laws were enacted by the white Democractic-controlled legislatures in many Southern states (Alabama, Georgia, etc.) These racist laws segregated coloured people from the Caucasian people. The “Negros” weren’t able to learn in the same school as Caucasians. It was illegal to have churches host interracial marriages. They had segregated washrooms, designated areas in buses, and even segregating athletes in professional sports leagues. It is also important to note that the Northern states weren’t immune to these laws, as the Jim Crow Laws actually originated in the North when the Southern states still had slavery during the years before the Civil War. 

It was not until when Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat in Montgomery, Alabama, the Civil Rights Movement was in full swing across the United States. Prominent activists like Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X fought for equal rights for African-Americans. President Lyndon B. Johnson took notice of this and signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments came into effect as a result of the movement during the Sixties. It was monumental, as on paper, it eradicated all discrimination from races, genders, relgions, etc. 

However, that still wasn’t enough.

Just after MLK was assassinated by James Earl Ray, a white racist, riots erupted in the streets of America again. The rioting and looting in cities during 1968 were eerily similar to the riots we are currently experiencing right now. Yet, the American government thinks that it has done enough to give equal rights to all people from different backgrounds. Over the course of the next fifty years, the Caucasian race is still experiencing some superiority status that other backgrounds (Black, Latinos, Asians) wouldn’t be able to experience. 

Let’s look at some stats, shall we? 

• According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Data,
  • The median household income for African-Americans was $33,255 in 1999, much lower than the $53,356 Caucasian American families owned that same year 
  • During the 2008 recession, the unemployment rate for African-Americans was 11.1%, higher than the nationwide rate of 6.5%.
    • Therefore, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, unemployment rates would be sky high for African-Americans than the white majority.
• In 2011, 72% of black babies were born to unwed mothers.
• The average African-American life expectancy is consistently between five to seven years lower than the average Caucasian Americans.

Do I need more of these stats to prove that there is still racial injustice happening in the United States of America? They clearly show that a huge portion of African-Americans aren’t getting sufficient public health and education than the privileged white majority. When impoverished people can’t afford nutritious meals on the table, they resort to junk food and unhealthy fast food meals for their daily nutrition. This causes higher rates in obesity and diabetes than the national American average.

And even if stats aren’t enough to convince some of you, here’s the video link of impoverished communities in America’s major cities. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVflUshi0uI) You will understand why there are people rioting and looting in the streets today. They have no future and couldn’t make ends meet. And yet, the footage shows mainly impoverished black-communities, where residents have no choice but to resort to gang-activity and crime. It is important to note that not only black-communities who are facing the borderline poverty problem, but also Asian and Latino communities also.

After researching this issue, I was sickened by the hypocrisy of the American government. They blame other countries for not trying to follow their own patented-democratic philosophy (i.e. China, Russia) and even caused riots in places like Hong Kong, through their espionage networks. (I will write another honest opinion essay on the HK issue) The United States foolishly takes pride as the world’s strongest economy and democractic society when frankly, they did little to nothing to improve the lives of its own citizens. 

To be honest, I supported the Republican Party more than the Democrats. I thought that under the Reagan and Bush 41 administrations, they truly saved America’s economy and helped the country get back on track. I also thought that the Clinton Administration took almost all of the credit when America’s economy was in surplus between 1999-2001, due to the former policies of Reagan and Bush 41. 

However, what made me change? 

I was angered by the Republican’s double-standard party platform. Throughout their history, they are claiming to “help” America under the name of Christ. (Evangelism, Christianity) Yet, they have a more aggressive foreign policy agenda than the Democrats, who more atheists would support. As a Catholic myself, I knew that God would want us to have a better world in peace, where we would be kind to each other and accept all people into our Church. However, under God’s name, the Republicans have clearly tried to destroy countries that weren’t following the “American democracy” way. (i.e. Iran-Contra Affair, the War on Afghanistan, the Iraqi War, the Persian Gulf War, etc.) Yes, I obviously know that the Democrats aren’t helping with world peace either (Vietnam War under Kennedy and Johnson), but they weren’t as tightly closed with Evangelism and Christianity as the Republicans. 

Not only that, but it outrages me further when the Republican Party is trying to advocate for human rights across the world. They are against gay marriage, advocating for stronger police forces in American cities, and even calling for death penalty to continue. Calling out “authoritarian regimes” like China rings a bell of hypocrisy as they literally are advocating for similar things in America. China has death penalty, and so does America. Though I agree that we need better trained police forces and tougher prisons for criminals, America should not call out countries like China as a “police state” when their justice system is similar to their definition of a “police state”. (I really don’t need to tell you the definition of a “police state”. Google it and you’ll come across multiple articles explaining it.) Having stronger police presence in Hong Kong and enacting an extradition bill isn’t a violation of human rights when your county does the same thing. That is hypocrisy. 

You want to know what real human rights are? You might be surprised but China provided the basic human rights its citizens need to live that American simply lacks. I won’t deny that China lacks the freedom of expression and freedom of civil engagement in their country, but they manage to give a sufficient education system, and a much more efficient public health system than America. If you want to know what real human rights record looks like, then look at this chart. (Chart provided in link) You can see that China managed to lift 850 million people out of poverty from the 1980s to 2015. Not only that, but only 3.1% of Chinese citizens are living on or below the poverty line(roughly 42 million). In contrast, during the year 2017, around 12.3% of Americans were living below in the poverty line. You can say whatever you want about the legitimacy of the Chinese stats, but facts are facts. Like Ben Shapiro said, “facts don’t care about your feelings”. 

Overall, African-Americans have suffered enough, even after fighting for hundreds of years to gain equal ground as the white majority. Although I do think these rioters and looters should be detained and that their actions are unacceptable, I now realize the pain and suffering they have experienced on the streets for their entire lives. The American government under both parties (but especially the Republican administrations, including Trump) are ignorant to improve the lives of millions in America, while quickly pointing the finger at countries like China for their human rights record. After seeing multiple incidents where the American government undermined the importance to fix incidents of bad cop interactions with the African-American community (i.e. the currently George Floyd scandal, the 2013 Michael Brown Shooting, the Philando Castille incident), I realized that it was only now that people started to protest and take importance of this issue.

We should have taken actions earlier. I should have taken note of this issue earlier. 

But there’s still time to fix this. We must let people know about the racial imbalance in America. Even as my political views are still on the conservative spectrum, I stand with the movement for the first time and proudly shout: “Black Lives Matter”.

(P.S. I’ll try to make another “Honest Opinion” essay soon. It will be on the Hong Kong Protests and Mainland China. Stay tuned!)

Citations

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