I resist the temptation to paint with a wide brush. I shudder when I hear a white person suggest that all black men are gangsters; or when I hear a black person suggest that all Republicans are racist. Nor do I embrace the typical conservative line “Support our Police;” just as I resist the insistence of leftist political activists that all police officers are corrupt. I have been suspicious of the Black Live Matters movement, because I really do believe All Lives Matter. However . . .
As I watched the video of the murder of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge I was horrified. This morning the news of the killing of Philando Castile near Minneapolis provoked me to anger. Neither man had a weapon in hand. Yes, it appears that Mr. Sterling was resisting arrest; BUT resisting arrest is not a capital crime worthy of execution.
After the death of Freddie Gray I found myself wondering, “Why make a hero out of a known drug dealer?” My answer came as I was watching a TV show about William Bonney – aka, Billy the Kid. The Kid was an outlaw. He was a participant in the Lincoln County War defending his employer, John Tunstall. Tunstall was being persecuted by the large cattle interest that had the Sheriff in their corner. The Sheriff’s posse shot and killed Tunstall. The Kid became an outlaw because he was resisting the power of the large cattle barons. Billy the Kid remains both notorious and heroic as a symbol of resisting the powers. Likewise, Freddie Gray became a martyr to many in Baltimore who identified with injustice.
When the government acts outside of the law, outlaws become heros.
The signers of the Declaration of Independence are our national heros. But to the British Crown in 1776 they were treasonous outlaws. As a child, I heard many words of hate directed to Martin Luther King, Jr. as one who was jailed as an outlaw because he dared to challenge the oppression of racism. Today, the nation celebrates his moral courage.
Now, I’m not suggesting that Freddie Gray is the moral equivalent of MLK. But, I am suggesting that police officers who murder unarmed black men are the immoral equivalent of the KKK.
As a pastor, I am the shepherd of several young black teens. I have watched with joy as our majority white church has embraced and loved these young people. But, I must admit that I fear for them as they become young adults. May God help us to open our eyes to injustice for the sake of our children. Yes, All Lives Matter. That means Black Lives Matter.
