Revised:

Flash Memoir

Black or Blue, All Lives Matter


To say that I have any experience in the world of the, Black Lives Matter movements
would be a lie. I have read only what I have seen and heard from online news articles and
updates through social media showing people marching through the streets of several major
downtown cities across America. In reading news articles of people marching shoulder to
shoulder through Chicagos busy downtown streets screaming Black Lives Matter! only leaves
me with a sense of disappointment and frustration of, how did we get here?. Watching news
story after news story of cops of every race, creed, or color who have been murdered from
black people who have sought out revenge against those for simply wearing a badge, has only
filled me with a sense of doubt. The future of a police officer seems to be grim but this is not
something that has only started recently. Since the 1990s, there has been a very small but
gradual increase in Justifiable police shootings across the country. According to research that
is compiled by the FBI in their Uniform Crime Report, in 1991 the ratio of justified homicides to
violent crimes was 1.92 for every 10,000 violent crimes. By 2001 it was 2.63 justified homicides
to every 10,000 and by 2011, it was 3.35.

The Blue Lives Matter movement is one of showing that not every officer who walks
the streets of a neighborhood or responds to an accident or domestic dispute is someone who
is out to abuse their power. There has been an outcry from citizens for those who have abused
their position in law enforcement to be held accountable for their actions. There has been
much more accountability placed on people in law enforcement to wear video recording
devices so that in the case of an altercation, the evidence can be played back without a doubt
to what happened in that situation. Doubt and speculation has been left over the American
people for that past few years for what has happened when a black man has been shot where it
wasnt warranted. Those in law enforcement have been put on notice that if they must fire
their weapon, that they should do it as a last option and use their training to de-escalate the
situation.

Americans today are more divided into their groups and it seems that there is a new
cause to stand behind every day. Protesting seems to be the thing to do these days because it is
popular. It gets the greatest media coverage and the most views on social media. When did
people value their group or cause over the greater good of America. To stand next to one
another regardless of their ethical or moral background should be something to be proud of
now and not a thing out of the norm. People today seeking to be grouped and categorized with
their like-minded brothers and sisters rather than seek out those who dont share in someone
elses way of thinking in order to help others understand each others differences.


(522)


STATEMENT OF GOALS AND CHOICES



The point of my paper and topic of the Black Lives Matter movement comes from a
desire to know why people are protesting members of law enforcement. I want to be educated
on the issues rather than just watch all the horrible things on social media and not know whats
going on. When I hear of another shooting that has killed a human being by a police officer, it
almost seems like it is out of hand but when I read that there are only 3.35 justified shootings
by police officer per every 10,000 violent crimes, that tells me that the number is extremely low
and if there was a shooting and it has been deemed justifiable then, the person killed provoked
the shooting by either threatening the officer or another human being, period. People claim
that this is a race issue but as of July 9th 2016, there were 440 police shootings and 54 percent
were white and 28 percent were black according to on going research performed by the
Washington Posts ongoing database of fatal police shootings.

I want others including myself to be educated on the numbers and to why people are
rioting and looting in the streets. Why they are shooting police officers without warrant. The
strategies that I am taking in my paper are definitely meant to be persuasive but also
informative. I am trying to convey information with opinion and numbers. I am trying to
persuade people that the protests are not justified while also showing an interest in the BLM
movement.

The reason why I pursued this topic is because when I was rolling through ideas that I
had written down for my flash memoir, I was scrolling through social media and an item
popped up on my timeline that showed a picture of a black person and a white police officer
and it sparked my interest in the subject of the BLM movement and I wanted to be more
informed.








Works Cited

The Washington Post
How the Number of Justifiable Police Homicides has Changed Since the 1990s by Philip Bump
on August 15th 2014


https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2014/08/15/how-the-number-of-justified-
police-homicides-has-changed-since-the-1990s/?utm_term=.3fbe4b7f1b64

The Washington Post
Police Shootings and Race by Heather Macdonald on July 18th 2016

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2016/07/18/police-shootings-
and-race/?utm_term=.b03d9ae00473

Uniform Crime Reporting

https://ucr.fbi.gov/ucr