The question of defunding and abolishing police forces has always been common for citizens of the United States. People evaluate the work of police from different perspectives, and actions produced by officers might express both positive and negative emotions from civilians. The idea of police defunding had appeared recently when the rate of crime started to increase in the USA (Lum et al.). People mentioned that the response time in crises has increased, and they do not see any reason to continue funding this area. This financing could go to another industry that can help citizens and improve their quality of life (Lum et al.). Professionals in the social area decided to survey to find out what group of people are for and against abolishing police. The result presented that about 60% of black people are more conscious of the presence of the police in their regions, and most of the participants want to maintain or decrease the influence of official forces (Lum et al.). The research has revealed that the discrimination level remains high, and more people join social groups like BLM and Blues Lives Matter.
BLM is the movement fully called Black Lives Matter, and it stands for the idea that people should promote and support diversity in their societies. The movement is closely related to African Americans who feel the pressure of racism from their peers, colleagues, or unknown people in the streets or shops (Includability 1). One of the main strategies of the movement is to promote diversity in different areas such as the workforce and social life. Moreover, encourage more people to stay ethical in relation to others who might differ by skin color or nationality. Includability states, ‘fighting racism isn’t easy, but we must do the right things and a fight we must win!’ (2). This idea shows that discrimination against black and brown people has always been a serious problem rooted in the times of slavery. Even though the way to destroy the problem might be complicated, people should not give up and continue fighting for their legal rights.
The Blue Lives Matter movement also aims to fight for human rights and equality between citizens and legal authorities. One of the first protests conducted by the followers of Blue Lives Matter was mentioned in 2014 when police racism rates started increasing significantly in the United States (Mason 411). The key purpose of the movement is to expand hate crime statutes and protect police officers and their families in difficult times. Blues Lives Matter is a countermovement to Black Lives Matter, and it protects opposite arguments related to the BLM. While some people believe that police express a lot of racism in relation to black people, others mention that law enforcement does not receive sufficient protection from negatively-minded individuals. The cases of racism by the police started rising, and the distrust level increased significantly. Consequently, the new movement is mostly supported by police representatives who want to defend their rights. Moreover, ensure civilians that most law enforcement does not aim to harm innocent people who have different backgrounds or diverse skin colors.
Both movements are connected, and some common points and beliefs of followers can be defined. For instance, BLM and Blues Lives Matter are defending human rights and trying to prove that people are equal and that no discrimination should appear. Moreover, the movements are common in representation as both are legal and official in the United States. Nevertheless, the ideas of these social organizations are different and contradicting. Even though the Blue Lives Matter movement had appeared based on the Black Lives Matter movement, representatives of the first program expressed opposite ideas to the second cooperation. Moreover, participants have different social classes and career achievements. While BLM usually includes people from lower social groups who live on welfare, Blue Lives Matter representatives often come from the middle or upper social classes. Additionally, their police career is considered to be one of the most successful in the USA (Mason 418). Nevertheless, every person has a chance to join one of the movements to express their thoughts without being judged.
Black Lives Matter has many followers who organize peaceful marches and stand for the idea that people of different skin color should not be discriminated against. Nevertheless, some people mention that when they make posts with the hashtag “#blacklivesmatter,” they do not support the movement, but they oppose increasing rates of racism (Campbell). The movement’s leaders actively support this point of view as every action is oriented toward the fight against discrimination is supported by the BLM cooperation. Black Lives Matter is one of the first movements that cares about civilians and their rights, and other similar or opposition programs were developed based on the BLM’s concept. Numerous accusations have doomed the organization, and there were many attempts produced by legal authorities to stop the development of the movement (Lebron 6). Nevertheless, BLM always has strong arguments in the form of written documents and pictures to refute such claims as a contribution to the death of police officers.
Blue lives matter was formed when an insignificant number of deaths appeared during one of the BLM movements. The killing of Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu, who were police officers, forced other workers in this sphere to organize their unique movement (Mason 420). However, the presentation of two cases made the leaders of the opposite BLM cooperate to raise arguments against the development of a new movement.
Black and brown people have always met racism and discrimination, and the number of cases that present how people from different race categories were killed or humiliated is much higher. Even though BLM is striving to achieve equality, people continue being discriminated by skin color, and their opinions are rarely taken under consideration by governmental representatives. The US government allows people to create diverse social organizations and promote their thoughts to surrounding societies (Lebron 9). Moreover, every movement has a legal right to speak out against its opponents to defend rights and receive more support from the government.
Respect for police officers and their social status does not allow such movements as Black Lives Matter to develop and expand. More investigations should be conducted, and the tolerance of representatives of BLM should appear to make people understand that Blue Lives Matter received popularity through the humiliation of opposite movements. Through constant marches, the leaders of BLM may try to ensure the government defunds police due to their discriminating actions and the abnormal abuse of authority.
Nevertheless, the reason for the creation of Blue Lives Matter is clear and understandable, as police representatives want to protect their lives from aggression that might arise from people following such movements as Black Lives Matter. Police work can be considered one of the most complicated and dangerous as new cases appear every day, and individuals cannot be prepared for any problem. Some people state that discrimination is developed at the family level, and individuals are unconsciously subject to public opinion or the ideas of their ancestors (Lang and Spitzer 70). Those, who believe that Blue Lives Matter does not bear social responsibility, might not be able to change their minds and continue fighting against this movement. Even though the cooperation has many positive sides, like the protection of all human rights and the defense of the police, it might become complicated for black and brown people from the BLM movement to change their opinions. Moreover, abuse that was in the past leaves a big mark on people’s modern lives.
In conclusion, two contradicting movements called Black Lives Matter and Blue Lives Matter are related to the common problem of discrimination, but the followers of both organizations are trying to achieve different goals. While police pay attention to isolated cases of law enforcement killings and try to achieve their security instead of the safety of black and brown people, leaders of the BLM movement are struggling to prove their rights. Deeply rooted discrimination from ancient times does not allow modern society to help black people defend their rights and limits the freedom of action of the police in relation to them. It is crucial to understand the price of freedom of both movements and educate people to see and understand all insignificant aspects before supporting one of the organizations.
Works Cited
Campbell, Adina. “What is Black Lives Matter and what are the aims?” BBC. 2021.
Includability. “Black Lives Matter.” Includability, 2021, pp. 1-3.
Lang, Kevin and Spitzer, Ariella Kahn-Lang. “Race Discrimination: An economic perspective.” Journal of Economic Perspective, vol. 34, no. 2, 2020, pp. 68-89.
Lebron, Christopher J. The Making of Black Lives Matter: A Brief History of an Idea. Oxford University Press, 2017.
Lum, Cynthia, Koper, Christopher S. and Wu, Xiaoyun. “Can we really defund the police? A nine-agency study of police response to calls for service.” Police Quarterly, 2021. Web.
Mason, Gail. “Blue Lives Matter and Hate Crime Law.” Race and Justice, vol. 12, no. 2, pp. 411-430. Web.