Editorial
The Black Lives Matter campaign is not about putting a higher value on one life over another as some may have you think.
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It is actually about asking society to value every life exactly the same.
On Sunday, Black Lives Matter rallies were held in several cities around Australia involving thousands of people.
The Illawarra Mercury live streamed Wollongong's protest via its Facebook page.
So far the first video of the protest has been viewed some 40,000 times.
While there were a lot of people registering their support, disappointingly there were a lot of people saying "all lives matter" in the comments section too, as if implying in some way that these protesters were not valuing life accordingly.
No, exactly the opposite.
Across social media there was a terrific image which explained it beautifully.
The image has a young girl holding a sign. The sign reads:
We said: Black Lives Matter
Never said: Only Black Lives Matter
We know: All Lives Matter.
We just need your help with #BlackLivesMatter for black lives are in danger
That image summed it up perfectly.
By saying "Black Lives Matter" all anyone is asking for is for everyone to be treated equally. That it is the key point which should never be lost.
So if you going to be one of those social media heroes commenting "all lives matter", please know you are actually agreeing with Black Lives Matter.
All lives should be treated equally.
However, history shows that for a long time here in this country, Indigenous Australians have not been treated equally.
And in America, African Americans have definitely not been treated equally either.
There have been incidents which have caused an echo of anger to spread around the world at the moment, but these issues have long been inherent in our society.
Nobody is asking for special treatment. Just to be treated fairly. For everyone to be treated equally.
Everyone has the right to be treated equally no matter their race, religion or gender.
That is all everyone is asking for.
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