All Lives Are Equally Important

Some people don't want to hear it or worse, they want to promote our differences. The killing of the two police officers in NYC recently, officers Liu and Ramos, is a real tragedy. So were the killings of Eric Garner and Michael Brown and so many others. What we must remember is that all lives are equally important. This isn't a competition to argue about or find out whose life matters more than another's. These are all tragedies. These are all symptoms of other things wrong with society. We should all grieve these deaths together.

There is and will probably continue to be some rhetoric that is mean spirited. Blaming the Mayor of the City of New York is stupid and irresponsible. Blaming protesters and demonstrators is also stupid and irresponsible. The voices of a very few who call for the killing of police officers is stupid and irresponsible. Perhaps all of these things can be understood in the heat of the moment but some of it is planned, provocative language with a hateful purpose.

Revenge is never justified and yet many condone it until the shoe is on the other foot. In a world of violence it's fairly easy to threaten and retaliate against others who we dislike or hate at the moment. Take your pick - arabs, muslims, jews, North Koreans, blacks, Cubans, hispanics, police officers.

Thousands of black and white people who are upset about the system that seemingly treated Eric Garner, Michael Brown and others unfairly will no doubt demonstrate to support and mourn the officers shot in NYC. They understand this is not where this controversy should end up - dead policeman and dead civilians. It would probably help to have police officials and officers also speak up about the Garner and Brown deaths. That's some of the conversation that's needed. Not rhetoric that divides. Union leadership, rank and file officers, demonstrators, news commentators, politicians, all need to take a deep breath.

In the end, all lives matter and we all ought to recognize that. Black lives matter and police officers lives matter. We are all equal in death.