I support Black Lives Matters.

I’ll start if by saying I am just a white boy, as that Merle Haggard song goes. I honestly didn’t know many black people – most of them were city folk – living a life culturally different than myself. But I do believe in political activism and sticking up for ones own rights and betterment of one’s community.

I believe that there is too much government and that too often law enforcement acts like an occupying force rather than a community protector. Too often communities call on law enforcement to do all jobs, but the problem is the only tool set that police really have is the penal law. They’re a hammer – an excellent tool for nailing nails but an awful tool for fixing most problems with an automobile.

I think we need a more just police force, a smaller one that does less and treats people more fairly – regardless of race. We need less laws and more communities that solve their own problems by discussing things and offering appropriate supports to those in need. We need a more affordable government, so that police aren’t so dependent on making revenue off the colored and poor.

There are a lot of white people who just want to point to the racists and bad cops. But that is ignoring the enormous institutional pressures that encourage cops to behave badly. Going after black people in poor neighborhoods is an easy way to get ticket quotas up – the poor have little voice. Cops aren’t bad people but they are often forced to act badly. Stop blaming bad cops and start blaming bad police departments.

And while being white and middle class gives me privilege, it certainly doesn’t make me immune from injustice and doesn’t exempt me from being abused in many of ways African Americans are by the police. If police are treating black people badly, it certainly can spill over far from there. Tactics used on one community can and do spill over. Being white gives me priveledge but it doesn’t make me safe from an abusive state.

They often have Black Lives Matters protests in my neighborhood. I have often considered attending. I’ve thought about adding a Black Lives Matters flag to my collection. And I’m always trying to listen and learn more about the unique things that people struggle with being poor or of color. Injustice in one community is injustice everywhere and one communities problems can spill over elsewhere.