On Facebook, I shared a link to an article about protestors claiming to represent the #BlackLivesMatters movement who disrupted an event where Bernie Sanders was scheduled to speak. I spoke about the article in terms of transformation:

As I read the article below, as well as comments from many friends, I remembered this:

"the biggest lie told by people like me to people like you at election time is that, 'If you vote for me, I'm going to solve all your problems.' The truth is, the power to change this country is in your hands, not mine." - Howard Dean, 2004

And so I ask, "Where is transformation taking place in the 2016 election?"

Currently, there are twenty-eight comments on the post, representing many different viewpoints, yet it feels like almost none of them are confronting the underlying question of personal transformation. What does it mean to say, “you have the power?” What is this power we have, and how should we use it? I am reminded of the cartoon where the politician ask, “Who wants change?” and everyone raises their hands. Then, he asks, “Who wants to change?” and no one raises their hands.

I’ve often heard preachers pray that their words might distress the comfortable and comfort the distressed, and I think this is an important part of the discussion. It feels like some Bernie supporters are comfortable talking about economic justice. Perhaps they come out of the #Occupy movement. They seem to believe that the economic populism of the Sanders campaign will bring not only economic justice, but racial justice. People standing up and saying, “No, that is not enough” is distressing, the sort of distress a preacher might hope to bring. Economic populism, especially economic populism that asks little of anything other than the 1%, is not enough. We must all work together, making sacrifices, that there might be real, economic, racial and social justice.

A common response to “#BlackLivesMatter” is “#AllLivesMatter”. I’ve often had discussions with people for whom #BlackLivesMatter is a very important hashtag. They see #AllLivesMatter as a cop-out, a means of avoiding, or even denying that for too many people in power in our country, black lives do not seem to matter. This has played out in the comments on my Facebook post, and I return to distressing the comfortable.

To those who are comfortable saying #BlackLivesMatter and uncomfortable with those who would water it down to #AllLivesMatter, please listen. Saying #BlackLivesMatter is very important. However, there are times when saying #AllLivesMatter may be what is needed. I have relatives who are white law enforcement officers, relatives that have jumped to the defense of officers involved in the killings of Michael Brown and Eric Garner. I have relatives posting racist comments about our President. I probably even have friends that agree with Donald Trump in his dismissal of political correctness. Most of these people are not able to hear the message that #BlackLivesMatter. Trying to get them to admit that #AllLivesMatter, and not just #OnlyMyLifeMatters is a major battle. From what I hear from Trump and his supporters, it seems like too many people in our country don’t even believe that #AllLivesMatter. To them, all that matters is themselves. We need to reach people where they are at.

Yet to those who really do believe that #AllLivesMatter, and cannot bring themselves to say #BlackLivesMatter, we must also distress them.

One person commented, “I am so absolutely sick of BLM. ALM!!!!!” I, too, am sick of having to say #BlackLivesMatter. I wish I didn’t have to confront people with the truth that for too many in our country, black lives do not seem to matter. That too many people in our country are unwilling to look at systemic racism, or at their own unconscious racist attitudes. We cannot simply switch to #AllLivesMatter to be more comfortable.

In that discussion, I responded, “Recently, three friends have lost their sons. As I grieve with them, I talk about how their sons’ lives mattered. I could say that all lives matter. It would be true. It would also be very disrespectful.”

#IsaacWasHere. One of those sons was Isaac. His mother has fought hard for social justice. She also fought hard to start a family. I imagine if I scrolled back far enough in her timeline on Facebook, I would find some very important posts about #BlackLivesMatter, but now, all I see is grief. I cannot being to say how wrong it would be to respond to #IsaacWasHere with #BlackLivesMatter. Both are true, but responding #BlackLivesMatter in this context would be so wrong. Responding #AllLivesMatter to those fighting for racial and social justice in the wake of Ferguson, Staten Island, Cleveland, Charleston, the list seems endless, is just as wrong.

#IsaacWasHere. I have said his name. I will also #SayHerName. More accurately, I will say the name of one of one victim of police brutality against women. Sandra Bland. Hers is not the only name. In a recent faith study group, one of the women, a woman of color, with a strong voice, a Sunday school teacher, spoke about her fears. She could easily see herself in Sandra Bland’s situation. Others said that things like that happen in the south, but not here in Connecticut. This led to a discussion of policing in East Haven. This is not just a problem that happens somewhere else. It happens in our own backyards. We were discussing the Psalms and what our responsibilities are in proclaiming The Word of The Lord. To me, I return to Psalm 19:14

May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart
be pleasing in your sight,
Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.

To my friends of faith, I challenge you to pray this before each comment you make online. I find it a hard challenge to keep this in my mind as I read what others post online.

I am uncomfortable writing all of this. I hope others are uncomfortable reading this. If we want justice, if we want transformation, we need to get out of our comfort zones.

Buen Camino.