To The Editor:
I read with interest and sadness the letter written by Chris Maynes that you published Dec. 1. What is clear from the letter is how confused Mr. Maynes is. I don’t understand why he felt compelled to write his letter, except that he clearly doesn’t understand the need for Black Lives Matter, or seems frightened by what he thinks BLM might be.
Let me try to explain BLM to him and perhaps others, as a white parent of white children independent of any political agenda or philosophy.
Both Mr. Maynes and I have sons. Neither of us has to tell our sons not to jog while wearing a hooded sweatshirt on a cold day, lest they be shot and killed. My boys played with toy guns; perhaps his do. Neither of us has to make sure they didn’t play with toy guns outside the house, lest they be shot and killed. I taught my sons to drive and perhaps he will too. But neither of us has to teach them that if stopped, do not reach for your registration and insurance card in the glove compartment, lest you be shot and killed. We both took our children shopping. No one assumed that my child shopping with me in another aisle was a shoplifter based on the color of his skin. I doubt if that happened to Mr. Maynes either.
To understand Black Lives Matter, Mr. Maynes first needs to appreciate that he and I, and most people in Haddonfield, live in a world of white privilege that is not present for people of color. Part of our privilege is that we don’t need to worry that our child will be shot and killed because of the color of his or her skin.
Sincerely yours,
Susan Hoch
