You hear and see Black Lives Matter everywhere. It’s on social media, on the news, and from the mouths of the black lives themselves that are shouting for our lives to simply…matter.
I think when people see black lives matter, they tend to take it out of context. Granted, the ones that do end up being a bit on the racist side, so you can’t be too surprised. However, I still feel it’s needed for me to explain (once and only once) what it really means when you see people chanting “black lives matter”.
It’s automatically assumed that black lives matter means that no other life matters at all. First, how does saying that automatically end up with that conclusion? Your guess is better than mine honestly. This is when people like to “all lives matter” the situation when there black people that are trying to be heard, but this is wrong to do. Here are some examples why:
1. Black lives matter doesn’t put down other lives
Saying black lives matter doesn’t put down other lives in the slightest. What it is doing, however, is showcasing that black lives specifically are being treated differently. It’s showcasing that black lives are being treated as if they DON’T matter. So, we have to keep chanting it, fighting for it, hashtagging it, and going to the ends of the earth until we’re part of the “ALL” in all lives matter.
2. All lives matter however puts down black lives
Saying black lives matter may not put down other lives, but shouting all lives matter to combat someone saying black lives matter shuts down the voices of black people . You trying to silence us is saying “Yea your lives are getting taken away for no reason, but what about us?” That doesn’t sound too “all lives matter” to me. Does it to you? ALL lives can’t truly matter until ALL lives truly matter. I’ll give you an example just to make sure you really understand. If you have a disabled child and they’re telling you about their pains and struggles that they deal with every day, are you going to shut them down by saying “Oh hush, all disabled lives matter”? I don’t think so. That’s the same concept. If you would say something like that, then you probably don’t need to have any kids just like you shouldn’t be speaking on behalf of black people.
If you ever questioned what black lives matter means or wondered why it wasn’t okay to say “all lives matter”, then I hope this post helped.
What are your thoughts? Let’s discuss!
This is so perfectly put, got into it a little bit on Twitter with someone over this the other day. Next time that happens I’m sending this their way
I would be honored if you did and if they still don’t get it, then at that point it’s a choice not to get it and they can stay ignorant and mad, but we’ll keep chanting it and letting it be known. Thank you for reading and commenting ♥
It’s so aggravating to explain the difference between the two continually. It’s also a shame where we gave to have the hashtag in the first place, and have to create different ways to articulate it’s meaning. Good thought on this.
It really is, but this is sadly the world we live in where we have to make a case on why we deserve to live. It’s crazy. I’m really hoping for a better future for us and this world. Thanks for reading and commenting ♥
I didn’t truly get this at first. It wasn’t until I had seen an image on Facebook that went viral that I started to understand. It wasn’t that I was deliberately trying to be racist, but the fact of the matter, intentional or not I was being racist. I was misunderstanding “black lives matter” to mean all other lives didn’t matter. When in fact that is not at all what it’s about. As you said saying “all lives matter” in response to “black lives matter” is silencing the voices of black people, whether we mean it or not, the truth of it is thought that it does. Your post clarifies it even more for me. I never intended to be racist and honestly was the last person that I ever would have thought to be racist, but in misunderstanding, not clarifying, not asking, not researching I was being racist. I am ashamed to say that, but it’s true.
That’s why I mentioned that some people might truly not realize what they’re doing with saying that and why I felt to express it in hopes that people can understand and actually think about it. I’m so glad to hear that you realize what you were doing was wrong and you’re taking accountability and actually took the time to listen and learn. That’s really all the black community asks for. Thank you for reading and sharing this. You didn’t have to share that but you did and I appreciate it ♥