Hmm, I guess objections to the term “feminism” could be lumped in here, with people calling for “humanism” instead.
Also more kudos for @brainspore for pointing out the related lunacy of an “all votes matter” campaign in the face of women not being able to vote at all in the early 1900s…
It would be a call to action on its own, but it is not on its own. It arose only as a response TO a call to action. Any suggestion that it is, itself, a worthy cause is undercut entirely by the context of not just the content of it, but who is saying it, to whom they are saying it and within what context they are saying it - it is being said predominantly by whites, to blacks, in response to a black movement. Those saying it are not concerned with what the movement is about as much as they are concerned with the fact that it causes them to feel attacked by a black solidarity trying to bring attention to a problem disproportionally affecting blacks, so they get defensive and try to diffuse the racial aspect because doing so diffuses the ‘responsibility’ they feel is implicitly being placed on them by not being part of that solidarity.
“All lives matter” is not coffee for police brutality. It is cream for those who want to hit the snooze button yet again on the serious racial problem in America.
Demonstration is an assertion of the power of your own people, and he was very much for demonstration as a means of seeking redress by authority. He simply didn’t agree with MLK that passive resistance was the answer against a violent oppressor.
But injustice is often caused by means of “othering”. Why not refuse to be a part of the problem of othering people? Isn’t that more truly inclusive than saying “I feel solidarity with and support for The Other”? Acknowledging division where none needs to be can be seen as a device for perpetuating such division.
Togetherness is only a rug to those who don’t accept its reality.
I wish the article covered the points you are making, because you offered more clarity in less space. The article seems to assume that this context should already be apparent, which it wasn’t to me. I know I err towards being too literal. Examples always help!
This is how I feel on the matter. Every Life matters.
Everyone is someone who matters. Be it the strung out drug addict. The shut in who can’t make it in the world. The rich guy. The poor guy.
We all head to the same place. Why not try making the trip less shitty for everyone?
The “too” should be made explicit. That would make the slogan work more better. Dumb humans.
I hope so too and I am optimistic that it will happen. Thanks for the positive reply.
Black Lives Matter. ALL LIVES MATTER!
Thanks for coming along my metaphorical interior decorating ride. I don’t disagree with this sentiment. But it feels like weak tea as a call to action.
Again, I agree --and yet I struggle with how this helps the people who are being systemically and actively “othered” by an institution of the state. That form of systemic “othering” ought to be called out for what it is --and I think that can be done in an inclusive way, but again, I can’t justify potentially diluting the message just to satisfy a need to express my relative enlightenment as a human being.
But I’m a work in progress --like most of us are…
Because at the time, women were legally not allowed to vote, but currently, there is no legal distinction between black and white. The problem people have with “black lives matter” is that it’s based on a lie. There is no systemic legal racism against black lives. So if people these days were trying to promote “votes for women” they would just as laughable.
That is your interpretation of someone else’s motives. From where I sit, you are completely wrong. You assume racism on the part of others, and thus you wrongly conclude it’s racially motivated. I don’t assume racism and therefore I see the truth. Most people saying “all lives matter” want you to realize that saying “[only] black lives matter” is racist and divisive and causes more problems than it “solves”.
That’s a sticky area. The System is not limited to what legal distinctions are on the books. So you are correct that systemic racism would be illegal. But there are many people both pro and con who attest that this does occur. That people quietly act with racist attitudes, skirting the law.
I agree with you that racism from anyone, towards anyone would be problematic. But saying that there cannot be systemic racism simply because the law changed a few decades back would be naive.
Most peole saying all lives matter are white.
You are clearly driving trollies. And not particularly good at it. You are not even making an effort man!
So to paraphrase:
Actually, it’s about efficacy in social activism.
Nice work!
Just a massive systemic asymmetrical power structure built on the shoulders of slavery. Just a completely disproportionate rate of incarceration, poverty, lack of opportunity, deliberate obstruction to voting in some jurisdictions, and of course, a completely disproportionate rate of police harassment and shootings.
Dear God, the lack of self awareness…
I have been yelled at for suggesting this before…
Can we please have Hypothesese clearly stated and arguments for and against reference said hypotheses?
This conversation doesn’t appear productive, even though the original article had a premise that is debatable.
Agreed on all points. If only the justice system treated Cops as people rather than super humans who are unable to lie or do anything wrong 90% (or more) of the time.
That is your interpretation of someone else’s motives. From where I sit, you are completely wrong. I’m not assuming racism. I’m assuming a natural defensiveness around being excluded - around being viewed as racist regardless, and a natural worry about the social implications of that.
Nobody is saying [only], and the only people taking it as racist and divisive are those who don’t want to admit - again, not necessarily because they themselves are racists - that America is racially divided in the first place, and that is the problem.
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So are we saying that #YellowLivesDontMatter, or what?
