All Lives Matter.... Where have I heard that before?

[TalkingDog]

[gratuitous]

1. It's easy enough to tell which lives matter in our society

People die all the time, every day. You can tell their lives mattered to someone, because they have grieving friends and relatives. There's a service of some kind, where the deceased is laid to rest or remembered by those surviving. If a person died by violence, like a gun shot, you can tell his life mattered because the authorities search for the killer, mobilizing the resources of law enforcement and the public in a search for the killer. When someone's life doesn't matter, law enforcement closes ranks and declines to investigate. The prosecutor becomes remarkably circumspect about interviewing witnesses or questioning suspects. You can tell a life didn't matter to the society when the grieving friends or relatives are asked to tone it down or dial back their expressions of sorrow or anger. You can tell a life did matter when the survivors are given a clear field to vent their grief, anger, rage, and thirst for revenge against the suspected killer and anyone who looks like or lives near the suspect.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

2. What about white founders who were abolitionists?

[R. Daneel Olivaw]

3. Don't ask for details. Some can't be bothered with details.

[TalkingDog]

5. So, that fact excuses the institutional racism?

Because that sounds like the argument you are making.

"But what about" is a deflection that focuses on meaningless minutia to undermine a valid idea.

A woman is gang raped. One of the men speaks out against the idea and doesn't sexually assault her. Are you really going to say to her: But what about the guy who spoke out against it?

Well good for him. But does that change what happened to her?

[Nuclear Unicorn]

7. "meaningless minutiae"

You think the Abolitionist movement was meaningless?

[R. Daneel Olivaw]

4. "Where have I heard that before?"

You probably heard it from somebody exhibiting intelligence and not talking points.


And, yeah, all lives matter.

Deal with it.

[Travis_0004]

8. Agreed

The phrase all lives matter can be used as an attack on the BLM movement, but I do think its stupid that a politican has to apologize for saying all lives matter.

[R. Daneel Olivaw]

9. Bella Bond's life mattered.

The Dawabsheh family's lives mattered.

Michael Brown's life mattered.

They all matter, but what matters even more is bringing their murderers to justice.

As a father if a four year old, I am damn pissed at the murder of Bella Bond.

[tavernier]

6. Who came up wit the phrase Black Lives Matter?

I really wish that they had thought it through. People of any other race immediately turn the channel, turn the page, walk away from the discussion. Why? Because by simple definition, the subject matter only involves black lives.

Why should I listen? If I receive a letter that is addressed to Everyone Residing on Elm Street, and I live on Maple Street, I won't open the letter. Why would I? If it is addressed to everyone on Elm and Maple Streets, now we're talking a different story.

It's a poorly thought out title for a movement that wishes to stress equality.

[R. Daneel Olivaw]

10. I understand BLM, but we All need to stand together

or we will suffer apart.

I don't fault BLM for wanting a dialog, but the dialog is bigger that one group.

[demmiblue]

11. K&R