Another senseless death of a white man. Will charges ever be pressed?

[jeannetherese]

Perhaps interpretation is the issue. It appears that I am seeing “All lives matter” as a stand alone statement, a declaration, and that, perhaps, you are reading it as a commentary on another statement rather than accepting it at face value.

 

[blackforest]

Standing alone, it’s a non-controversial statement, especially to us Catholics, who view a womb-to-tomb continuity.

That said, I’ve never heard “all lives matter” outside of the BLM context, where it is dismissive and whataboutist.

 

[Lea101]

All lives matter” as a stand alone statement, a declaration, and that, perhaps, you are reading it as a commentary on another statement rather than accepting it at face value

The statement in itself is true. But the slogan only came about in response to BLM. Same with Blue Lives Matter, for cops. People only say it in the context of this discussion, it isn’t really a thing outside of this. It’s just a retort. There’s no actual movement or anything related to it. No protest when a life is unfairly killed, no movement to generate funds for victim’s families etc. It’s just a reaction to an existing movement.

 

[jeannetherese]

It’s just a reaction to an existing movement.

I’m more inclined to see it as a very catholic statement, in keeping with the womb to tomb commitment noted by blackforest. I tend to agree that it isn’t associated with a movement, but then I don’t see our faith as a movement. And of course, once everyone agrees that all lives matter we immediately tend to get into discussions about how best to support life at different stages and for different communities.

 

[Lea101]

I’m more inclined to see it as a very catholic statement, in keeping with the womb to tomb commitment noted by blackforest

I am too, I’m just saying that the slogan wasn’t intended for that, it was intended to be a retort.

Nobody truly thinks that when someone says Black Lives Matter, they’re saying Asian Lives Don’t Matter. It’s just a gotcha phrase that’s only invoked whenever BLM is brought up.

I’m sure you heard the cancer example (people saying all cancers matter during an event for breast cancer awareness).

And of course, once everyone agrees that all lives matter we immediately tend to get into discussions about how best to support life at different stages and for different communities.

I don’t think that’s true. It’s not enough to agree that everyone’s lives matter. It’s the bare minimum. Many people who are saying all lives matter, for instance, aren’t doing anything to defend lives that were treated like they didn’t matter. E.g. There are people who say they’re personally pro life, but they don’t do anything to stop an abortion or speak against it.

Likewise there are people who say they believe all lives matter but all they do is to play devil’s advocate whenever there’s a wrongful killing, war, etc. Maybe they’ll say something like ‘oh George’s death is horrible’ but then go about their day. Even people who support BLM do this too. We always discuss, where is the change

If people who say ALM banded together and worked on positive change, I don’t think it would be as controversial. I don’t care for the BLM organisation but at least their outrage and actions brought about some change. All ALM does is to protest BLM.

Sorry for getting a little out of point there

 

[Lea101]

And of course, once everyone agrees that all lives matter we immediately tend to get into discussions

Just to add for this point, people will just use the ‘everyone and everything matters’ excuse whenever we try to focus on a different life stage or community.

When we talk about abortion, everyone starts hounding us about born children. People dying in wars etc.

Likewise when we talk about a specific race, everyone starts bringing up about all the other races and their troubles.

Which is why I think ALM is actually a roadblock, if that clears things up. BLM is focused on racism in particular and with the shady organisation aside, it’s like they can’t even talk about that without people barging in. As a minority in my own country, I experience this whenever I talk about my own community so I ge the frustration.

 

[njlisa]

No criminal charges were pressed against the officers,
and the family’s civil suit was tossed out of court a few
days ago.

Tony Timpa called 911 to report that he was a schizophrenic
off his meds.

I looked at the body cam video. It’s very distressing. One
of the officers remarks, “I hope I didn’t kill him.” And then
they laughed. You’ll have to look it up for yourselves because
it’s too graphic for me to post.

Federal Judge Tosses Excessive Force Suit Against Five Dallas Officers in Tony Timpa Case – NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth

 

[jeannetherese]

Ultimately, anyone can talk loud or take a knee., sport a tee shirt with a pithy saying, or post a sign; the bottom line is what we do for each other.
The people I know I can count on in a truly genocidal situation are pretty quiet, but they are firm in their beliefs and are making sacrifices to help others.
Others mileage may vary.

 

[jeannetherese]

It’s not enough to agree that everyone’s lives matter. It’s the bare minimum.

I know that that position seems very minimal when we look at all of the problems in our world, but I am convinced that it is a necessary foundation. it involves conversion, both personal and of others.
If we recognize that our value as human beings comes from God and that he loves all of us equally as his children, then we are called to care for others-all others.
Answering this call is hard and each of us, as individuals will likely falter at times, due to the effects of original sin, but this does not let us off the hook. We need to personally live as if all lives matter because, they truly do.
How we live this will vary; ultimately this is an individual responsibility and we will each have to answer to God for how we have handled it.

 

[Lea101]

but I am convinced that it is a necessary foundation

We don’t disagree here, that’s what I meant by the bare minimum. It’s just simply not enough and most people are comfortable remaining at this stage. There is a saying that’s been going around the blocks recently: it’s not enough to not be racist, you have to be anti racist (basically, they’re saying that you just can’t go around saying you aren’t for racism, you have to actively fight against it)

That’s basically my sentiment in general, when we talk about X lives matter. I don’t think a person is virtuous for saying as something as basic as ‘all lives matter’. Even BLM supporters believe in that sentiment. As what the cool kids say, open your purse, lol! It’s something that I need to live up to as well.

So we don’t ultimately disagree on the ‘position’, I just feel like slogans like ALM encourage stagnancy because it doesn’t like focused efforts.

 

[Peeps]

If it doesn’t fit the mold they are filling, it’s “not news.”
D

Two days ago, I decided to stop watching the national news on NBC, CBS, or ABC (especially ABC).

I watch our local news because these are my peeps–I want to know what is happening where I live. And I’m glad I am watching this morning–there is a boil order in a large part of my city and I’m glad to know that because I do not want to get sick drinking bad water! And there have been several mammals with rabies in a nearby county, and I’m VERY glad to know that, as we have lots of mammals in our neighborhood because we live near a creek system and a large nature reserve, so I need to be really careful in my yard and keep an eye out!

These stories don’t fill me with despair and sadness like the national news. Oh, yes, there is a COVID-19 update this morning about a slight increase in positive cases and hospitalizations, but instead of blaming Pres. Trump for it all, our local newscasters and the doctor who is in charge of our health department are urging all of us to be more careful about being in crowded places and suggesting that we move all our gatherings outside (where the rabid mammals are!). Seriously, the rabid mammals are less of a threat than the COVID-19 virus, and I’m glad to hear that very reasonable suggestion.

I don’t like avoiding national and international news–I like to stay informed, and I prefer to stay informed by watching what has historically been a politically-reasonable POV–the main television networks.

But it’s just too much
–the hatred against our President and many other conservatives and Republicans
–the disdain of traditional Christianity
– the disregard for people who don’t live in the Big Cities
– the favoritism towards unions who demand the sun, moon and stars
–the questionable stories about COVID-19
–the assumption that LBGTQ lifestyles and marriages are “good”
–the agenda to continue current public school education methods and policies in spite of the increasingly poor testing results of students in the U.S. when compared to the rest of the world
–the adulation of celebrities
–the demands for extreme climate-change policies right now
–the one-sided stories
–the obvious bias of the reporters (evidenced by their body language, voice tone, eye-rolls, other facial expression cues, and the words that they speak, written with sarcasm rather than impartiality).

I don’t have cable, so I don’t watch the supposedly conservative news programs either, but from what I have seen, they rely on ridicule of the “liberal agenda” along with very one-sided stories to support the conservative agenda–this is almost as frustrating. ’

Whatever happened to “Just the facts, ma’am (or sir)” ??

 

[blackforest]

I’m more inclined to see it as a very catholic statement, in keeping with the womb to tomb commitment noted by blackforest.

I can respect that. But you responded to me addressing the following context:

Also, BLM could prove it wasn’t a racist movement by openly advocating for some of these tragedies to be looked into that involve white people.

This is a case of all-lives-matter wielded quite specifically to sully the anti-racist movement. But if all lives matter, then black lives matter. And it’s perfectly acceptable for anti-racists to focus on that particular cause.

Whatever happened to “Just the facts, ma’am (or sir)” ??

Coinciding with the removal of the Fairness Doctrine, journalism has been replaced with activism. And I agree that it’s a pity.

Ultimately, anyone can talk loud or take a knee., sport a tee shirt with a pithy saying, or post a sign; the bottom line is what we do for each other.

You’re only going to see publicity stunts on if-it-bleeds-it-reads corporate media. What you are not going to see is the messy, boring, and unromantic business of people tirelessly meeting with policy-makers to encourage changes. Things are happening at the local level, too. People are, in fact, doing a lot for each other.

 

[jeannetherese]

Thanks for the clarification blackforest. I did not want to take the thread into an " is it racist to focus on black lives direction?" and missed that context.
I also see lots of local quiet commitment to life and appreciate all of the little people who are doing their best to care for each other.
May God bless us all.
Amen.