Black Lives Matters vs All Lives Matters

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Well said. One thing I worry about in the do not offend anyone PC world we’re becoming is that more often than not there are agendas being pushed. It’s not just ‘gay people have dignity,’ it’s ‘respect their relationship!’ ‘Trans people are God’s children, therefore they can identify as any gender they like and you have to respect them for it.’ I’ve even encountered someone pushing a pro life agenda being labeled as pro slavery, since women own their bodies and can do what they like.
 
We are seeing many other slogans alongside BLM such as;

MUSLIM LIVES MATTER
ROYHINGYA LIVES MATTER
INDIGENOUS LIVES MATTER etc.

It is humanity screaming out for positive change, suggesting that we are all in this together.
 
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As I said, I am not a fan of Black Lives Matter Inc. But instead of trying to re-brand the phrase, I would rather see a new statement emerge. But editing Black Lives Matter is too problematic, as evidenced by the ongoing debate around it. I’m not opposed to abandoning it, but to edit it to what some think it should be is not a good idea if it tries to universalize an experience. It’s interesting because I hear much push back about this issue falling under the pro-life umbrella which should be universal. That’s an easy alignment to me but I feel like anything outside of abortion gets downplayed.
 
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I would agree with that.

As an aside, and trying to think critically, I cannot really see a way to easily fix the problem caused by a small portion of police who cause many of the incidents we hear of on the news.
 
catholiclala said:
I’m not even 100% for the full Black Lives Matters agenda, as posted on their website. There are so many groups and agendas trying to co-opt the real issue and make this a leftist free for all.
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Several of us have said the same thing in other threads. BLM as a group isn’t one group with a coherent platform, and as shown in Seattle, even those in the movement don’t agree on what its agenda should be beyond just “Black Lives Matter Too”.

When I hold up a BLM sign, all I mean by that is that Black Lives Matter Too, to me. I certainly don’t endorse all the gunk they might have on a website, which is probably different anyway from the list of local organizations joining any given march, and which could change by next week.
 
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catholiclala said:
As I said, I am not a fan of Black Lives Matter Inc.
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I tried to explain to this person in another thread, (apparently it didn’t take), that there’s a difference between an organization and a movement. BLM existed as a movement before some people got a hold of it and named their organization.

I sometimes attend the March for Life because I’m part of the pro-life movement. I don’t support every organization there, (like those people who show up with violent images of aborted fetuses).

I’m trying to say in a round-about way that it’s perfectly acceptable to support proudly the message that black lives matter and join the movement against all of the police brutality against African-American men . . . . without supporting some group who, in 2016, decided to co-opt the phrase as their name and hijack the cause with things you don’t believe in.
 
VonDerTann said:
I would agree with that.

As an aside, and trying to think critically, I cannot really see a way to easily fix the problem caused by a small portion of police who cause many of the incidents we hear of on the news.
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I will say this I am a 40 year old woman who has lived in four different major metropolitan areas across the country. I myself have had three incidents of inappropriate police behavior that were indeed discriminatory. I did not end up dead or injured but i have been falsely accused twice, put into handcuffs and questioned. I was once accused of fraud and was questioned in front of a store right before I had an interview. Didn’t get that job that I desperately needed as a struggling college student. So there was no violence but my life and experience and pursuit of happiness were jeopardized. This issue is bigger than just police brutality and death. It’s also about the fact that even in these modern times I am viewed as “other” and a threat even as a 5"1" petite girly girl. This is just the tip of the iceberg of what I have experienced in my American life. That’s why many feel insulted and why so much pain is bubbling up. My father is a retired cop who loved his job, I know good cops, I know there are many great cops, so I’m not for totally abolishing the police but a lot needs to change here and globally for people of color and this is just a messy way of starting that process. So maybe more need to give grace that it isn’t tied up neat in a bow like an election campaign or a slick marketing agenda.
 
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I can see the person’s concern because when you show up as being allied with a movement, it’s hard for you as an individual to make clear that you support the overall message, and support Groups A, B and C over there, but don’t support D and if it were up to you group E wouldn’t even exist let alone be here. Shifting movements cause a lot of discomfort, even among activists who are more used to movements than the average person who isn’t an activist. I’m already seeing this with people who 100 percent agree that black lives matter, but don’t agree with defunding/ dismantling the police (they will for example point out that some police, including some recently killed police, were black or brown). I would put myself also in that group.
 
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It is very frustrating that everyone and everyone is trying to get a piece of the Black Lives Matter Inc. pie.
 
Yes, it’s frustrating. I would suggest ignoring that though, and concentrating on the part you can definitely get behind, which is that black people matter and should not be treated differently or worse than others of a different race.
 
Tis_Bearself said:
Yes, it’s frustrating. I would suggest ignoring that though, and concentrating on the part you can definitely get behind, which is that black people matter and should not be treated differently or worse than others of a different race.
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“Black People Matter” is a slogan I can get 100% behind.

I have a major issue with the slogan “Black Lives Matter” because of the organization.

I do not agree with their methods nor a number of the positions they have on their website.
 
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I grew up very, very active in Amnesty International before the abortion rights fanatics took them over. I love what ACLU does for free speech and privacy issues but resent that they, too, got swallowed by the pro-choice beast. So yea, I get the frustration. I just refuse to let those who insist on divisiveness tear apart what should unite us.
 
I’m an “all lives matter” person and I can’t believe that simple sentence has now been hijacked to classify someone as racist. I do however think I will use the “black lives matter too” slogan. I can be down with that. I also wonder why police precincts are burned down but not a single window of a planned parenthood (which kills thousands of times more black lives than the police) has been broken.
 
I would definitely agree that black lives matter. As do all lives. The problem I see is that often BLM is used to protest “systemic racism” which does not exist. I have yet to see systemic racism. Do I see racists, absolutely, but I see jerks among many groups picking at others for a Variety of reasons. I personally, from the research I have done, see the struggles in the black community being more connected to a lack of two family households than I do oppression by a governmental system due to their skin color.
 
ConcernedConvert said:
I would definitely agree that black lives matter. As do all lives. The problem I see is that often BLM is used to protest “systemic racism” which does not exist. I have yet to see systemic racism. Do I see racists, absolutely, but I see jerks among many groups picking at others for a Variety of reasons. I personally, from the research I have done, see the struggles in the black community being more connected to a lack of two family households than I do oppression by a governmental system due to their skin color.
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I agree that a huge issue in the black community is the breakdown of family but there are many issues beyond that. I dislike the definition of “systemic racism” because it does seem to imply that there is some menacing force in government that is maliciously out to get people of color. I don’t think there is a pointed agenda to go after poor minorities but there is a mismanagement of resources that does affect the most vulnerable, who are primarily people of color. If people are born into poverty, their hospital sucks, their school sucks, their library sucks all because funding goes to the wealthy areas, then yeah it does feel like they are setup to fail, especially when you aren’t as valued because you are dark. I get that we are a land of equal opportunity but it’s freaking hard when you are trying to break out of the cycle and you are alone in your community.

I was raised in a white suburb but my family background was a stark contrast to my peers for many reasons. My mother had substance abuse problems, my brothers were incarcerated, my father ended up raising me alone on a minimum wage salary and he lived beyond his means to try to keep me in a good school district. I remember the only food was fried chicken and fries bought from Sam’s club, not because we wanted to eat crap but that was the cheapest thing to feed us. When I finally could work I had to do food service or retail and had racist customers treat me like crap. I always had to fight super hard, try not to let racism get me down, and get after moving up. So I can only imagine what it’s like for someone who looks like me to have grown up in a project and went to a horrible school. I’m still playing catch up and I am college educated with no children.
 
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I don’t and won’t use either slogan, because “black lives matter” is, in my opinion, too deeply rooted in political ideology with which I strongly disagree, and is also a truism, whilst “all lives matter” makes one seem like a racist in the eyes of others, and is also a truism. Slogans are generally unhelpful and divisive. I try to speak in more nuanced language, as what I believe and think cannot be expressed in 3 word slogans.
The idea of two sides, one shouting “black lives matter” and the other “all lives matter” at each other makes me cringe and a little concerned for the future of society.
And also social media is not conducive to constructive conversation, in my opinion. 🙂
 
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SusieQ57 said:
but I only wish all people would have, that strong of feelings for our unborn innocent babies that die everyday.
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I get your point, but I would resist the urge to link everything back to abortion. Remember how annoying it is as a pro-life person when someone goes, “oh yeah? If you’re so pro-life why aren’t you lobbying for more social services for single moms?”

It’s impossible for any group or event to address every possible issue under the sun. We shouldn’t assume that just because someone is advocating for x that they don’t care about y.
 
MeganCecilia said:
personally say black lives matter. I think in some instances, people say “All lives matter” without realizing that it is undermining black people.
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And I could correctly say your statement is racist. My issue is that it other underminds the mistreatment of other minority groups. could I just point out that the leadership in BLM supports abortion? That’s not okay. I have challenged every single person who says they support black lives matter, to donate money to the Pine Ridge Indian reservation, and as far as I know no one has
 
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