Best explanation I've seen yet about why "All Lives Matter" is an inappropriate rejoinder...

[markpkessinger]

... to "Black Lives Matter.

A friend of mine who is an Episcopal priest posted this on Facebook. It is far and away the best explanation I've seen to date as to why the rejoinder "All live matter," in response to the statement that "Black Lives Matter," is so utterly offensive and inappropriate. Had to share it here:

A friend posted this and to the post someone replied (you know what's coming): "ALL lives matter." I replied to that comment:

"All lives matter" is a retort that dilutes and even negates the assertion that "black lives matter." When Jesus says, "Blessed are the poor," do we reply "No, Jesus, blessed is everybody in every economic class"? When the Buddha says, "The enlightened one must delight in the forest," do we reply "No, Siddhartha, delight in the desert and the meadow, too"? Of course not, because we realize that specificity has a point; the specificity does not negate the general or the other, but it highlights the particular. "Black lives matter" highlights that, for many, black lives do NOT matter; offering "all lives matter" as a response invalidates that specific and particular realization. Of course, all lives matter, but in the contemporary social circumstance specifically noting that black lives matter has particular currency and validity.

[RichVRichV]

1. That's a good analogy

and does help explain the nuances of it. Thank you.

[Mnemosyne]

2. I agree, that is a very good retort. nt

[Igel]

7. "Blessed are the poor" is not

just a subset of "blessed is everybody."

I hope the Episcopal minister is better at Buddhism.

The poor had the rep and the common attribute of being humble and contrite. They lived at the margins and if they had anything it was often because others had given it to them. They had no reason to be proud, to glory in their accomplishments. Chance could destroy them easily, and they tended to at least evince gratitude to others and to God.

The rich had the rep and the common attribute of claiming that they had done great things, instead of giving God the credit.

This is a common thread in Jesus' preaching. It's a very common thread in the OT, where Israel was portrayed and humble and teachable when poor and impoverished, but then became prosperous and haughty and turned on God--and when brought low, again turned to God. It continues in Paul.

It's a modern idea that really, there is no need to gratitude, righteousness, etc., etc. Just feel good about yourself and revel in the perfection that you already are, because you're forgiven. Remember, "God doesn't make junk." Even if Paul could say that there were "vessels" made for destruction, and Judas wasn't exactly a golem made by Jewish rabbis out of mud.

But people, even ministers, often have no memory. And like it that way.

[markpkessinger]

17. What a snotty post

I hope the Episcopal minister is better at Buddhism. Really?

My friend was not intending to offer a full theological exposition on the meaning of the Beatitudes. He was simply drawing an analogy, and analogies are often imperfect. I know enough of my friend's theological leanings to know that he is fully aware of what is often referred to as Jesus' "preferential option for the poor," and that he does run around justifying great wealth. But hey, don't let the fact that you don't know this man prevent you from jumping on your theological hobby horse and presuming to judge the theological competence of someone you don't know.

[Mnemosyne]

30. I seem to recall a parable that described an old poor woman's gift as meaning much more than

a wealthy man's. Cannot recall book or verses easily these days though.

They also seem to forget to pray in private, but they sure do pick and choose...

[PoliticAverse]

3. Excellent exposition. n/t

[Buzz cook]

4. All lives matter, just

some lives matter more than others. /sarcasm

[irisblue]

5. If all lives mattered, we'd have had universal health care decades ago

[DebJ]

6. Wow that is fantastic, and crystal clear. I just put it on my FB page.

That's the only social media I use.

[tblue37]

8. A good analogy I saw a couple of weeks ago: Imagine that during a funding drive

for breast cancer people kept arguing, "Other diseases need funding, too!"

That would be so beside the point.

[lame54]

10. In short - it neutralizes it

[GGJohn]

11. Sorry to say, well, no I'm not sorry,

but all lives do matter, no matter what race, religion, creed and I won't apologize for my beliefs or feel ashamed for saying so, nor am I a racist for my belief that all lives matte.

[lame54]

12. no - but you are wrong in the use of the phrase...

All lives matter neutralizes the phrase black lives matter negating the message
Then we're back to the status quo

[GGJohn]

13. Personally, I disagree,

saying all lives matter in answer to black lives matter does not negate the message, but that's my personal opinion.

[OneGrassRoot]

14. Perhaps your signature line could offer perspective...

Of COURSE gay rights are human rights -- as gay people are human beings -- but there is a need to be specific to point that out...to point out that Gay Lives Matter.

Activists say: "Gay rights are human rights."

Unhelpful Retort: "No, human rights are human rights. Period."

This is what is happening with Black Lives Matter; it doesn't negate the truth that all lives matter, but points out the necessity of recognizing that black people's lives matter, also.

If all humans were treated equally and humanely, such statements would be unnecessary.

[GGJohn]

15. Good point.

Gives me something to ponder and reflect upon.

[markpkessinger]

18. Superbly put!

It is true that the issue of police brutality and abuse, and of killings by police of unarmed citizens, is not exclusively an issue of race. But there can be no denying that the problem breaks disproportionately -- and by an overwhelming degree -- along racial lines. It is in this context that the phrase "Black Lives Matter" arose; it is to this context that "Black Lives Matter" speaks; and it is within this context that "Black Lives Matter" must be understood. And it is that very context that "All Lives Matter" stands as a denial of.

[smirkymonkey]

19. +1000

Thank you!

[Eleanors38]

22. ^^^

[Oilwellian]

29. Perfect n/t

[PeaceNikki]

16. The #AllLivesMatter campaign is narcissistic and blind. It’s about inserting one’s own agenda.

This particular fight is about one thing and one thing only. It’s about the fact that unarmed black men are being killed by the people who are supposed to protect them. It’s about the fact that to society, black people are far more disposable. Young black people are treated as convicts-in-waiting. These facts are a societal sickness and to treat that sickness would be to help save white lives as well.

Maybe white people would be a bit more understanding if the campaign was #BlackLivesMatterAsMuchAsWhiteLives, but that’s hardly pithy. Really, though, that’s all black people are saying. Their lives are as important as white lives and if you want to shut down that discussion, we will never grow as a country and people of all races will continue to die unnecessarily.

From: http://www.addictinginfo.org/2014/12/13/alllivesmatter-means-no-lives-matter-so-stop-it-already/

[awoke_in_2003]

23. That Twitter post is excellent. nt

[smirkymonkey]

20. I'm white and I completely agree with this.

I am also not offended by the concept of white privilege.

[Eleanors38]

21. I see the point, and I agree.

My only concern is that while recognizing the "dillution," the "all lives matter" doesn't become a tripwire to categorize others and make discussion more difficult.

[markpkessinger]

26. I believe at least some of this is driven by a particdular belief -- . . .

. . . a belief I have encountered with increasing frequency in the past few years, nearly always on the part of someone who is under, say, 35 or 40 and, curiously, nearly always identifies himself/herself as a 'libertarian' and a supporter of Rand Paul. It is the belief -- very nairve in my view -- that our problems with race stem primarily from the fact that we even talk about or acknowledge race in the first place, and that if we just stopped acknowledging it and talking about it, it would magically disappear from the social landscape. I think these folks fail to understand how some of the more subtle and insidious racist practices (such as redlining, for one example) operate, and can continue to operate perfectly well in the absence of any explicit discussion at all about race.

[gollygee]

24. With thanks to sheshe!

[Spazito]

25. Well said n/t

[BlueJazz]

27. I prefer all lives matter.

[romanic]

28. All Lives Matter became irrelevant

when the people behind it didn't speak of Zachary Hammond's death at the hands of a cop. It showed me that the ALM didn't give a shit about lives at all. Can't believed i was duped to think ALM could stand side-by-side with BLM.