Is it seen as racist to say all lives matter now?

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  1. peeples profile image94
    peeplesposted 9 years ago

    Is it seen as racist to say all lives matter now?

    I saw someone called a racist on twitter for sharing a story with the #AllLivesMatter. Is it somehow seen politically incorrect now to care about all lives? I'm a bit confused. I see this as a good thing, not bad.

  2. dashingscorpio profile image70
    dashingscorpioposted 9 years ago

    I don't think it's racist.
    Some people feel for example when the topic is "Black lives matter" and someone says: "All lives matter" it's seen as an attempt to shift the conversation away from the current events that have been taking place. Essentially it is seen as downplaying those events because they are uncomfortable or don't want to acknowledge the racial divide or the statistics of who gets killed more often by police.
    Deep down I don't believe the offended people believe the person is "racist" but rather unsympathetic to their particular cause.
    I've personally experienced the same backlash when it comes to domestic violence. Over and over again it is said. "A man should never hit a woman." Whenever I've said: "No one should be hitting anyone!"  That has caused some major heated debates!
    The reality is "all lives matter" and "no one should be hitting anyone."
    People tend not to want to talk "generically" on (hot button) issues.

    1. peeples profile image94
      peeplesposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      See this bothers me, I'm sympathetic to all people hurt or treated wrongly. I understand black people have been through a lot. It IS to shift attention in sort of, from any one group to all people. Doesn't mean racism doesn't exist.

    2. dashingscorpio profile image70
      dashingscorpioposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I agree it's not racist to talk in context of (all) as opposed to one group. And at the heart of it I don't believe those claim it's racist truly believe caring about "all lives" is racist.
      They're just offended when their cause is sterilized.

  3. stephlin profile image59
    stephlinposted 9 years ago

    It's not racist to care about all lives and to say all lives matter. It becomes an issue because #BlackLivesMatter was a hastag created to emphasize that the crime and violence against black lives is not okay. It was created to pull attention towards the hundreds of black lives that are taken away every year without recognition.

    It's very selfish to say #AllLivesMatter. The hashtag #BlackLikesMatter does not mean that other lives do not matter, it's just emphasizing the fact that black lives matter just as much as everyone else's-- a fact that seems to be forgotten in recent times.

    The fact of the matter is that #AllLivesMatter is downplaying and taking away the importance of the original purpose and cause of the first hashtag. The hashtag was not created for all lives, or for all issues. It was created around the idea of spreading awareness about the police brutality and violence towards black lives, and the empowerment of the black community.

    Someone that's saying #BlackLivesMatter is not saying that other lives do not matter. The focus is on black lives because they are the ones being prosecuted in recent times, and they are the ones who deserve the support.

    1. peeples profile image94
      peeplesposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Ok so if a white person is murdered by a cop why is there an issue in saying #alllivesmatter, isn't drawing attention to police brutality the point? Or is it only the point if they murder black people. I really don't get it.

    2. dashingscorpio profile image70
      dashingscorpioposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      People resent having their cause "hijacked".
      If someone is shedding light on an issue and someone else comes along to "re-frame" their cause into another version. People get offended.
      It's as if the new only exists because of the first group.

    3. peeples profile image94
      peeplesposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      To me they shouldn't feel like it's being hijacked, but instead added to. It is incorporating them not excluding them. I wish it was seen different. It's the same cause, just directed at all who are impacted instead of just some.

    4. Kylyssa profile image93
      Kylyssaposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      It is seldom used except in response to the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag. Few would object to it being used on a story about poor children being allowed to die or cops killing a homeless man that was not tacked onto a conversation about racism.

    5. dashingscorpio profile image70
      dashingscorpioposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Peeples, The person or group who initiated the original cause feels as if someone came along to change their focus. They didn't like the original cause. Either way they're only there because of the original movement. Hijacking or changing it.

  4. sockii profile image65
    sockiiposted 9 years ago

    We all know that white lives matter. Throughout our history white lives have been valued above the lives of others. That's why it's important to remind people that black lives matter as well because, quite honestly, many people DON'T believe they matter equally. So to say "All lives matter" is to divert attention away from the issues of inequality that need to be battled against.

    1. peeples profile image94
      peeplesposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Why can't it be viewed as including them instead of diverting if it is for the same cause, such as stopping police brutality? "All" does not mean white, it means ALL races. If all races are impacted by the same problem they should unite it seems.

    2. sockii profile image65
      sockiiposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Because the point is to bring attention to injustices against people who are black. We all are supposed to know that "All lives matter".  That's not new. But we have to remind people sometimes that black lives matter, TOO.

    3. peeples profile image94
      peeplesposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      The thing is, I don't need to be reminded that black lives matter, so I should be able to label them equally like I would myself without fear of being called a racist. All non black people shouldn't be assumed to need reminding.

    4. sockii profile image65
      sockiiposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Your statement here alone tells me you DO need to be reminded. Please read this piece which sums up why All Lives Matter is loaded and racist:

      https://storify.com/the_author_/why-all … e-response

    5. peeples profile image94
      peeplesposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      You're wrong, I was raised by black ppl, I'm also of mixed race. The only thing I need to be reminded of is people truly don't care about equality. So if a white or mexican kid is shot by cops should I ignore it or say all lives matter?

    6. tamarawilhite profile image82
      tamarawilhiteposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Muslims say only their lives matter, everyone else can be killed or tortured until they convert or submit to second class status.

  5. Ericdierker profile image45
    Ericdierkerposted 9 years ago

    So we actually take one group of persecuted folk and some cause takes up their cause and now we cannot have our own different cause? Wow that is bizarre logic. So if one thousand Indian children are starving to death each day, and fifty Black Americans are dying each day. We cannot bring attention to the 1,000 because that is unfair to the fifty?
    That takes away the window dressing. That breaks through the facade. That shows us what this has become. It is not one spit about the dying folk. It is not one ounce about love and compassion. Some folks have taken a cause and turned it into a false idol that they want everyone to worship. They have taken a noble idea and turned it into a popularity cause celebre. They have taken a concept of brotherly love and charity and turned it into a competition for attention. Their master now is the drive to WIN at all costs, not love at all costs. This is group ego like a communicable disease.
    And doesn't it show the whole problem. One group trying to elevate themselves above another simply because they are a member of a different group.

    1. peeples profile image94
      peeplesposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      My point exactly. Equality incorporates all, not some. Instead of dividing us we should unite against these problems. Being part of a diff group is ok, but to end racism we have to fight together for all of us not just one group.

    2. dashingscorpio profile image70
      dashingscorpioposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I don't think it's a matter of having different causes. However people feel like had they not been outspoken about their cause the new cause wouldn't exist. They feel hijacked.
      Lastly I'd say Twitter/social media comments are often negative!

    3. Ericdierker profile image45
      Ericdierkerposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Precisely the point -- it is the cause that is important to them and not the people. The problem is not new, the "cause" with their new label is. My hashtag is better than yours!

    4. Kylyssa profile image93
      Kylyssaposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      It's changing the conversation to divert the focus, like entering a conversation on incest and changing it to one about selling children into sexual slavery. Saying other things are equally bad doesn't add to the conversation; it changes the subject.

    5. MizBejabbers profile image88
      MizBejabbersposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Eric, you hit the nail on the head. Some people want to feel that theirs is the only or the most important cause.

  6. Kylyssa profile image93
    Kylyssaposted 9 years ago

    It's the way it's being used. It's also a bit like how the word homosexual became a slur rather than just a technical term. People against the cause of equality used it so much and in such a negative way that they tainted it.

    #AllLivesMatter has been used almost overwhelmingly lately by people trying to minimize the fact that US cops are killing, assaulting, and harassing black people at epidemic rates. Of course all lives matter, but it's somewhat like how men's rights groups tainted #NotAllMen by using it to minimize the voices of people who were posting with the #YesAllWomen hashtag.

    The tone with that was similar - someone would post some rotten experience almost all women have due to being women and some jerk would counter with a #NotAllMen tweet trying to minimize it, make it not important, sometimes with a link or statement saying women can be bad, too. For example, when a woman tweeted something like I wish I could write about controversial subjects without getting threatened with rape and murder someone almost immediately replied to her that #NotAllMen do that plus a link with a news story about a woman who killed her husband. 

    Like it or not, words and phrases can be changed and given baggage by the people who use them if they use them enough in the same way.

    1. peeples profile image94
      peeplesposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      So you're saying bad apples ruined the phrase for those of us who actually mean it? That's sad.

    2. Kylyssa profile image93
      Kylyssaposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Yes, just like the same sort of people changed the meaning of the word "thug" from "a criminal person" to the "n-word" because they can't say the n-word without people objecting. If enough people use a word a certain way, they change its meaning.

    3. Ericdierker profile image45
      Ericdierkerposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Sounds like folk more concerned with being right than doing right on both sides.

    4. Kylyssa profile image93
      Kylyssaposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      It's used to minimize and silence people. It's like when men's rights activists write foul things on pages about breast cancer awareness, as if spreading awareness about breast cancer is discrimination against men. Context has meaning.

  7. ecogranny profile image83
    ecogrannyposted 9 years ago

    Yes, it is racist, and is seen so by all people of color who champion #BlackLivesMatter. They should know. They are the ones who live with racism every single day. They are the ones who have to have "the talk" with their young men about how to survive being stopped by a cop while walking, unarmed down the street, while Black, or driving while Black, or shopping while Black, or standing in their yard while Black.

    The sole purpose of #AllLivesMatter is to dilute the impact and recognition that #BlackLivesMatter in a country that continues to treat Black people and all people of color as if they don't.

    1. peeples profile image94
      peeplesposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      My sole purpose of #AllLivesMatter is to show my support for ALL people being murdered by the police. It's sad that I can't voice that because I look white. I don't want to take away from the cause, but contribute and add to it.

    2. dashingscorpio profile image70
      dashingscorpioposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I get where you're coming from and if #AllLivesMatter would have come first this wouldn't be an issue. It's the renaming a cause that offends people. Imagine a man changing the women's right movement to human rights movement. Some won't be happy

    3. peeples profile image94
      peeplesposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      And I guess I'd disagree with them too, because to me, we can all share the same causes from different perspectives to cause an even greater change.

    4. Ericdierker profile image45
      Ericdierkerposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Wait a second. My wife is not "of color" or black and she faces racism, bigotry and bias everyday. #onlyblacklivesmatter? And how is disagreeing with method racist? What, is hardship trademarked now? Only _____ own it?

    5. ecogranny profile image83
      ecogrannyposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      If all lives mattered, we wouldn't need #BlackLivesMatter.

    6. tamarawilhite profile image82
      tamarawilhiteposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      The pity is that black lives don't matter to BLM when taken by black crime, which is a hundred fold over those killed by cops.

  8. TimArends profile image83
    TimArendsposted 9 years ago

    Of course it's racist. Anything that doesn't serve the cause of black racial grievance mongering is now seen as "racist."

    The thing about the phrase "black lives matter" is the insinuation that, because of a few police shootings, they DON'T matter. Never mind the statistical fact that blacks are much more likely to be killed by each other than they are to be killed by the police.

    If the phrase "black lives matter" should be directed at anyone, it should be directed at other blacks.

  9. profile image56
    C.J. Wrightposted 9 years ago

    No, its not racist.  It does seem to be a reaction to another hashtag that was born out of frustration. Therefore its taken, at least by the frustrated to be an attempt to marginalize their cause. Get it? 

    I don't believe we have a problem with white cops hunting black people across the country.  I do think we have a problem with how we police in general.  Its gotten out of hand and its not limited to a particular race.

  10. prektjr.dc profile image72
    prektjr.dcposted 9 years ago

    Honestly there are those who make everything racist to cover up what is really missing in this world.  You are right...all lives SHOULD matter...to everyone, and it SHOULD be a good thing.  However, there are those people who are dead set on twisting ANY event into a drama.  My response is much too long for this small space, but Jesus died for ALL people.  It's time to look at PEOPLE again...as just people.  All people matter...all lives matter, regardless of race, job description, religion, age, height or weight. Anyone who doesn't agree...is really covering up their own shortcomings with drama pointed at other people who don't fit their demands.

  11. tamarawilhite profile image82
    tamarawilhiteposted 8 years ago

    It is tragic that BLM focuses on a few people, mostly criminals, who were killed by cops but ignores the much greater number of blacks killed by other blacks.
    One thug gets show by police attacking them with a knife, they riot. A dozen or more blacks are killed on summer weekends in Chicago, apparently, those lives don't matter, even though many of the victims are children killed by poorly aimed bullets.

  12. Sychophantastic profile image66
    Sychophantasticposted 8 years ago

    Anybody who responds to "Black Lives Matter" with "All Lives Matter" is a moron.

    The "Black Lives Matter" slogan is not meant to elevate black lives above other lives. Only an idiot and/or racist would get defensive and assume that's what it means. It is meant to remind the country that there appear to be places where "Black Lives Don't Matter". It's not a statement that refers to the whole of humanity. It's a response to those who believe and act in a way that suggests that black lives don't matter. Get it?

    1. Ericdierker profile image45
      Ericdierkerposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      I think I get this. People who disagree with you are both morons and idiots. It reminds me that BLM truly ignores black lives in developing nations. It should be American BLM. Truly amazing how nationalistic BLM is. With the 35 million from Soros?

    2. Sychophantastic profile image66
      Sychophantasticposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      The stupidity is self-evident. I'm just pointing it out. They didn't come up with the name to diminish the value of other lives and saying they did or implying they did is disingenuous or represents the thoughts of a mind that isn't well-informed.

 
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