Difference between revisions of "All lives matter"

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'''All lives matter''' is the slogan originally used by those who disagreed with the [[black lives matter]] movement. Although slogans with similar meanings have been used for centuries, the specific phrase "all lives matter," was formulated to appropriate the phrase "black lives matter."
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'''All lives matter''' is a slogan originally used by those who disagreed with the [[Black Lives Matter]] movement of 2013. Although slogans with similar meanings have been used for centuries, the specific phrase "all lives matter" was formulated to negate and appropriate the phrase "black lives matter."
  
Devoid of context, the statement "all lives matter" is a very positive slogan that I agree with, however, because it was created to oppose the black lives matter movement, whose stated goal is to end systemic racism in law enforcement, I see "all lives matter" as a [[dog-whistle politics|dog whistle]] for racism. It would be wonderful if everyone did believe that all lives matter equally, but racism exists in law enforcement, so clearly they do not.
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Devoid of context, the statement "all lives matter" is a very positive slogan that I agree with, however, because it was created to oppose the black lives matter movement, whose stated goal is to fight racism, I see "all lives matter" as a [[dog-whistle politics|dog whistle]] for racism. It would be wonderful if everyone believed that all lives matter equally, but racism still exists, so clearly they do not.
  
Another important point to look at is who uses the phrase "all lives matter" compared to those who use "black lives matter." In general, "all lives matter" is used by people who are impacted very little from systemic racism, while those who use "black lives matter," are impacted much more.  
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When determining the motive behind the slogan, it's important to look at who uses the phrase "all lives matter" compared to those who use "black lives matter." In general, "all lives matter" is used by people who see very little impact from racism (e.g., white people, rich people, etc.) while those who use "black lives matter," are impacted much more (e.g., black people, poor people, etc.). To me, this helps put the phrase into context and demonstrates why saying "all lives matter" is similar to saying, "shut up about racism."
  
Critics of the phrase "black lives matter," especially those who appropriated it to "all lives matter," often claim that "black lives matter" implies that black lives matter more than white lives. These are often the same people who wonder why there isn't a "white history month." It is possible, in fact, necessary, to point out problems in society in order to fix them. If Main Street is littered with potholes, saying "all roads matter" isn't as useful as saying, "fill the potholes on Main Street." Likewise, saying "fill the potholes on Main Street" doesn't mean you think it's more important than any other road, it just means you've identified a problem and want it fixed.
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The slogan "black lives matter," wasn't just appropriated by white people to "all lives matter," but also to "[[blue lives matter]]" and "[[white lives matter]]." Those who use these phrases are inadvertently demonstrating that they understand how it is possible to identify a problem, like the dangers of being a police officer, without implying that police officers are more important than everyone else.
  
The slogan "black lives matter," wasn't just appropriated to "all lives matter," but also to "[[blue lives matter]]" and "[[white lives matter]]." Interestingly, those who do this are inadvertently demonstrating that they are aware of how it is possible to identify a problem, like the dangers of being a police officer, without suggesting that they're more important than everyone else.
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==Gallery==
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<gallery>
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Kris Straub - 2016-07-07 - All Houses Redux.png|Comic by Kris Straub.
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Matt Bors - 2015-12-30 - All Lives Matter.png|Comic by Matt Bors.
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Candorville - 2015-09-27 - The All Lives Matter Response.jpg|Comic by Candorville.
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</gallery>
  
 
==Links==
 
==Links==
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Lives_Matter en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Lives_Matter] - Wikipedia.
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{{Link|Wikipedia|https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Lives_Matter}}
  
  
 
[[Category: Politics]]
 
[[Category: Politics]]
 
[[Category: Racism]]
 
[[Category: Racism]]

Revision as of 13:57, 30 May 2019

All lives matter is a slogan originally used by those who disagreed with the Black Lives Matter movement of 2013. Although slogans with similar meanings have been used for centuries, the specific phrase "all lives matter" was formulated to negate and appropriate the phrase "black lives matter."

Devoid of context, the statement "all lives matter" is a very positive slogan that I agree with, however, because it was created to oppose the black lives matter movement, whose stated goal is to fight racism, I see "all lives matter" as a dog whistle for racism. It would be wonderful if everyone believed that all lives matter equally, but racism still exists, so clearly they do not.

When determining the motive behind the slogan, it's important to look at who uses the phrase "all lives matter" compared to those who use "black lives matter." In general, "all lives matter" is used by people who see very little impact from racism (e.g., white people, rich people, etc.) while those who use "black lives matter," are impacted much more (e.g., black people, poor people, etc.). To me, this helps put the phrase into context and demonstrates why saying "all lives matter" is similar to saying, "shut up about racism."

The slogan "black lives matter," wasn't just appropriated by white people to "all lives matter," but also to "blue lives matter" and "white lives matter." Those who use these phrases are inadvertently demonstrating that they understand how it is possible to identify a problem, like the dangers of being a police officer, without implying that police officers are more important than everyone else.

Gallery

Links

Link-Wikipedia.png