All white lives matter

All lives matter? True.

i thought we had gotten to a point where we didn’t need to have this conversation again. But after explaining it on two or three different conversations threads this week i figured i would give it another go – some people are still catching on to this one.

And i get it – it is quite subtle and nuanced and until you get it, you don’t get it… so we need to be patient and extend grace and try and offer everyone a taste of the red pill.

What is it with this continuing insistence that BLACK LIVES MATTER? 

When a lot of people hear that statement, it triggers for them the idea that what is also being said is that “White Lives Do Not Matter.”

One of the best illustrations was a picture of two houses side by side and one of them is on fire. The fire brigade arrives and start pumping water on to the house that’s burning. The owner of the house that is not on fire comes out and angrily berates the fire people for not spraying his house with water… because all houses matter. “Yes, they do, sir,” is the response, “but your house is not on fire.”

Another meme that i appreciated on the topic was this one on Martin Luther King Jnr’s “I have a dream” speech:

And then this tweet by Arthur Chu which also really helps drive the point home:

He has another one which asks the questions of people walking into a stranger’s funeral and shouting, “I have suffered loss too.”

CAN YOU SEE HOW RIDICULOUS IT IS?

For me those pictures tell the story and i feel like it’s really obvious. The point being made is that of course white lives matter [as do all other lives]. But there has never been a time in history where on such a grand scale across the world there was any kind of idea or impression or reality of white lives not mattering. And yet black lives have been considered cheap or less than or inferior in a vast number of places and governments and contexts across the world for as long as can be remembered and so that is why there is the feeling that “Black lives Matters” is a statement that needs to be said. Because for too long it has felt like they don’t. 

Is this helping? i’m not sure i can make it any clearer.

If you still have an issue with the statement “Black Lives Matter” then please engage with me in the comments and let’s see if we can help you figure this one out…