Refugees Are Fleeing For Their Lives. So What Happened To 'All Lives Matter'?
Start writing a post
Politics

Refugees Are Fleeing For Their Lives. So What Happened To 'All Lives Matter'?

#AllLivesMatter proponents are suddenly silent when Muslim refugees are the lives in question.

18
Refugees Are Fleeing For Their Lives. So What Happened To 'All Lives Matter'?
Wikimedia Commons

There must have been a hidden asterisk placed next to the #AllLivesMatter hashtag, because it seems like proponents only care about injustice when it's perpetrated against white Christians.

Last week, President Donald J. Trump signed an executive order that bans citizens from seven countries with a Muslim majority population from entrance into the United States for the next 90 days, stranding individuals seeking refuge from Syria, Libya, Iraq, Iran, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. Furthermore, the order indefinitely forbids refugees fleeing from Syria entrance into America. In addition to that, students, visitor and Green Card holders from the seven affected countries with permanent U.S. residency were stopped at airports and refused re-entry into the United States, despite having the legal paperwork that should have granted them entrance without issue.

Trump's executive action is a disgraceful act stemming from a supposedly democratic nation that was founded on the promise of freedom of religion and expression for its citizenship. Ironically, Trump's deplorable orders were signed into effect the same day our nation commemorated the Holocaust Remembrance Day. Our country denied entry for Jewish refugees leading up to the Holocaust, and Trump's repetition of history on the same day that memorializes the agonizing loss of 6 million Jews and 5 million others shows just how apathetic our country has become toward the sufferings of others. History is repeating itself in a heinous cycle of ethnocentrism and indifference to the grotesque human rights violations happening to refugees in these targeted regions.

The #AllLivesMatter campaign has been problematic since its invention, but the conventional silence it has adapted in the wake of senseless bloodshed and depravity speaks volumes more than its ignorant rhetoric ever could. No, you do not believe that all lives matter. You hide behind this blanket statement to shield yourself from accepting accountability for your apathy, justifying your own racially-charged inaction and discrediting the reality of the refugee crisis. Your "All Lives Matter" trope benefits people who look and act like you, who speak in your native tongue, who praise your same God. Your "All Lives Matter" conviction extends only toward disrupting and violating the rights of those unlike you, those who lead lives that cause you to experience discomfort due to their foreignness.

You don't give a damn about all the lives being impacted by this ban. You see these refugees as brown people who worship an Islamic God, and that scares you. You have confined yourself to a bubble marked by hatred, bigotry, intolerance and fear. You speak of strength and security for all people, yet your spineless rhetoric has resulted in the deaths of thousands and the closing of borders when the world desperately needed the building of bridges.

You have made sacrificial lambs out of innocent lives, and your hands are permanently stained with the bloodshed stemming from premature deaths. You forced these people to die in vain for your own political agenda.

All lives don't matter, apparently; only yours do.

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
houses under green sky
Photo by Alev Takil on Unsplash

Small towns certainly have their pros and cons. Many people who grow up in small towns find themselves counting the days until they get to escape their roots and plant new ones in bigger, "better" places. And that's fine. I'd be lying if I said I hadn't thought those same thoughts before too. We all have, but they say it's important to remember where you came from. When I think about where I come from, I can't help having an overwhelming feeling of gratitude for my roots. Being from a small town has taught me so many important lessons that I will carry with me for the rest of my life.

Keep Reading...Show less
​a woman sitting at a table having a coffee
nappy.co

I can't say "thank you" enough to express how grateful I am for you coming into my life. You have made such a huge impact on my life. I would not be the person I am today without you and I know that you will keep inspiring me to become an even better version of myself.

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

Waitlisted for a College Class? Here's What to Do!

Dealing with the inevitable realities of college life.

90273
college students waiting in a long line in the hallway
StableDiffusion

Course registration at college can be a big hassle and is almost never talked about. Classes you want to take fill up before you get a chance to register. You might change your mind about a class you want to take and must struggle to find another class to fit in the same time period. You also have to make sure no classes clash by time. Like I said, it's a big hassle.

This semester, I was waitlisted for two classes. Most people in this situation, especially first years, freak out because they don't know what to do. Here is what you should do when this happens.

Keep Reading...Show less
a man and a woman sitting on the beach in front of the sunset

Whether you met your new love interest online, through mutual friends, or another way entirely, you'll definitely want to know what you're getting into. I mean, really, what's the point in entering a relationship with someone if you don't know whether or not you're compatible on a very basic level?

Consider these 21 questions to ask in the talking stage when getting to know that new guy or girl you just started talking to:

Keep Reading...Show less
Lifestyle

Challah vs. Easter Bread: A Delicious Dilemma

Is there really such a difference in Challah bread or Easter Bread?

62311
loaves of challah and easter bread stacked up aside each other, an abundance of food in baskets
StableDiffusion

Ever since I could remember, it was a treat to receive Easter Bread made by my grandmother. We would only have it once a year and the wait was excruciating. Now that my grandmother has gotten older, she has stopped baking a lot of her recipes that require a lot of hand usage--her traditional Italian baking means no machines. So for the past few years, I have missed enjoying my Easter Bread.

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments