Here is why #AllLivesMatter is a lie. #AllLivesMatter and #BlackLivesMatter work differently. #AllLivesMatter was created simply to silence the #BlackLivesMatter supporters. It was not a way to bring awareness to some other marginalized group (which is why when terrible things do happen to non-black people, they are silent). #AllLivesMatter is not a group; it is simply a hashtag with no power, used by anyone who simply wants to silence others, yet again. #BlackLivesMatter has a purpose; it is a simple statement that sums up all we, black people, are trying to convey to the rest of the world. If people could simply grasp this statement “black lives matter” they would understand why black people need to be treated better than we currently are. All lives should matter, but they don’t. Black lives need to matter for #AllLivesMatter to be true; same with Muslim, LGBTQ, Hispanic lives, and so on. The way some people treat others that are different from them makes no sense to me. I have always been raised to respect people, and not only respect them, but love them. To openly treat people with such hatred has been hard for me to see and experience.

Many people have said it before, and I will repeat it: Black Lives Matter is really saying Black Lives Matter Too. It is not meant to silence other groups of people. Now, if you can’t see why #BlackLivesMatter needs to be said, then you may not be addressing what you’re actually feeling: guilt. It’s not just about history, everyone knows black people endured great hardships for centuries, hence the reason some states are trying to erase the ‘ugly’ parts of American history. The problem many seem to be having trouble understanding is the centuries of damage done here on American soil had an effect for generations which is what we see today. Minorities still struggle to attain well-paid jobs; in order to ‘make it’ in America, black people, and other minority groups, must have non-threatening names, speak "properly," and of course dress "appropriately." And sometimes even that is not enough. Perhaps it’s just my creativity, but none of those things have to do with a person’s capabilities. This is just one of the very many examples that prove all lives really don’t matter.

Now, I want to briefly address #BlueLivesMatter. This hashtag works the exact same way as #AllLivesMatter. It is meant to silence #BlackLivesMatter and take some of the blame off of police for the genocide happening to black people. But, police officers have POWER, this is why they are able to murder anyone they want and instead of being punished, they are protected. They are NOT a marginalized group. Typically, when people express their frustrations with police, it is not because they believe every single police officer in the country is sketchy and racist; but, if officers stopped acting like a giant fraternity/sorority and actually spoke up against some of their fellow officers who are clearly wrong, our frustration could be more individualized and focused on specific officers that need to be corrected. But, as of now, many cops seem to be the problem for protecting the officers that are clearly wrong. I appreciate some of the officers that have spoken up over the years to remind others their job is to protect all people. I believe if officers changed the way they saw their job, less black people would be murdered. Instead of seeing their job as hunting for suspicious people, seeing it as protecting people would help them make better decisions when a problem does occur. It would allow officers to reevaluate the outcomes of the situation they get in. There is a reason why fire fighters are seen as heroes; they arrive as quickly as they can to protect people and get them out of burning houses and buildings, and then they attempt to put the fire out. Fire fighters do not run around the street looking for someone who may have started it; their job is to get people safe. If officers had that same mentality, not only would innocent men and women NOT be murdered, but situations in which people could get hurt would simply be deescalated without anyone needing to die.

To sum this up, all lives do not matter yet, black lives should matter.