People don't seem to understand. Many think they're doing the right thing by saying “All Lives Matter” instead of “Black Lives Matter” but they don't know. They don't understand that all lives can't matter until black lives matter. Yes, all lives do matter but that's not the point right now. The point is that black lives matter, and black lives are being lost at an unacceptable rate and it must stop before we can be peaceful. The point is that all lives didn't matter. For everyone who doesn't understand what All Lives Matter really means, here are some everyday equivalents.
1. Rain Forest
A group is hoping to spread awareness of endangered rain forests and they have this sign. They're spreading knowledge and hoping to get more people on board to help save the rain forests. An angry man comes up and said, "Well, don't you think that ALL forests matter!?"
While it is true, all forests do matter, that's not the problem. The problem is that rainforests are endangered, and they need help. The people hoping to save the rainforests aren't saying, "Fuck all other kinds of forests!" Not at all. They're recognizing that a specific type of forest is in need of help, and they are trying to help them. Pull it together, people.
2. Endangered Species
Someone posts this photo on Facebook with the caption, "Save the polar bears!" There's a link attached, explaining that due to global warming, ice caps are melting, putting polar bears at risk of extinction. Someone comments saying, "Shouldn't we be saving ALL animals?"
You must be thinking that this seems familiar. That's because it is. It's almost exactly the same as the rain forests. Polar bears are endangered species. We need to save the polar bears because they're in danger of going extinct. Yes, all animals matter. But all animals are not going extinct right now. Save the polar bears, right now pigeons are okay. They're not going extinct for quite a while.
3. Fair Share
Your family sits down at the table and a family member starts passing out food. Everyone (except you!) gets mashed potatoes, corn and broccoli. You're in shock, and you say, "Hey, I deserve my fair share!" The person who was passing out the food says, "We all deserve our fair share."
You do not have mashed potatoes, corn and broccoli. The rest of your family does. You want mashed potatoes, corn and broccoli. It seems like a very simple thing, you can tell there's enough for you to have some, too. When you speak your mind, saying that you do not have what everyone else has and deserve to be equal to them (sound familiar?), your family says that you all deserve more. It just doesn't make sense-- they already have some, why do they need more? You don't have any, that's why you need more.
4. Ripped Pants
You ripped your pants and need to get them fixed. You go to a tailor and tell them, "I ripped my pants. Can you sew them?" The person at the front desk asks, "Did you bring them all?" You're confused, and don't even have the chance to reply before they say, "Because we should treat all pants equally, which means we need to sew them all."
Why would you sew pants that aren't ripped? How does that help anything? Like, seriously. Pull it together, people.
5. Towels
Your parent/guardian asks you to clean the towels. You reluctantly agree and grab the dirty towels from the bathroom and your parent/guardian stops you. "ALL of them." You look at them, only to be reminded that, yes, your parent/guardian believes that ALL towels matter.
I'm going to say this a million times: you only need to wash dirty towels. Clean towels are already clean.
All lives do matter, but that's not the point. The point is that, right now, there is a problem. Innocent lives are being lost due to their race. 123 black people have been shot and killed by a police officer so far in 2016 as of July 11th. That is not acceptable. SAY. THEIR. NAMES. It is not okay and will never be okay. Everyone needs to understand why #BlackLivesMatter.
