To say that Black lives matter is not to say that other lives do not indeed, it is quite the reverse-it is to recognize that all lives do matter, and to acknowledge that African Americans are often targeted unfairly (witness the number of African Americans accosted daily for no reason other than walking through a White neighborhood-including some, like young Trayvon Martin, who lost their lives) and that our society is not yet so advanced as to have become truly color blind. A lack of accountability in the use of force combined with unconscious bias is too often a deadly combination – and one that could place police officers, as well as the public, in great danger. Unfortunately, racial bias continues to exist even when it is no longer conscious-this too is confirmed by multiple studies. Study after study has confirmed that in equivalent situations, African Americans and Latinos are treated with deadly force far more often than White people, and authorities held less accountable. Sadly, our society has a long history of treating some people as less valuable than others. Central to Unitarian Universalism is the affirmation of the inherent worth and dignity of every person. Taken from the Unitarian Universalist Association's website: Do you crash strangers' funerals shouting I TOO HAVE FELT LOSS- Arthur Chu Novem6) A Unitarian Universalist minister’s explanation to a church member WTF is the impulse behind changing #BlackLivesMatter to #AllLivesMatter. Kris Straub/Chainsawsuit 2) A Reddit user’s explanation To this end, a better way to understand Black Lives Matter is by looking at its driving phrase as “black lives matter, too.” So all lives do matter, obviously, but it’s one subset of lives in particular that’s currently undervalued in America.īut if that isn’t good enough, here are nine other ways the response “all lives matter” has been rebuked. Instead, it’s simply pointing out that black people's lives are relatively undervalued in the US - and more likely to be ended by police - and the country needs to recognize that inequity to bring an end to it. The person on the receiving end interprets the phrase as “black lives matter more than any other lives.”īut the point of Black Lives Matter isn't to suggest that black lives should be or are more important than all other lives. It’s also a complete misunderstanding of what the phrase “black lives matter” means.
![one and all live one and all live](http://img.wennermedia.com/social/1363026356_one-life-to-live-2-560.jpg)
It’s a common conversation these days: One person says, “Black lives matter.” Then another responds, “No, all lives matter.”