Thanks Ashley! I really appreciate the read and response.

I can’t answer this question for anyone else but I can say that I personally have absolutely no problem saying “black lives matter”. I wish people were not so defensive about this phrase. It should not be controversial. And I agree that it’s absurd to automatically read exclusion into it.

I also don’t have an issue with acknowledging the inequities that exist in our society that are at least in part race-related. I have heard too many stories from black friends to be naive enough to think my experience is the same as theirs. I try to speak in my own words, which is why I prefer not to use loaded words like “privilege” which mean different things to different people (especially white people).

Thank you so much for being part of this conversation. Glad to have bumped into you and I hope to see you around Medium!