“All Lives Matter” doesn’t cut it

I get it. I see why saying All Lives Matter is better to so many people than saying Black Lives Matter. But it misses the point.

It’s easy, safe, more closely aligned to what you truly believe, and it helps no one.

People saying All Lives Matter are quick to point out their belief that the reason there’s a problem with racial discrimination in the United States is because we keep thinking of things in racial terms. Those being killed are more than just black — they’re people, and that’s what’s important. That should be what we focus on.

I’d like to agree, but for now I can’t. I have the privilege to take for granted that my life matters, and others with this privilege want to think that it’s something everyone has access to. That’s not the case. People of color don’t feel safe across this country, and can’t wake up knowing that their life will be treated with the same regard mine will.

So it’s important to say Black Lives Matter because the black community needs whites and privileged groups to openly agree with them instead of start a debate about whether skin color should play a role in your assessment of someone’s worth. You don’t have to tell a person of color it shouldn’t — they already know. Others, however, clearly need reminding.

I shouldn’t be the one who has to remind you, but I will. Black Lives Matter. Go ahead, say it. Nearly everyone agrees. It’s a simple, harmless statement: Black Lives Matter. You loose nothing through those words, but they truly help others.

Keep in mind I’m not arguing that if you substitute ‘black’ for something else (blue, for example) it would no longer be true. But for whatever reason, most people don’t take issue with other adjectives. Only when we say Black Lives Matter is there resistance.

And this resistance is exactly why it needs to be said. Over and over again until it rolls off the tongue. So just say it. Black Lives Matter.