HASHTAG ALL BLACK LIVES MATTER

I am still seeing 'All Lives Matter' in my news feed.

SIGH.

All human life does matter....but when you take a particular phrase like #BlackLivesMatter that is used to isolate, articulate and dismantle a very acute flavor of oppression that carries a seething soul wound on one exploited demographic, even though 'slavery ended’ (has it, really? Our prisons are filled with black people and the majority of the Fortune 500 CEO’s are white & male), that IS institutionalized oppression, which was/is the bedrock of slavery. Yes, we have stopped lynching. But slavery has morphed/evolved from less institutionalized oppression (it is still there) into more ideological oppression manifesting into racism, racial violence, economic inequality....AND internalized oppression; gangs, rap wars, blacks killing blacks and domestic violence..so...I’d say slavery is only HALF over and that is why it is offensive to say all lives matter. It detracts, minimizes and downplays from the horrifyingly relentless bleeding war that goes on for blacks in this country. Yes all human life matters. All revolutionary protests matters too. So....by saying all lives matter~ that actually divides because it shuts down black suffering, which needs a voice and to be heard, acknowledged and healed. All lives have not suffered the way black people have in this country....this is specifically why 'All Lives Matter' is offensive and this is also what seems very difficult for white people to get. As a white person, I will never know what it feels like to grow up black in the U.S. The most I can do, is acknowledge my white privilege, empathize and let that empathy inform my daily life so that I do not contribute to racism. If all lives were considered as a fraction of a person at one point, then yes~ we could say all lives matter. But they haven’t. So, when I hear 'All Lives Matter’, I hear the mainstream invalidating black people. That silencing of such an import movement in this country offends me as an American. We have a responsibility to ensure that oppressive speech does not become conformity masquerading as ‘free speech’. Since when were conformity and uniformity American values? This is a country united and celebrated for its differences. Our very expressions that human life matters, should demonstrate our understanding and compassion of all nuanced and specific humanities. All races should be free to express their legacy, but if you can’t do that WITHOUT invalidating the suffering that has been playing out for centuries within other races~ you have to stop and check yourself to see if you’re on the right side of history? The Black History/Present movement is a deeply complex wound on the American psyche and saying ' All Lives Matter' is to pour lemon juice in that wound. Black Lives Matter. All Black Lives Matter.