Why I Have a Problem With "All Lives Matter" | The Odyssey Online
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Politics and Activism

Why I Have a Problem With "All Lives Matter"

Black Lives Matter does not mean non-black lives don't matter.

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Why I Have a Problem With "All Lives Matter"
Debra Cartwright

My heart aches. I'm terribly sick and sad over last week's shootings. It almost feels as if we have entered some kind of time machine and are stuck in 1963. So many conversations have started and people are discussing what is happening in our country. One major thing I hear over and over again is the argument of how All Lives Matter as opposed to Black Lives Matter. This argument is so tiring and draining. I'm tired of people not understanding what Black Lives Matter is about or thinking it's something that it's not.

One thing that people have to understand is that Black Lives Matter does not mean that non-black lives don't matter. Unfortunately, the issue is that we are 190 days into 2016 and 136 black people have been killed by cops this year. Black lives have less value when it comes to the judicial system. Black people are literally being killed for no apparent reason, and we are forced to watch video after video of black people being viciously attacked on almost every news channel. Black people are living in fear and mothers are having conversations with their children telling them to be extra careful because they don't know if that's the last time they might see them. Racism is well and alive and black people are suffering especially when it comes to police brutality.

Unfortunately we live in a country where a white male can go into a church and kill peaceful churchgoers and be offered Burger Kiing after, while a black male who is following the law can end up dead in a second. This is why Black Lives Matter. It needs to stop. The senseless killing, the trigger-happy cops, the racial profiling... all of it needs to come to an end.

I personally want people to understand that what is happening isn't OK. I should not be going to bed worrying about my family and friends because they might be shot due to the color of their skin. I'm so sick and tired of watching dead body after dead body be spread across newspapers and television. I'm tired of being called racist for saying that black lives matter. I'm so sick of it all and the worst part about it, is that I have absolutely no idea how America is going to fix this. I have no idea what I can do to stop this.

Right now in America, black lives are being threatened and that is why Black Lives Matter is relevant. That is why I have an issue with All Lives Mater.


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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
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