Dear person who says "All Lives Matter",
I wish you would stop. Whenever I see you post that hashtag or casually slip the sentence in during a conversation about police brutality, my body involuntarily cringes. Maybe it's ignorance, maybe it's due to the privilege you've been unaware of for your whole life or maybe it's entertainment for you to poke for a reaction from people. I don't know your reason, but I want you to read this.
The first thing we need to get out of the way is white privilege, because, I swear, it's only confusing to the people it actually benefits. The thing is, anyone of any race can live a rough life. Poverty doesn't have a skin color, just as mental illness, loss, abuse and any other crippling issue doesn't. That's probably a big reason why so many white people get offended when they are told that they have white privilege. It might register to them that white privilege means a perfect life, and for those who have know what struggle is, that relationship with white privilege might sound incorrect. That incorrect definition of white privilege needs to be debunked now. The fact that I am not stared at or followed when I browse a store is thanks to my white privilege. Having 99 percent of leading actors and actresses in the films or shows I see be the same color as me is my white privilege. My history books tell me that people of my color made the nation I live in what it is, is white privilege. Finally, my white privilege has given me comfort in public situations, because I know that everyone around me sees me as an "All American White Girl" instead of as a threat.
The reason I had to talk about white privilege in this letter is because the chance is quite high that you, individual who says "All Lives Matter," are white. I'm not trying to generalize, but from what I have seen all over social media is that the people who are twisting the hashtag of "Black Lives Matter" to "All Lives Matter" are almost always white. This is what I have to say to those white individuals sporting the "All Lives Matter" hashtag; "White lives don't matter" is not found in #BlackLivesMatter. #BlackLivesMatter is a campaign for the excessive brutality we still see today against black people. This movement is not reverse racism, honestly there is really no such thing as that. There is a relationship between race and the criminal justice system, and there are things happening in African-American communities that aren't happening in other communities. "Black Lives Matter" is a loose movement made because of the concern that African-Americans are unfairly treated in particular jurisdictions and more frequently receive excessive force. The issue with loose organizations is that some people can pop off and say something dumb that might cover the true voice of that movement. So, to get some things straight, "Black Lives Matter" isn't saying those are the only lives that matter. It isn't saying that white lives haven't ever faced police brutality and it isn't saying that the movement is an opposition to the police.
I want to live in a world in which we all believe that all lives matter. Sadly though, people still have issues with other people's race, sexuality, religion, look, and so much more. The reason why we still need to keep the hashtag as #BlackLivesMatter is because this is a community who needs a campaign now.
So, person who says "All Lives Matter," I hope you now understand why your hashtag isn't really helping, even if you truly want it to. The words are beautiful, but the feeling of the movement behind those words is much too negative and uneasy. Spread love, eliminate ignorance and please respect the real hashtag.
From,
Someone young who wanted to say something.
