Results: Black Lives Matter

When you hear or see "BLACK LIVES MATTER" is your response "All lives matter". If so, this is problematic, and actually discounts and trivializes the whole idea of "Black lives matter" movement. Our entire social structure centres around whiteness as a default. Asserting that "All Lives Matter" just reaffirms that reality. Obviously, every life is valuable, but not everyone's lives are in danger due to their skin colour. There isn't a disproportionate amount of unarmed white lives being threatened at the hands of police. Which is why "All Lives Matter" is offensive and counterproductive. It discounts and diminishes the focus on the violence and discrimination black individuals face every day. Imagine if you were at a gala raising money for breast cancer, and people stormed the banquet hall and started chanting all cancers matter -- talking about breast cancer doesn't take away from the legitimate concern about other cancers. Or imagine if while "Boston Strong" was trending after the Boston marathon bombings in 2013 a bunch of people started tweeting that "All cities are strong." The slogan "Black lives matter" does not imply that ONLY Black lives matter or that Black lives matter MORE -- it just implies that right now, Black lives are undervalued and targeted by justice system, the police and hate groups at an alarming rate and it has to be stopped. Have you ever countered "Black lives matter" with "All lives matter" and do you see the problem with this now?

When former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick refused to stand during the national anthem because of his views on the country's treatment of racial minorities, many reacted to his "taking a knee" feeling he was being disrespectful to the anthem, the flag and what it stood for. His peaceful protest angered people, along with his statement on why he was doing this: "I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color. To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder." Since that happened, in 2016, his peaceful protest has become a a defining moment in the protests that are taking place right now: thousands of people "taking a knee" as crowds marked 8 minutes and 46 seconds of silence in George Floyd's memory — the amount of time a police officer held his knee on Floyd's neck as he shouted that he couldn't breathe. Do you now understand the significance of what Kaepernick did?

When I see police officers "taking a knee" in solidarity, and the thousands of peaceful protests happening around the U.S. and Canada, I feel that for the first time, in a long time, people are starting to "get it". The colour of someone's skin should not paint a target on their back. Do you feel optimistic that things are about to change for the better in race relations?

I've seen a lot of powerful posts within the last week, but this one actually gave me the shivers and I felt it was a very telling post. Do you agree that this post says exactly what needs to be addressed right now?