With all the madness going on in the US, I’ve been wondering this myself. And I found this thread to be really helpful in understanding why it is not helpful to say “All Lives Matter”. So I have compiled the top 5 most upvoted comments here, hope you find it useful too.
| User | Answer |
|---|---|
| troglodyte_sphincter | 7403 upvotes |
| I read something on reddit that explained it in a perfect way, something along these lines. | |
| People ask what is wrong with all lives matter. There is nothing wrong with that. Just like all houses matter. But if a house is on fire, that is the house that matters most | |
| Tutwater | 2545 upvotes |
| The thing about “Black Lives Matter” is it’s meant to be a response to how it seems like black lives don’t matter in the eyes of police, society, etc. Essentially, it’s saying black people are worse-off and we need to focus on fixing the problems that are making them worse-off. | |
| “All Lives Matter” misses the point, because you’re basically saying the same thing, but are taking away the “things are especially bad for black people right now” part of it. | |
| Obviously all lives matter, but black lives are the ones we ought to focus on. | |
| th7024 | 534 upvotes |
| The best analogy I’ve heard is to think about going to a restaurant with a few friends. The food comes and your friend Bob doesn’t get his food. Bob is starving, so he is a bit upset. All the rest of your group starts eating and Bob flags the waiter to come over. He says he would like the food he ordered. All your friends agree that Bob should be able to eat. Now you pipe up and tell the waiter “We all deserve to eat,” while continuing to shovel food into your mouth. | |
| It’s not untrue, you do all deserve to eat. The difference is that you have been eating consistently and healthy for years. Poor Bob has been malnourished for decades. He can afford the food. He deserves the food. But he has no food. | |
| What did your statement contribute to the conversation? Do you think it might upset starving Bob that you are complaining? | |
| Edit:typos | |
| cremesiccle | 549 upvotes |
| all lives matter did not exist as a phrase UNTIL black lives matter was created. its a deliberate diversion tactic masked as egalitarianism |
guavarilla 