CALLING OUT WHITE PRIVILEGE AND RACISM IN TODAY’S SOCIETY
ALL LIVES MATTER IS A FARCE
All Lives Matter is a deflection born of arrogance, fear, guilt, and hatred. It is used by white people, along with misguided negroes, to deny black people a platform to voice their grievances, inspire people to action, and to focus their efforts and enact change, both within their community and beyond.
Offended whites immediately use the counter, “All Lives Matter,” as though “Black Lives Matter,” is an either/or proclamation. The utterance of All Lives Matter is white people code for, I’m uncomfortable with blacks getting singular attention for anything and this BLM Movement, will somehow infringe upon my privilege and/or status quo.
More than a few white people are so obtusely ignorant of their privilege, and what that really means, that they flaunt it unapologetically with impudence and insult. I’ve often used the following analogy that when white people rally against breast cancer to bring attention to how devastating a disease it is, other white people don’t come out and say, “All Cancer Matters.” The takeaway is that the Susan Komen Foundation is not dissing the American Lung Association, lung cancer in itself, leukemia, or any other form of cancer, but shining a spotlight on a specific form of cancer which needs to be focused on.
To speak directly to the white people angry or otherwise offended by Black Lives Matter, if in fact All Lives Matter, shouldn’t you be just as angry as the BLM protestors? It would stand to reason that these people would be outspoken about the atrocities which sparked the protests, and would assemble and call for action as well. Yet, we haven’t seen that be any sort of discussion and/or call to action from them.
So, instead of speaking out against and/or taking action, their focus is to deride, demonize and derail those who are. It becomes increasingly apparent that somehow the notion of black lives receiving attention of this scale is a threat to them. My grandmother used to say, “A hurt dog will holler.” Applying that expression to the reactions of many whites to BLM, reveals blatant bias towards black people, which they will in turn staunchly deny with asinine excuses, back pedaling and hollow platitudes such as: “I don’t see color, we all bleed red and of course, All Lives Matter.
ALL LIVES MATTER IS AN INSULT TO BLACK PEOPLE
To black people who hear this, it’s the same as saying, “Black people don’t matter unless we matter.” Well, given this country’s history where the treatment of black people is concerned, when have we truly ever mattered to white people?
The very nature of Black Lives Matter is to draw attention to the value of the lives of black people which have been largely marginalized, devalued and otherwise completely disregarded. We are seen as inferior at the least, and completely worthless at most.
Yet, any time we focus on ourselves, white people suddenly want to be included in a narrative which they had absolutely no interest in before and isn’t focused on them. It’s as though the value of black lives cannot stand on their own merit, without acknowledgement of others. Many white people have been extremely vocal since the Black Lives Matter Movement was created, and have been in conflict and opposition of it for no other reason than because it pertains to black people.
The right wing media instantly villifies Black Lives Matter as a violent, devisive organization, which hates white people, and refuses to acknowledge it as a concept, while further diminishing it with a counter of “All Lives Matter.” Those white people who do acknowledge it as a concept will argue that, it’s a devisive affirmation and simply adding the word “too” at the end would make it better. Better for whom? Black people, after suffering and struggling for centuries at the hands of institutionalized racism and being persecuted by whites, don’t owe White America any consolation and/or comfort. In fact, we don’t want them to be comfortable, because their comfort has historically come at our expense and has resulted in dire consequences.
Years ago, when Hunger Games was all the rage and the popular novel series was given a film version, there were those who became angry and exhibited racism due to the casting for a certain character. The character was a young child who appeared in the novel, which white readers emphatically championed for, but was killed. When the film came out and that same character saw a little black girl cast in the role, those same whites took umbrage and were extremely vocal on social media. When the author publicly stated that the character, although not clearly described as black, was envisioned as such, the angry whites tweeted:
“I was pumped about the Hunger Games. Until I learned that a black girl was playing Rue,” @JohnnyKnoxIV wrote.
“Why is Rue a little black girl?” @FrankeeFresh demanded to know. (She appended her tweet with the hashtag admonishment #sticktothebookDUDE.)
“Kk call me racist but when I found out rue was black her death wasn’t as sad,” @JashperParas, who amended his tweet with the hashtag #ihatemyself, wrote.
The above tweets perfectly and succinctly illustrate the lack of value, black lives have in the eyes of many whites.
The leaps in logic where All Lives Matter is concerned, are astounding. However, the underlying racism and disregard for the value of black lives has proven to be very dangerous. Whenever a black person is mistreated, maligned or murdered, their character is harshly scrutinized and should there be any transgressions from the victim’s past to surface, many whites will immediately declare them a criminal and devalue them. This gives whites, and Candace Owens, a hateful incentive to imply that mourning the victim is far more heinous than the actions of the perpetrator. And, if the perpetrator is white, or especially a cop, to do so is to glorify criminality and unjustly begrudge the police. And just like that, the victim is unworthy of justice and somehow deserved their fate. Some go so far as to justify the perpetrator’s actions and even praise them.
In closing, Black Lives Matter as a statement gives the black community a vocal, rallying cry with which to aver that despite 400 years to the contrary, with countless atrocities. including but not limited to murder, rape, gross exploitation and victimization, we are humans with merit and value, and not to be discounted and ignored any longer.
BLACK LIVES MATTER!
© Cognitive Consonance Cafe 2020
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