Too many times in response to seeing or hearing “Black Lives Matter,” we hear “All Lives Matter.” If those who so vehemently and critically react with this comeback would just stop for a second and think about the lead-up to all this, maybe they wouldn’t feel so left out in this plea to be noticed. I include myself when I ask white people to accept that their lives have always mattered; we have never had to beg society to notice that we are being treated as if we are less worthy because we are rarely the recipients of this type of injustice. This movement is not about us; it is about people of color. People of color are the ones who are consistently treated as if the color of their skin for some reason makes them less worthy of “liberty and justice for all.” For all, not just for white people, but for all. We need to hear and respond, not with anger, but with compassion and empathy and, above all else, action to make things right.
Cathryn Sells
Grover Beach
This article appears in Jun 25 – Jul 5, 2020.
Do not include me in your presumption of racism. I have had Black law partners and Black college roommates. I have done business with talented Black lawyers from other countries. The presumption that we are all “racist” is insulting and misleading. Most of us are not, and have never been, “racist.” The expression “systemic racism” is a camouflage for those who wish to insult us all with an allegation for which there is no foundation. It is also the case that “Black Lives Matter” is the name of a movement which expressly, according to its foundation documents, seeks to destroy police departments and provide a “living wage” for those Blacks who do not want to work. The concept that Black lives matter is obvious and correct. The platform of Black Lives Matter is not acceptable to most of us, least to the Black residents of inner cities for whom the policeman on the street is a lifeline to safety for their children and businesses. Do we need to fix the inner cities where Black citizens have poor schools and inadequate police protection? Of course we do, and that is the legitimate target for improvement, and hopefully soon.
I love whitesplaining. So let me do a pile on. Use of the phrase “most of us” is no doubt referencing white people, of which I am one, but of course ignores and negates the realities of being black which i am not. Suggesting that BLM is “not acceptable to most of us” infers you speak for all people and negates the reality as witnessed by black people on television, social media, and the protests, etc. By religating the problem to “inner city” I wonder, did you check in with black people before speaking for them? Interesting white perspective, and meaningless to address the issues at hand.
I’ve had some though conversations with family and friends who don’t even realize they’re part of the problem. This discomfort needs to happen along with reflection, realization and real change.