Let me be frank… I can't describe to you how much I hate this question. It's a loaded question… It's a divisive question… It's an emotional question… It’s a confusing question… It's the wrong question!
Equality is the core value of a democracy. All fundamental rights and freedoms stem from this egalitarian principle. Everyone is equal in front of the law, regardless of their gender, faith, race, sexuality or ethnicity. So based on this egalitarian principle, shouldn't all lives matter? Of course they should! And shouldn't black lives matter? Of course they should!
At the same time, I don't only oppose the hash tag #AllLivesMatter… I absolutely hate it… I despise it! It may look as if I'm contradicting myself, but you only have to look at the origins of these terms to understand my dismay of the "All Lives Matter" term.
The #BlackLivesMatter hashtag was coined after the acquittal of George Zimmerman for the killing Trayvon Martin. The movement continued to grip the nation as more cases of African Americans were killed by police or in police custody, such as Michael Brown, Freddie Gray, Tamir Rice, Eric Garner, Sandra Bland, Jonathan Ferrell and Mario Woods.
Anyone who claims that all lives matters… anyone who claims to believe in equality and in democracy, should stand hand in hand with the black protesters saying "Black Lives Matter" and decrying the injustice and the killing of African Americans at the hand of the police. That's inequality. That's injustice. But instead, some chose to criticize the movement and countered with the hash tag #AllLivesMatter. And it didn't end their… they labeled the Black Lives Matter movement as a hate group and some even called it a terrorist group.
That's why I take offense with the term "All Lives Matter". The term was hijacked. Those who say "All Lives Matter" don't really mean it, because if they did, they wouldn't have felt any need to counter against the Black Lives Matter movement. That's why it shouldn't be surprising that when a Black Lives Matter protester was being removed from a Trump rally, Trump supporters, who are predominately white, countered by saying "All Lives Matter". By placing this blanket statement, they undermine the injustice that African Americans face. I don't recall a Fox News reporter countering someone who says that "We should care about veterans" with "That's hateful. We should care about everyone"!
The other false argument that they often make to undermine the movement is to argue that Black Lives Matters activists believe that only Black Lives Matter.
But this is not only a misunderstanding… it's a clear tactic to undermine the movement. Saying #BrownLivesMatter, #MuslimLivesMatter, #TransLivesMatter for example is not offensive or controversial. Why? Because these groups also face injustice or oppression. Here's a tweet from a Black Lives Matter activist:
I believe in equality. I believe in justice. I am an egalitarian. That’s why because I believe that all lives should matter, I say #BlackLivesMatter and not #AllLivesMatter.