# Apparently saying "all lives matter" is racist according to a BLM's co-founder. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 16, 2016, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-saying-all-lives-matter-is-racist-according-to-a-blms-co-founder/760083 "2016-07-16T23:16:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2016, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-saying-all-lives-matter-is-racist-according-to-a-blms-co-founder/760083/181 "2016-07-20T20:28:32Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > No, saying “All Lives Matter” is not racist. While some people have chosen to say it’s racist, they have not convinced the majority of the people to change the common-sense view that all lives do, in fact, matter. Black lives, blue lives, white lives, brown lives, red lives, yellow lives, etc. ALL LIVES MATTER, except to those who hold the view that only Black Lives Matter. I like the part where you don’t know what you’re talking about, defend that, and still come out looking worse than if you had never opened your mouth. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2016, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-saying-all-lives-matter-is-racist-according-to-a-blms-co-founder/760083/182 "2016-07-20T20:59:16Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > No, saying “All Lives Matter” is not racist. While some people have chosen to say it’s racist, they have not convinced the majority of the people to change the common-sense view that all lives do, in fact, matter. Black lives, blue lives, white lives, brown lives, red lives, yellow lives, etc. ALL LIVES MATTER, except to those who hold the view that only Black Lives Matter. > > Long live the Bureau of Land Management (est. 1946)!!! I might be inclined to believe this, if ya’ know, the proponents of ALM were getting outraged that black folks were getting killed needlessly at the hands of LEOs. But no, they don’t give two shits about that. Instead, they rather save their outrage over verbiage. So you’ll excuse me if I doubt the sincerity of ALM. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2016, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-saying-all-lives-matter-is-racist-according-to-a-blms-co-founder/760083/183 "2016-07-20T21:04:15Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > No, I don’t believe “all lives matter” – I don’t care about the lives of mosquitoes, or various parasitic eukaryotes, or tsetse flies and other disease vectors. There are many lives that don’t matter in the least to me. I think you know perfectly well that he is referring to human lives. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2016, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-saying-all-lives-matter-is-racist-according-to-a-blms-co-founder/760083/184 "2016-07-20T21:08:00Z")
I don’t think people realize how scared cops are when they work the ghettos areas. If we could find a new breed of fearless men to be police it wouldn’t be such a problem. The fact is that 50% of the murders in this country are happening in black areas and scared cops are going to make more mistakes. They should be picketing the gang bangers who are causing all this fear and destruction. I have no use for the BLM movement. They have it all wrong. They are a bunch of racists. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2016, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-saying-all-lives-matter-is-racist-according-to-a-blms-co-founder/760083/185 "2016-07-20T21:31:58Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > I think you know perfectly well that he is referring to human lives. Are you saying that sometimes there is meaning beyond the literal definition of words in a phrase? ---
**Author:** ![epolo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b487fb/32.png) [@epolo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epolo)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2016, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-saying-all-lives-matter-is-racist-according-to-a-blms-co-founder/760083/186 "2016-07-20T21:41:14Z")
“I’m not antisemitic; I only hate Jews, not Arabs.” “I’m not homophobic; I’m not afraid of gay people.” Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2016, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-saying-all-lives-matter-is-racist-according-to-a-blms-co-founder/760083/187 "2016-07-20T22:45:27Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > No. Saying “ALL LIVES MATTER” is not racist. It’s ALL inclusive. ALL lives do matter. Except to racist groups such as the Only Black Lives Matter types. > > All lives matter, even to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). All lives do matter. And if we could get the cops to acknowledge this, there would be no need for a Black Lives Mater movement. > [@](#): > > **Magiver** > Quote: > who do you think those cameras help? They help the police officers and it benefits the cities who buy them. It is so odd, then, the cops keep \*turning them off \*before they deal with black people. Or how they ‘malfunction’ during run ins with black people. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2016, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-saying-all-lives-matter-is-racist-according-to-a-blms-co-founder/760083/188 "2016-07-20T23:23:25Z")
> [@epolo](#): > > “I’m not homophobic; I’m not afraid of gay people.” I think a better example is “I’m not homophobic. I think gay people should be perfectly free to marry someone of the opposite sex. All marriages matter, after all.” ---
**Author:** ![Find\_Friends](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c37758/32.png) [@Find\_Friends](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Find_Friends)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2016, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-saying-all-lives-matter-is-racist-according-to-a-blms-co-founder/760083/189 "2016-07-20T23:39:17Z")
> [@Rysto](#): > > Context is important. As a general statement, there’s nothing wrong with saying “all lives matter”. As a response to the Black Lives Matters movement, it’s problematic for a number of reasons: > > 1. It ascribes a meaning to “Black Lives Matters” that was absolutely not intended. “Black Lives Matter” is not saying that only black lives matter, and implying that is the movement’s intent frankly looks to me like an attempt to disparage their motives through semantic games rather than trying to address the real issues. > > 2. One of the primary complaints that Black Lives Matters is raising is that the black community is facing a number of issues that other communities don’t. So when one strips “Black” out of the slogan “Black Lives Matters”, they’re explicitly denying that there are unique issues faced by the black community. This is especially offensive as it nearly invariably is done by a white male. If it were coming from a hispanic who was trying to make the point that hispanics face a similar set of issues, it’d be one thing, but when it comes from a white male it’s rather offensive. **THIS!** … Although the first time I heard the motto “corrected” with a very huffy tone, it was by a white female. But then, you did say “nearly invariably”. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Reluctant\_A](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/839c29/32.png) [@Reluctant\_A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reluctant_A)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2016, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-saying-all-lives-matter-is-racist-according-to-a-blms-co-founder/760083/190 "2016-07-21T02:01:41Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > No, saying “All Lives Matter” is not racist. While some people have chosen to say it’s racist, they have not convinced the majority of the people to change the common-sense view that all lives do, in fact, matter. Black lives, blue lives, white lives, brown lives, red lives, yellow lives, etc. ALL LIVES MATTER, except to those who hold the view that only Black Lives Matter. > > Long live the Bureau of Land Management (est. 1946)!!! If all lives _really_ mattered to the police, there wouldn’t be a _need_ for Black Lives Matter. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2016, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-saying-all-lives-matter-is-racist-according-to-a-blms-co-founder/760083/191 "2016-07-21T02:04:44Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > I don’t think people realize how scared cops are when they work the ghettos areas. If we could find a new breed of fearless men to be police it wouldn’t be such a problem. The fact is that 50% of the murders in this country are happening in black areas and scared cops are going to make more mistakes. They should be picketing the gang bangers who are causing all this fear and destruction. I have no use for the BLM movement. They have it all wrong. They are a bunch of racists. Does [this](http://wsvn.com/news/local/video-shows-moments-before-north-miami-police-shot-unarmed-man/) guy look like a gangsta thug to you? Cuz I dunno, he seems pretty clean cut to me. Philando Castille wasn’t shot in a ghetto. He was shot in a suburb with a small black population. [This](http://gawker.com/autopsy-cops-shot-black-anime-cosplayer-four-times-in-1652268367) guy also looked nothing like a gang banger, unless there’s some kind of new samurai street gang I’ve never heard about. And in lUtah of all places. But the cops still deemed it necessary to put four bullets into him. Why should we assume [this](https://vimeo.com/27689659) cop is so afraid? He certainly doesn’t seem afraid in the video. Do you act like that when you’re afraid? Are you afraid of guys who are laying face-down on the floor, handcuffed? Afraid enough to kill them? You seem to be saying that cops aren’t to blame for being so racist that they reflexively equate black men with gangstas. But even before there were such things as “gangstas”, cops killed and brutalized the black citizens they were supposed to be protecting. We can go all the way back to slavery and see what “patty rollers” did to black people. And back then, there were people saying “If it weren’t for these no-good nigras, there wouldn’t be no problems!” If the police are too stupid to see folks as individuals rather than stereotypes, they have no business “protecting and serving” anyone. ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2016, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-saying-all-lives-matter-is-racist-according-to-a-blms-co-founder/760083/192 "2016-07-21T05:09:51Z")
> [@Johnny\_Ecks](#): > > I though the analogy was clear- your concerns are being dismissed out of hand by implying that you want special privileges, when none are deserved, instead of acknowledging that a real problem exists and that the situation on your street is different than the other streets. Because that’s exactly what the “All lives matter” people are doing. > [@Reluctant\_A](#): > > If all lives _really_ mattered to the police, there wouldn’t be a _need_ for Black Lives Matter. ALL LIVES MATTER Why? Because ALL lives DO matter. This is a simple statement. The world would be a better place if everyone took this message to heart. All Lives Matter. Who could object to such a simple, direct, and all-encompassing message of peace and love for all? Psychopaths would top the list. Racists would reject such a message. Terrorists chose to ignore the fact that the lives of those they chose to terrorize are important. And, of course, those advocating for the only Black Lives Matter message. All lives matter is not the opposite of black lives matter. Both are obviously true and both are obviously compatible with the other. All Lives Matter is not a subversive message, unless you chose to make it one. And if others are willing to allow you to make it a subversive message. The ALL LIVES MATTER message could be used to bring people together. It seems to me that, if they were smart, the Only Black Lives Matter crowd could use the ALL LIVES MATTER message to create a larger support base. Instead, they chose to alienate people who believe that all lives matter by calling them racists. How stupid is that! ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2016, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-saying-all-lives-matter-is-racist-according-to-a-blms-co-founder/760083/193 "2016-07-21T05:16:16Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > I might be inclined to believe this, if ya’ know, the proponents of ALM were getting outraged that black folks were getting killed needlessly at the hands of LEOs. But no, they don’t give two shits about that. Instead, they rather save their outrage over verbiage. > > So you’ll excuse me if I doubt the sincerity of ALM. You’re excused. I doubt the sincerity of any cause that claims that the statement “All Lives Matter” is somehow racist. ---
**Author:** ![Go\_Arachnid\_Laser\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b2d939/32.png) [@Go\_Arachnid\_Laser\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Go_Arachnid_Laser_1)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2016, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-saying-all-lives-matter-is-racist-according-to-a-blms-co-founder/760083/194 "2016-07-21T05:20:33Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > ALL LIVES MATTER > > Why? Because ALL lives DO matter. This is a simple statement. The world would be a better place if everyone took this message to heart. All Lives Matter. > > Who could object to such a simple, direct, and all-encompassing message of peace and love for all? Psychopaths would top the list. Racists would reject such a message. Terrorists chose to ignore the fact that the lives of those they chose to terrorize are important. And, of course, those advocating for the only Black Lives Matter message. > > All lives matter is not the opposite of black lives matter. Both are obviously true and both are obviously compatible with the other. > > All Lives Matter is not a subversive message, unless you chose to make it one. And if others are willing to allow you to make it a subversive message. The ALL LIVES MATTER message could be used to bring people together. > > It seems to me that, if they were smart, the Only Black Lives Matter crowd could use the ALL LIVES MATTER message to create a larger support base. Instead, they chose to alienate people who believe that all lives matter by calling them racists. How stupid is that! You do understand that words, let alone slogans of any kind, have got more meaning behind them than the directly literal one, don’t you? ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2016, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-saying-all-lives-matter-is-racist-according-to-a-blms-co-founder/760083/195 "2016-07-21T05:21:16Z")
> [@Reluctant\_A](#): > > If all lives _really_ mattered to the police, there wouldn’t be a _need_ for Black Lives Matter. Which doesn’t change the fact that ALL lives DO matter. Calling everyone a racist because they believe all lives matter is one of the most ludicrous PR campaigns ever. ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2016, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-saying-all-lives-matter-is-racist-according-to-a-blms-co-founder/760083/196 "2016-07-21T05:36:02Z")
> [@Go\_Arachnid\_Laser](#): > > You do understand that words, let alone slogans of any kind, have got more meaning behind them than the directly literal one, don’t you? Do you? Maybe you specialize in reading the minds of people you’ve already chosen not to like? Saying that all lives matter can mean that they sincerely believe that all lives matter. IMHO, people who believe that all lives matter might make for pretty good allies in a PR fight. Or you can chose to call them racists and then wonder why they refuse to support your cause. Isn’t it a bit like saying, “Hey asshole, come over here and help me”? People should stampede to the side of a sweet talker like that. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Go\_Arachnid\_Laser\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b2d939/32.png) [@Go\_Arachnid\_Laser\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Go_Arachnid_Laser_1)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2016, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-saying-all-lives-matter-is-racist-according-to-a-blms-co-founder/760083/197 "2016-07-21T07:32:07Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > Do you? Maybe you specialize in reading the minds of people you’ve already chosen not to like? Saying that all lives matter can mean that they sincerely believe that all lives matter. It can mean that. It can mean that you’re hungry. It can mean a trillion different things. In this context it only means one. In the context, “Black Lives Matter” means “Police are targeting black people”. And in that same context, “All Lives Matter” is in opposition to that. It’s not used as some sort of humanistic vindication. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2016, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-saying-all-lives-matter-is-racist-according-to-a-blms-co-founder/760083/198 "2016-07-21T11:01:03Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > It only seems to irritate racists. Funny, that’s what I think about _Black Lives Matter_… ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2016, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-saying-all-lives-matter-is-racist-according-to-a-blms-co-founder/760083/199 "2016-07-21T11:39:58Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > I don’t think people realize how scared cops are when they work the ghettos areas. If we could find a new breed of fearless men to be police it wouldn’t be such a problem. The fact is that 50% of the murders in this country are happening in black areas and scared cops are going to make more mistakes. And if cops, EMTs, doctors and judges showed disregard for the lives of black men strictly within the hazy, ill-defined borders of “the ghettos”, you would have a point. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2016, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-saying-all-lives-matter-is-racist-according-to-a-blms-co-founder/760083/200 "2016-07-21T11:41:44Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > [This](http://gawker.com/autopsy-cops-shot-black-anime-cosplayer-four-times-in-1652268367) guy also looked nothing like a gang banger, unless there’s some kind of new samurai street gang I’ve never heard about. Uh, the Wu-Tang Clan, helloooo ? 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-saying-all-lives-matter-is-racist-according-to-a-blms-co-founder/760083.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apparently-saying-all-lives-matter-is-racist-according-to-a-blms-co-founder/760083.md?page=11)