Six points on the #blacklivesmatter movement

~ jlpagano

  1. If you have been using hashtags like #alllivesmatter and #bluelivesmatter recently, you are being stupid.

  2. If you think that my point number 1 above means I believe that all lives don’t matter or that blue lives don’t matter, you are being stupid.
  3. If you think that the way I present my points 1 and 2 above makes me sound unbelievably arrogant and condescending, you’re probably right.
  4. But if you think I care about what I say in point number 3, you’re definitely wrong.
  5. I take the overall theme of the #blacklivesmatter movement to be one of listening.  An entire community feels (rightly so IMO) they are consistently not being heard.  So when they make a statement that obviously means “black lives matter TOO” yet what you hear is “ONLY black lives matter”, all you are doing is proving them to be right.
  6. I believe you have two choices after reading this post – you can either spend time coming up with a sarcastic point number 7 to attack the author, or you can LISTEN.

Black Lives Matter is an ideological and political intervention in a world where Black lives are systematically and intentionally targeted for demise.  It is an affirmation of Black folks’ contributions to this society, our humanity, and our resilience in the face of deadly oppression.