Dear “All Lives Matter” folks:
Do you remember when you were a child and used to go on car trips with your family? You would be in the back seat with one or more of your siblings, and at some point, inevitably, they (or maybe you—let’s be honest here) would hold their hand millimeters in front of your face, and when you complained to your parent about it your sibling would then smirk and say, “What? I’m not touching you.”
The torment would usually end when one of two things happened. One, you would snap and push them—at which point they would howl with all of the indignation of an NBA player trying to elicit a foul—and your parent would threaten to pull the car over, or two, your parent would actually pull the car over before the situation escalated. In either scenario one thing was abundantly clear: somebody was about to lose their Gameboy.
When it comes to the BLM movement, let me also be very abundantly clear: if you are saying “All Lives Matter,” whether it is shouted out the side of your truck as you drive by protesters or typed in all caps as you fume on facebook, YOU are the kid with your hand hovering over your sibling’s face. YOU are the problem in society’s collective backseat.
“But all lives DO matter,” you protest. (“But I WASN’T touching him!”) Yes, it’s true. All lives DO matter. But when you are saying that particular phrase, in these particular times, we all know what you really mean. And no, we don’t believe that you have just emerged from some kind of years-long Big Brother House, and therefore are naïve to the changed meaning of those words. And we also don’t believe that you are a staunch defender of linguistic purity, the sort who also fights against the “gerunding” of words in your spare time. You have no real problem with the many other various ways language changes over time. You know exactly what is meant when someone asks if they can “text” you. You don’t point out that to be “gay and miserable” is, actually, an oxymoron.
And no, you can’t claim that “All Lives Matter” is more nuanced than those examples. That you don’t understand just how hurtful those words have become over the last six years. And if you really, truly, don’t understand, then I strongly suggest you try and catch up on current events before inserting yourself into a conversation. Ignorance of the Holocaust would not excuse you from the blowback you would rightfully receive if you told an overworked Jewish colleague, “Well, work sets you free, you know.” (Because I am actually concerned that someone who says “All Lives Matter” also doesn’t know about the Holocaust, I’m going to help you out here. Auschwitz. Google it.)
Look, in a small way (very small) I do feel for you. I realize that Society is currently driving this car much faster than you are comfortable with, and I also realize that because this car was built way back in the day the seat belts in the back seat are either inadequate or non-existent. I get that. But whether you like where this car is going—or whether you like how quickly it’s getting there—is irrelevant: it’s going there, and you’re coming along for the ride whether you like it or not. And believe me when I say that if you keep this kind of behavior up, when Society does finally pull this car over you are probably going to like what happens next even less.
Sincerely,
The Rest of Us
You are sick. very sick.