The Problem With “All Lives Matter”
Ok, I get it, I was there once. I used to be frustrated with the statement/movement BLACKLIVESMATTER and agreed with the statement “All lives matter.” But over the last few years, being challenged in ministry positions and with friends and social media thoughts, I’ve had my eyes opened to a fuller, more helpful understanding of the BLM movement. So, let me explain it from my point of view and maybe some will gain a new perspective on the movement.
First, let me say, I don’t believe the BLM movement was intended to be, nor exists as, a militant group or one that promotes rioting, destruction of property, and looting. I am certain there are groups within the BLM movement, at least in name, that are. Should we put blame on the BLM? Shouldn’t they be policing their own people? Well, how well has Christianity been able to do that? Are there not militant groups within Christianity that persecute various groups be they from the LGBTQ community or Muslims or abortion clinics? Shouldn’t we be policing our people?
The truth is movements, organizations, and religions can’t always control the people who claim to be a part of them. So, to blame the movement for the actions of a few is simply ridiculous. I’m a white person. I know for sure that I don’t want to be lumped in with the behaviors and attitudes of every other white person. I have a feeling pretty much every other person reading this can think of a group they are a part of, be it a race, a religion, a movement, or organization that they don’t want to be lumped in with all the members/associates.
Next, let’s look at the statement “ALL LIVES MATTER” itself. Is it a movement? Is it organized? Does it have leadership and a stated purpose with goals? Are you actively a part of that movement of people seeking social justice and equality for ALL PEOPLE? Or, when you say it, is it just a passive “feel-good” statement that makes you feel like you are “in the right?” The BLM movement is an active movement with a stated purpose pursuing equality and equity between the races. ALL LIVES MATTER is a passive feel-good statement. Is the statement true? Of course. Is the statement good? Absolutely. Is the statement helpful? In the context of the social movements, considering it isn’t one, not really. All it does is let people feel like they have the right beliefs without moving them to right action. It’s the difference between Orthodoxy and Orthopraxy. For those of us Christians, James pointed out that faith without action is meaningless (it doesn’t matter), but faith is evidenced in a heart that moves toward and for other people for the glory of God.
Part of the problem with “ALL LIVES MATTER” is the underlying assumption that BLACK LIVES MATTER is exclusive. This is a false statement. The phrase isn’t “Only BLACK LIVES MATTER.” It is simply a true statement that BLACK LIVES MATTER. On the other hand, “ALL LIVES MATTER,” while at face value is true, is so broad, it diminishes the value of the individual group. It allows one to camouflage inequality and inequity with sentiment. It’s a distraction from the needs of a few for the comfort of the many.
ALL LIVES MATTER is impersonal during a very personal existential crisis for an entire people group. It’s a crisis of identity—a very personal matter. It’s a looking in the mirror, thinking, “I didn’t choose this, but my life matters too. Doesn’t anyone care? Doesn’t anyone else believe my life is significant, that I have value, that I’m a person too?”
ALL LIVES MATTER ignores the disparities between different peoples. I have three children. When one falls and scrapes her knee, do I comfort all of them? Do I say, “I love you all?” and call all my children over for a hug and Band-Aid, or do I focus on the needs of the one.
Ok, so let’s look at some other analogies to better understand what the BLM really is. Let’s say you are on a battlefield during a major campaign. Corporal Stevens, a young man in your company, gets shot in the leg and is bleeding out on the field. You yell for the medic. As the medic runs towards you, you watch in horror as he stops and checks on every other soldier in your platoon. When he finally gets to you and your wounded friend you ask, “What the hell, I called for you—why didn’t you come immediately instead of checking on everyone else on the way?” When he says, “I wanted to make sure everyone was ok—their lives matter too,” how would you reply? Would you say, “Oh, that makes sense,” or, “NO ONE ELSE NEEDED YOU! Didn’t Corporal Stevens’ life matter? Were they crying out in pain? Were they bleeding all over the field? Of course their lives matter, but your job is to help them AFTER they are injured, not before—do your job!” If you said the latter, are you denying that the lives of everyone else in the company matters, or are you simply pointing out that Corporal Stevens was the only one in immediate danger?
Or how about
Your house is on fire, you desperately call 911 while trying to get your kids out of the house. Two fire trucks show up and park on either side of your house. As flames start blowing out windows of your house and holes start forming in your roof, you stand in your front yard and watch as the firemen first calmly walk up to your neighbors’ houses to check on them and make sure their houses aren’t burning. You confront the fire chief and ask, “Are you blind? What are you doing? My house is burning down and you’re visiting with the neighbors?” He replies, “Don’t their houses matter too?” Do you A) say, “oh, you’re right, my bad,” or B) punch him in the face and say, “their houses aren’t on fire—mine is, DO SOMETHING.”
Or how about…
You cut your finger in the kitchen and you need stitches. You arrive at the hospital, check in, and they ask you to wait in the waiting room. You wait for an hour, and finally, no one is left in the triage center except you. Just as you think you’re about to be seen, a homeless man is brought into the emergency room having suffered a heart attack. They immediately take him in ahead of you. Do you run up to the waiting room attendant and throw a fit saying, “Hey, doesn’t my life matter too?” or do you realize that your cut finger is not as an immediate concern as a heart attack and continue to wait patiently hoping and praying for the person whose life may be ending? While your life matters, was it really in danger?
The point is, while “ALL LIVES MATTER” is obviously true, “ALL LIVES” aren’t in immediate danger. Some lives are in a considerably more precarious position, and these lives need immediate help. Some lives need room to breath when other lives look like they are hooked up to oxygen 24/7.
The truth is, in the U.S.A. we live like white lives matter, and all others are meant to serve them. We don’t live like ALL LIVES MATTER. We don’t live like ALL LIVES HAVE PURPOSE AND MEANING. We don’t live like ALL LIVES HAVE DREAMS AND HOPES. We don’t live like ALL LIVES HAVE VALUE AND SHOULD BE CHERISHED. Sadly, we simply live like MY LIFE MATTERS AND I’M NOT GOING TO CONCERN MYSELF WITH WHAT OTHERS GO THROUGH.