Saying all lives matter is a bit like interrupting martin luther king's speech to tell him what a fascinating dream you had last night.

@gregloa No, it's absolutely not. For it to mean that it would have to say:
ONLY black lives matter.

It doesn't.

@Abstraction ok so why not all lives matter???

@gregloa All lives do matter. No-one is arguing with that. So... why black lives matter?

When I taught my four kids to drive, there was a lot I focused on. One of the things I didn't do, didn't think of, didn't have to think of... was to sit my sons down and say: [i]"Now - when you get pulled over by the cops, this is what you must do. Whatever you do, don't..."[/i]

Yet this is what many black parents have to do in the US.

@Abstraction read the original post

@gregloa I have. Saying, 'please treat black people with justice' is not hating white people in any way.

@gregloa I'm white. Educate yourself. It's easy.

@Abstraction Dude that is what I as a South African have to do. Guess the colour of the majority of cops. Nobody is saying there isn't such a thing as police violence but it's an overall problem so to say "black lives matter" is like zebras holding up a sign saying "stripes matter" when the kudus are equally likely to be the lion's next meal. It's itself a racist slur not looking at the bigger picture and having an overinflated sense of self importance.

@MeisterAndrew Black lives matter did not begin as a South African movement, it refers to a social problem in the USA that is very real, evidence-based unequal treatment, deaths at the hands of police, different treatment in courts. Your argument is irrelevant and deliberately misses the point.

@Abstraction I think you miss the point. There are multiple factors involved. Who are the majority? Who are the minority? Who is most often involved in crime? These are just some of the main factors to take into account to determine if there's unequal treatment or if it's based on the social circumstances. Looking at other countries is very relevant to see if there is a pattern or not and what that pattern is. Unfortunately that is something that everyone who comes up with these racist or sexist slogans misses and people have had enough of it.

@MeisterAndrew Mostly it's mostly white privileged people who 'have had enough of it'.
It's not a [i]slogan[/i] and it's not racist*. It's a [i]movement [/i]of people who 'have had enough' of having their young men killed (and we're talking statistics here) when it was only a traffic violation or similar. Sorry if that irritates you.

* It doesn't say, 'ONLY black lives matter'. It's not difficult to google to find out what they actually mean rather than making up your own definition and arguing against that. They're not asking for special treatment, just to be treated justly. I tend to think you'd have to wilfully misinterpret not to understand it's intent:
[i]"Black Lives Matter (abbreviated BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people. Its primary concerns are incidents of police brutality and racially motivated violence against black people."[/i]

@Abstraction Oh there it is again, the predictable "white privilege". Here's what white privilege gets me. It gets me 2nd in line for job positions. It gets good grades relegated as secondary criteria for university admission. It gets me disqualified from government contracts unless I give my business to a black person which defeats the purpose. Social assistance criteria are chosen to disfavour me and favour black people. Some positions have been reserved for black people.

Honestly I have never experienced this mythical white privilege. If it was there I was too young to take advantage of it under the previous government but you can bet I'm punished for it under the new racist one. Everything was worked for and no ordinary white person was given something for free unlike black people who now get things for free. As a white person I am more likely to suffer violence at the hands of a black person both as the white person and from the black person. But if I rightfully use a slogan such as "white lives matter" it will be labelled racist, the nearest we can some is all lives matter.

There are no programs to help struggling white people and any such attempt would be struck down as unconstitutional but there are plenty of programs to help black people. In every country minorities have programs to help them and black people have such in every country even ones where they are the majority. White people have none as it's always perceived as racist.

So sorry if I can't understand this white privilege of yours when it's not something that's a part of my life. Yes I am using my own frame of reference here to show that how things are portrayed and institutionalised by society does not always reflect reality. Statistics only tell you half the story. They don't take into account who is most likely to be involved in crime and thus treated with suspicion. They don't take into account how people look. Someone in a suit will be seen as more honest and less suspicious than someone in gangster clothes.

Sure it doesn't excuse abuse of power by people who are trained to handle situations but you fail to understand there are more factors involved than skin colour and why the original comment is a ridiculous analogy. You fail to realise the people you are speaking to are constantly bombarded with racism from people who are told they can never be racist and indeed have everything catered to them so they can be successful yet fail to be. So if you still can't realise where white lives matter comes from and where it fits in you'll stay clueless.

@MeisterAndrew I'm not talking about you I'm talking about USA. If you don't understand it you lack imagination. You can't tell me you don't know the social history of your own country? Just look back and look at all the white privilege?

@MeisterAndrew so this is your experience of life as a white person. Ok. So you have literally zero experience as a black person. And yet youre definitely the victim in all of this. You should listen to yourself. Its pathetic.

@vorian And I knew you people wouldn't get it. You say I have no experience as a black person but no black person has experience as me as a white person. The term walking a 1000 miles in someone's shoes applies. You should look at history and realise white people struggled as well but we made a success of it. Black people are the only ones who can't make it even when handed everything to be successful but instead stay stuck in the past and continue to elect bad leaders that oppress them. Perhaps what's needed is some introspection and not continual outrospection.

The new comment to this affirms it again. Black people have "Black History Month" but there's nothing similar for white people even where we are the minority. That would be seen as racist but "Black History Month" isn't because it's perceived, and said, that black people can't be racist. But yes I am the pathetic one. Ok then...

@MeisterAndrew yes you are the pathetic one...you really are.