Why "All Lives Matter" Is Terribly Problematic

This video was shared by one of my facebook friends and I wish I could share it everywhere, at least a thousand times. There are a lot of "All Lives Matter" announcements from friends on social media-- all written in response to the Dallas Police Shootings. I get it: We all want to grab on to a slogan or some common theme that will help us to feel that we are standing together in this time of tragedy.


I think this is a noble desire, and I fully support the sentiment behind it. The problem, however, is that "All Lives Matter" is the worst rhetoric that one could choose under the current circumstances. It's the worst because "All Lives Matter" only exists as a rhetorical response to "Black Lives Matter". It's what people say when they feel uncomfortable centering Black people, and it's a common response from people in the media and on social media who are trying to disrespect the Black Lives Matter movement.

Black Lives Matter is a movement wholly focused on police brutality against Black people because the number of Black deaths at the hands of law enforcement are astronomically higher than those of other races or cultural groups. The movement and slogan known as "Black Lives Matter" is INTENTIONALLY SPECIFIC, and it's extremely important to honor this specificity or the movement loses its meaning. I understand and support the desire to mend fences, but the All Lives Matter rhetoric is terribly unhelpful, if not wholly destructive to the cause-- and it was DESIGNED to be destructive. Please, please, please think twice before carting out "All Lives Matter."