Month: February 2016

Lives Matter

I have held off commenting on the whole “Black Lives Matter” controversy for quite some time, mostly because I can’t believe it is even possible for there to be a controversy. I seriously thought I was imagining it. Apparently I am not. So…. hang on, we’re gonna have to think this one through.

Let’s break it down….

It’s a pretty simple statement. Black Lives Matter. Who in their right mind could possibly argue otherwise? Seriously, how do you argue against that statement?

Then I realized. In my logical, English-speaking mind, the opposite of “Black Lives Matter” is the simple negation, “Black Lives Don’t Matter”. Who would believe that? Who would think that? What kind of racist monster would even suggest saying Black Lives Don’t Matter?

Nobody. No one would. That’s not it. That’s not how it works. First…. you have to twist the message.

Transform “Black Lives Matter” into “Only Black Lives Matter” , then…. now you’ve got something. Them’s fightin words. Now you can work up all your righteous indignity and respond with “All Lives Matter”. All Lives mother-&@#$! That’s right, you ain’t special. All Lives Matter.

But… There’s a problem with that. A big, fundamental problem: Nobody is saying “Only Black Lives Matter”. Nobody. Nobody is saying “Black Lives Matter More”. Nobody is saying “White Lives Don’t Matter.”

Nobody. No. Not anybody. Stop it. Just Stop. Nobody.

The only thing the “Black Lives Matter” movement is saying, is…. wait for it….. Black. Lives. Matter. Just those three words. That’s it. That’s all. Nothing more. Nothing less. It really is that simple.

Only in America would people think “All Lives Matter” is the logical opposite of “Black Lives Matter”.

Do we not understand subsets?

Of course All Lives Matter. Of course Black Lives Matter. These are not mutually exclusive. After all “Black” is part of “All” right? Black people are part of All people, right?

Wait…. now I think I see the problem…

Super Bowl Halftime Show

Just an observation…

As I’ve been browsing facebook today, I’ve noticed a lot of comments along the lines of Beyonce’s outfit was inappropriate, or the lyrics were not appropriate, or they were offended by the “black panther” style costumes or “black power” gestures. And something occurred to me.

These are the very same people, in many cases, that complain about people today are too easily offended, that people are too sensitive to every little thing, that political correctness has run amok, and political correctness is just ruining this country. We need to say no to political correctness, speak our minds, stop filtering, and stop worrying so much about offending others.

So what I’ve gathered is this. When white people say or do something inappropriate, black people need to calm down and not get so offended by it, don’t be so sensitive, after all it’s a free country, and we’re not hurting nobody, and we’re all free to express ourselves any way we like.

But when black people say or do something inappropriate, black people need to realize what they’re doing is offensive to others, this is not the right time or place, and they need to take that somewhere else, or keep it to themselves, because we don’t want to see it. Show some sensitivity. That there are boundaries and decorum and folks shouldn’t just go around willy-nilly expressing themselves any way they like.

Again, just an observation, feel free to discuss…