Recently, within the U.S., an African-American man named George Floyd was murdered by a police officer in the state of Minnesota. If you live in the U.S., you most likely have already heard about this incident and the amount of protests it has sparked across the country.

This is not a political blog, so I will not be referencing the government in any way on this post. However, this is a blog that celebrates the diversity and culture of others, and as such, it is important to talk about issues within society that relate to the concept of race.

I will not be reiterating the events of what happened during the incident between the police officer and George Floyd, because I am 1) assuming you have educated yourself on the topic taking into regard your own perspective and 2) that no matter what facts I give, someone will dispute them and thus make this post about the facts, and not the perspective I am trying to share. So, if you have any thoughts about the content of this post, feel free to share below your own perspective!

With this being said, I will not be talking about the specifics of what happened between the police officer and George Floyd; instead, I will be talking about why this incident proves, like so many previous killings of African-Americans, why the Black Lives Matter movement should not be suppressed with the All Lives Matter movement. It is important to realize that All Lives Matter is a response, a reaction to the Black Lives Matter movement. The All Lives Matter movement means that all lives matter, not just black lives.

Let’s start off with a simple fact. Do black lives matter? Yes. Notice that I am not referring to the name of the movement; this is a question I am asking in general. If you answered “no” to this question, then that speaks for itself.

Let’s explore another simple fact. Do white lives matter? Yes. Again, if you answered “no” to this question, then that speaks for itself. Notice that if you answered “yes” to one of the two posed questions, and “no” to the other, no matter which one you answered which to, you are a depraved human being.

Now rewind to your first thoughts when I asked these questions. When I asked if black lives mattered, your first thought should have immediately been “yes.” If you thought, “Well yes, black lives matter, just like ____ lives matter,” then it is a problem (note that this is the exact statement that the All Lives Matter movement makes). You shouldn’t have to provide yourself with a justification for why the lives of a certain race matter. The only justification should be that they are human. This justification should be innate, it shouldn’t be something that you need to constantly remind yourself of in your thoughts by basing it on the lives of another race. If all lives really do matter to you, then you wouldn’t have this justification in the first place.

When I asked if white lives mattered, your first thought should have also immediately been “yes.” If you thought, “Well yes, white lives matter, just like ____ lives matter,” then it is also a problem.

The point I am trying to make is that the Black Lives Matter movement is simply reinforcing the fact that black lives matter. If you think that this is an attack on white people, or an attack on another group of people, it is NOT. If you want to put it in other terms, it is a defensive movement, not an offensive movement.

Chances are if you thought that “black lives matter, just like ____ lives matter,” you’re thinking of BLM as an offensive movement, not a defensive one. This can lead to you supporting the All Lives Matter movement because you are continuously basing the value of black lives off of the value of other lives, as discussed above. Now, why may someone think this way? I can think of two reasons. Of these, I believe Reason #2 is the most dangerous.

Reason #1: You are taking the BLM movement personally because you are genuinely not aware of your privilege.

Reason #2: You do not want to admit to your privilege/think the nature of the BLM movement inherently detracts from your own struggles (especially relevant to minorities).

Reason #1 is an issue brought about by lack of information/education.

I am not black. No matter how much I educate myself about black people in the U.S., I will never be able to experience the oppression black people face in this country. I can understand the perspective of black people, but I will never experience the perspective myself. However, I can educate myself about my privilege* by listening to black people’s experiences of racism in this country and learning about not only slavery and segregation, but also about modern events that happen in America today. Think about it; these notions of police brutality and racism did not pop out of thin air. Black people are not stupid. Why would they speak about an issue if they did not have any evidence to back it up?

*Side Note: Privilege does not just refer to white privilege! I am an Asian-American and recognize that I have more privilege than people who are black. However, if you genuinely believe you do not have privilege when compared to black people and support the All Lives Matter movement, then the latter part of Reason #2 still applies to you.

If you are open-minded, you will realize that black oppression does exist. But I’d like to point out, if you haven’t yet realized the black community faces racism and oppression, you most likely align with Reason #2. Unfortunately, Reason #2 is dangerous because people do not want to admit that they do indeed align with Reason #2. Please don’t close your mind to the possibility of aligning with Reason #2. As long as you are open-minded and genuine, you will realize this post is not trying to attack anyone, but instead share insight into this important matter.

For Reason #2, it is key to realize that BLM is a defensive movement, in which the black community is fighting for their own rights and protection. Just because the black community is fighting for themselves doesn’t mean that people are denying your own struggles. But if the first thought you have in response to black people fighting for themselves is that your struggles matter too, you need to wake up and start supporting other people.

It can also be hard to admit that you hold a position of power when you’ve worked so hard in life, or you’ve struggled in some aspects of your life. But with such a multicultural society like America, there is not a simple system of oppressor and oppressed. A person can be oppressed but also act as the oppressor to other groups. This doesn’t mean that you individually are necessarily an oppressor, it just means that you have the potential to be. A person can also not be oppressed, and that also is not something to take personally, it is just a fact. People do understand that just like how black people cannot change their skin, white people or other minorities cannot change their skin either. Understand that you are not a victim of the type of racism* black people face, and that there is “no shame in not being oppressed.” It sounds silly, but honestly, if you do not want to admit you are oppressed, you might be victim of this mindset.

*Side Note: Here, I want to clarify that I understand black people are not the only group that are victims of racism. Because I am Asian-American, I will use Asians as an example. Yes, Asians face racism in the United States. However, I do not walk out of my house fearing that a police officer will shoot me because of my race. I am not white, but I have race privilege. This is why I used the phrase “type of racism” and not “racism.”

Reason #2 may be tricky for some, because if you don’t understand that BLM is a defensive movement, you will constantly be stuck in the subconscious mindset that it inherently detracts from your own struggles. It would inherently detract from your own struggles if it was an offensive movement, but it’s not! It is not trying to attack groups with more privilege, it is just trying to point out this privilege other groups have based on the level of systematic racism black people face compared to these other groups.

(Featured Image: https://www.vox.com/2020/5/30/21275600/george-floyd-protest-photos-minneapolis-atlanta-new-york)