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Black Lives Matter
5 years ago
Anyone who's seen my Twitter account over the past four years knows exactly where I stand on this matter, but my platform on FA is considerably larger and a few folks asked me why I hadn't made a statement here about it. The truth is I often forget the journal feature even exists, but that reminder has given me plenty of reason to put my money where my mouth is, so to speak.
I shouldn't have to say it. It hurts to think that America, my home country, is in such a sorry state that the statement 'Black Lives Matter' is a controversial one, or one that is difficult for people to accept without throwing in 'ALL Lives Matter' as a means of deflection. Of course all lives matter -- but not all of them are being ended prematurely via state violence right now, and making the conversation about people who are not actively being harmed is unthinkably selfish at best and, at worst, actively malicious. The people who do one or the other, you know who you are. Please act accordingly and either take some time to ask WHY people hate that statement so much if it seems so innocent to you, or, if you're in the latter category, show yourself out. I don't need those views or those potential commissions from people with that kind of hate in their hearts; you can come back when you've learned something. I believe, firmly, that anyone can change, from the people who simply don't understand to those who hold nothing but malice in their hearts for the people who are hurting right now. Anyone can change.
I know a lot of you are probably scared right now. I know I am; Seattle's a hotbed of activity at the moment and I keep hearing nearby signs of it out of my own window while I work. It's almost harder to NOT be involved in the protests given how omnipresent they've become here. Part of me is terribly sad, seeing that -- I don't like watching people fight, but part of me is so, so proud -- sometimes we HAVE to fight, and I'm glad we have finally decided to do so for a good reason.
Until we see an end to the fighting, an end to police brutality and an end to discrimination of any sort, I urge you -- be kind.
Don't put any more hate out into the world, not when we're fighting so hard across every single state to eradicate a large source of it, once and for all. Let kindness dictate your every action -- small ones, like talking people through what they're feeling or doing good on a local level, or large ones, like donating to charities, standing up for and listening to the people who have told you, time and time again, that they are being oppressed, or killed, or simply can't breathe without speaking over them.
If you're one of those people who feels like they're in a situation where you're scared or helpless, or just need to vent about what you're going through, please, shoot me a PM; I'm no psychiatrist but I'm a pretty good listener, and I'll do my best to help. All I ask is that you pay it forward when the time comes.
Hang in there, y'all. You know I'm rooting for ya.
I shouldn't have to say it. It hurts to think that America, my home country, is in such a sorry state that the statement 'Black Lives Matter' is a controversial one, or one that is difficult for people to accept without throwing in 'ALL Lives Matter' as a means of deflection. Of course all lives matter -- but not all of them are being ended prematurely via state violence right now, and making the conversation about people who are not actively being harmed is unthinkably selfish at best and, at worst, actively malicious. The people who do one or the other, you know who you are. Please act accordingly and either take some time to ask WHY people hate that statement so much if it seems so innocent to you, or, if you're in the latter category, show yourself out. I don't need those views or those potential commissions from people with that kind of hate in their hearts; you can come back when you've learned something. I believe, firmly, that anyone can change, from the people who simply don't understand to those who hold nothing but malice in their hearts for the people who are hurting right now. Anyone can change.
I know a lot of you are probably scared right now. I know I am; Seattle's a hotbed of activity at the moment and I keep hearing nearby signs of it out of my own window while I work. It's almost harder to NOT be involved in the protests given how omnipresent they've become here. Part of me is terribly sad, seeing that -- I don't like watching people fight, but part of me is so, so proud -- sometimes we HAVE to fight, and I'm glad we have finally decided to do so for a good reason.
Until we see an end to the fighting, an end to police brutality and an end to discrimination of any sort, I urge you -- be kind.
Don't put any more hate out into the world, not when we're fighting so hard across every single state to eradicate a large source of it, once and for all. Let kindness dictate your every action -- small ones, like talking people through what they're feeling or doing good on a local level, or large ones, like donating to charities, standing up for and listening to the people who have told you, time and time again, that they are being oppressed, or killed, or simply can't breathe without speaking over them.
If you're one of those people who feels like they're in a situation where you're scared or helpless, or just need to vent about what you're going through, please, shoot me a PM; I'm no psychiatrist but I'm a pretty good listener, and I'll do my best to help. All I ask is that you pay it forward when the time comes.
Hang in there, y'all. You know I'm rooting for ya.
I love America... in theory. -_- But it's like loving a family member who keeps falling back into the same destructive habits, and the highest form of love is grabbing them by the shoulders and saying, "No. Seriously. You gotta get yourself together and start taking responsibility for yourself and others."
I fully support your stance, we're all in this together. BLM.
Most people now use it as a racist dog whistle now, along with "blue lives matter"
2020, kpop stans enter the fray as allies. In the first half.
Fuck's gonna happen in the back half? Also I still know nothing of kpop, but Future Funk, popularized by Mariya Takeuchi? Good shit.
Thank you Dai for speaking up, I know I haven't said as much, but I've been trying to uplift other voices and such when I can so I can at least do something. And thank you Chuskay for adding to the group, and helping try to shake up the status quo.
As Chus said, we're all in this together, BLM.
Any action in support of the movement, regardless of how small, is helpful. Whether it's boosting the message of BLM, donating to bail funds, showing up or even helping with the supplies, you are valuable. You are helping the fight against the United States' systematic oppression of minorities.
I’m not necessarily wild about politics on FA, but I’m glad to hear you say what you did- too many people here are calling for more hatred and more suffering, and censoring anybody who disagrees. Hopefully, with the right actions and the right mindset, we’ll all pull through together. Stay safe, everybody :^)
There's a reason the 'I don't see color' argument is a somewhat fallacious one, as it assumes that every single person you meet, regardless of what circumstances they come from, are exactly like you. That's not really true, is the thing; people of different ethnicities really, genuinely do come from different cultures. The problem with saying 'I see you as human, not (X)' is that it disregards that unique culture and places the onus on people of other ethnic backgrounds to fit a preconceived mold of 'general-purpose human' you've assigned to them, when it may not fit accurately or comfortably for them -- and whether you realize it or not, may conform to things you believe about yourself rather than things you believe are general to every living person.
The reason we say 'black lives matter' and not 'all lives matter' is pretty much exactly what you described -- because it's appalling that people have to die because of their skin color, full stop. You're right that it shouldn't matter what color people are and that no innocent people should die, but not all of us are dying in the same way, in the same record numbers. There's a pattern, one that results in a disproportionately high number of black people dying for things like routine traffic stops or the like; when people say 'black lives matter' they do, deeply and genuinely, for the most part mean that all lives matter and nobody should be killed by a police officer for a misdemeanor -- or worse, for absolutely nothing. The good news is, by fighting for black lives, you're also fighting for white or brown lives, too; if we are able to stop these people from killing the most vulnerable among us, it will also stop them from killing anybody else, too.