If you use the phrase or hashtag All Lives Matter - whether in response to Black Lives Matter or independently - I don’t believe you.
To shout that loud with passion, you would have to think about these things before you say it:
Am I in favour of the death penalty for serious crimes?
Am I pro-immigration?
Do I support abortion?
Do I think Lee Rigby’s murderer should have been jailed and put on trial?
Are all war crimes heinous?
Have I ever worried about the fifth amendment when people have been shot by a gunman in a public place?
Is prison the right way to deal with crime?
Do I deserve a haircut during a lethal pandemic? Is it my right to have shop staff serve me during a lethal pandemic? Is it my right to not wear a mask during a lethal pandemic?
Have I ever given money to or in any other way helped a homeless person, or supported homelessness charities?
When arguing about ideology, have I ever pointed out all the elements that could lead to death for others?
When mourning the sacrifice of soldiers in wars past, am I wishing things had been different for them?
Is a housing crisis my problem?
Do I condemn all lethal force from authorities?
Do I believe it is up to me to help poor people through taxes and charity?
Is eating meat right?
Is cannibalism okay?
When using Martin Luther King quotes, do I also acknowledge that, yes, he was murdered?
And you haven’t done that.
You don’t mean “All Lives Matter”. Stop lying to us and yourself. Say what you really mean.
I expect for some of you what you meant to say is: “If you had said ‘White Lives Matter’, I wouldn’t have said a fucking thing.”