There seems to be ongoing misunderstanding regarding this unfortunate commonly used phrase.
I'm not sure what the misunderstanding is.
After the verdict in the Philando Castile case, I shared this graphic with a comment on Instagram.
For the most part, the post was well received with over 100 likes, but I received one comment stating, “red, yellow, black and white we are precious in Gods sight. ALL LIVES MATTER.”
DELETE.
I deleted the comment because I believe that one misguided comment usually encourages more. I will try not to make it a habit.
Yes, we are all precious in God's sight, however, here on earth, we are killing each other.
I want to understand how someone can say “all lives matter” in the case of Philando Castile? Did you see the video? Did you read the officer's court testimony?
What am I missing?
I will say this on record, when I or someone says “black lives matter” it does not mean all lives don’t matter and because you or anyone may take this personally, let me say this, it doesn't mean your life does not matter. YOU, you in all your glory of course matter!
You matter. That is why you still have your life. You are alive to go out into the world and matter.
Philando Castile's life matters as well. He, however, lost his life in the most outrageous of ways. His life, the life of Eric Garner, Sandra Bland and other lives taken so haphazardly, happen to be black and brown, so in these cases, as a reminder that we are unwilling to relive our shared history, BLACK LIVES MATTER.
I say this in complete respect of how you spend your days and nights, the business of life and circumstance: educate yourself on the world around you. Educate yourself on the beliefs you hold close. Removed from your politics, you will see that there is a lot of crap going on.