A bit concerned if I overreacted in my somewhat cordial debate with a guy wearing an "All Lives Matter" shirt at the Coventry Shoppers this morning. I think it went alright.
I’d be interested to hear how that went. There’s no way anyone who wears that shirt isn’t racist and/or really dumb.
I’d be interested to hear how that went. There’s no way anyone who wears that shirt isn’t racist and/or really dumb.
I wasn't going to say anything. A middle aged white woman called him out for it and they talked briefly, and then she looked at me and could tell I was listening and the look on her face was like "explain to him why it's bad" so I had to at least try. I'm 95% sure the dude wasn't racist. The only reason it's not 100% is because part of his justification was the "I have black friends" bit which I don't particularly care for.
Refuting "All Lives Matter" is not difficult, you simply explain that "black lives matter" is not some call of supremacy but rather "black lives matter too", which is to say all lives matter equally. He might have got the message. I dunno, I'm maybe not the greatest advocate for the cause.
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Reached out to that marine with the tape over his mouth on Reddit, super awesome guy. Props to him.
What did you guys chat about? I only read all of his comments on the two posts of his photo, but I definitely got the same impression that he's awesome.
I wasn't going to say anything. A middle aged white woman called him out for it and they talked briefly, and then she looked at me and could tell I was listening and the look on her face was like "explain to him why it's bad" so I had to at least try. I'm 95% sure the dude wasn't racist. The only reason it's not 100% is because part of his justification was the "I have black friends" bit which I don't particularly care for.
Refuting "All Lives Matter" is not difficult, you simply explain that "black lives matter" is not some call of supremacy but rather "black lives matter too", which is to say all lives matter equally. He might have got the message. I dunno, I'm maybe not the greatest advocate for the cause.
It was kinda racist of her to get you involved. What if you didn’t understand the logic that it’s “black lives matter too”? It’s not your job to be an advocate for the cause. It was unfair to put you on the spot like that.
What did you guys chat about? I only read all of his comments on the two posts of his photo, but I definitely got the same impression that he's awesome.
I didn't want to take too much of his time, but I just wanted to at least send him a personal message because I wasn't sure he'd see it if I just posted in the thread. Wasn't much and he'd already answered my questions in the thread. He acknowledged it and was surprised that he was getting messages and media inquiries from around the world.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DownInFlames
It was kinda racist of her to get you involved. What if you didn’t understand the logic that it’s “black lives matter too”? It’s not your job to be an advocate for the cause. It was unfair to put you on the spot like that.
That might have just been my interpretation of the look on her face. I think maybe she was looking at me to see if I was offended and was expecting me to jump in, or she felt like it wasn't her place to argue given that I was standing there - it's like she was walking on eggshells and didn't want to get anything wrong which seems to (understandably) be the position of a lot of people. She definitely wasn't racist, and it wasn't like she said "oh hey, a black guy, tell this man why he's wrong!" I could have easily not said anything.
Last edited by Acey; 06-10-2020 at 11:44 PM.
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It was kinda racist of her to get you involved. What if you didn’t understand the logic that it’s “black lives matter too”? It’s not your job to be an advocate for the cause. It was unfair to put you on the spot like that.
I have to disagree about this being racist. Unfair? Sure, but clearly she was still trying to make a difference even if she doesn't completely understand. Her calling the person out for that shirt is likely not something that would have happened a month ago.
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So, I can't sleep and I am reading this Michael Connelly novel, The Concrete Blonde, which was published in 2002, but it takes place between 1993 and 1996, not too long after the LA Riots and a passage really struck me with everything going on.
Quote:
“They’ll bulldoze this and make another parking lot,” Pounds said. “That’s all the riots gave the city. About a thousand new parking lots. You want to park in South Central these days, no problem. You want a bottle of soda or to put gas in your car, then you got a problem. They burned every place down. You drive through the South Side before Christmas? They got Christmas tree lots every block, all the open space down there. I still don’t understand why those people burned their own neighborhoods.”
Bosch knew that the fact people like Pounds didn’t understand why “those people” did what they did was one reason they did it, and would have to do it again someday. Bosch looked at it as a cycle. Every twenty-five years or so the city had its soul torched by the fires of reality. But then it drove on. Quickly, without looking back. Like a hit-and-run.
With the LA Riots being 28 years ago, this passage is both prophetic and sad. I hope the current generation does more to prevent this from happening again than those in 1992.
^ People have learned here in LA. The protests here have been in Santa Monica, Thousand Oaks, Hollywood, etc. They have purposely avoided protesting in South LA in case of rioting/lootingg
Unfortunately it is on private land, so it can't be removed, despite past efforts...
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The statue has been shot at more than once, vandalized regularly over the years and more recently updated with Black Lives Matter slogans, but always repaired.[11][12] Protestors even tried to pull it down by tying it to a train.[13] It is protected by a padlocked gate.
I have to disagree about this being racist. Unfair? Sure, but clearly she was still trying to make a difference even if she doesn't completely understand. Her calling the person out for that shirt is likely not something that would have happened a month ago.
I don’t think she’s a racist person. She was clearly trying to do the right thing, but she made an assumption about Acey based on his race. As I said, it’s kinda racist.
I don’t think she’s a racist person. She was clearly trying to do the right thing, but she made an assumption about Acey based on his race. As I said, it’s kinda racist.
That really deflates the meaning of racism. She was having a conversation defending Black Lives Matter and looked at a Black person (for support? for reassurance? who knows).
Even if she outright asked him "Can you explain this better than me?" because he's Black, she's asked him because it's an issue that more or less directly impacts him a lot more than it does her, so a valid assumption is that he would know more. At absolute worst, it's positive stereotype.
It's not even kinda racist.
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That really deflates the meaning of racism. She was having a conversation defending Black Lives Matter and looked at a Black person (for support? for reassurance? who knows).
Even if she outright asked him "Can you explain this better than me?" because he's Black, she's asked him because it's an issue that more or less directly impacts him a lot more than it does her, so a valid assumption is that he would know more. At absolute worst, it's positive stereotype.
It's not even kinda racist.
Aren’t positive stereotypes considered racist?
I can admit I’m probably wrong here, semantically. Let’s just hope the guy got home and threw out the shirt.
