All lives matter is a highly inappropriate response to the rallying cry “black lives matter. No one for a moment implies others don’t. But, the biggest challenge with this all lives banter, is that people who make the statement really don’t appreciate what they include in the term “all”. This is usually a knee-jerk reaction, to counter the reference to the word black, meaning African-Americans in the US. Clearly, therefore, the basis of this argument to include all is really to take the focus away from the aggrieved. It is an attempt to normalize the situation; ruthlessly claiming that the life lost is just another one in billion, and not worth protesting.

Black lives matter, the phrase is a plea to the police in the US. African-Americans, people of African origin, who were bought as slaves to work on farms here in the US at least a century or two ago, were never fully assimilated into the socio-political system in the US. Obama became the President but was the object of hate by a huge section of the population. The same section, a sizable minority, that is also armed and essentially illiterate for all practical purpose. It has been a constant struggle to realize their rights and liberties. At first, it was the right to be free from slavery. Then it was the ability to mix, join, and be treated as an equal citizen. A right to vote, to hold a job, to fight in the military, to be treated fair by the law and jury, and most of all to be treated and deemed innocent, till proven guilty. Thanks to the law and order, policing and the judicial system (trial by jury) in the US, the black people have always been held guilty, even if proven otherwise.

Black Lives Matter, when they cry, it is because someone is holding them down, like for example pushing a leg on the neck to ensure your protests are muffled and if possible snuffed out. It is a cry, even while they say it in anger because most of them simply want to be left alone, and not really fighting for equal rights anymore. I am not black, i am a few shades lighter. I have never experienced racism or prejudice while in the US, but that is because i am considered the upper 10% of the class system in the US. But i have always considered myself a black while living in America. And so while i might never fully comprehend their problems, i think i can empathize to a greater extent. In large cities, some of this divide may not be evident, i have altho’ noticed this in smaller cities that the society congregates or zone themselves separately. Sad it is, but it is the truth. The cry is natural because, in spite of this attempt to lead parallel lives, the bias is strongly against them. Specifically with law and order. Even in cities where the Mayor and Chief of Police are African-American. How strange? Have you seen the usual hollywood movies with an obligatory black police chief and a renegade white police officer? Your guess which one is usually is the hero.

Black Lives Matter is a cry against brutality police exerts on people of this race. A simple search on the internet will deliver the disproportionate number of arrests, shootings and murder of people stopped by the police, and clearly demonstrates the racial inequality of the US justice system. The judicial system and the Police, in the US, are disposed against the poor, and people of color. So if you are both, ie black and poor, you are most likely to be shot on the road, even before an arrest. But in case you are arrested and brought to trial, your chances of incarceration are almost guaranteed. Even the height of the apartheid in South Africa, there were fewer black people in their jails, as compared to the US, as a percentage of the population.

Black Lives Matter. All lives don’t! It’s not because the others are not worth it, but it is because the people who use this counter are usually white. And they are actually saying their lives matter, ie White! No, it does not. If you are not black, you probably have no understanding of what it is to be one. Your parents never ever told you to be careful in front of the police; don’t move, keep your hands out where it can be seen, obey all orders, don’t run, stay still and survive the night, and sometimes the day. So it is sickening to hear the counter. There is none. When you hear someone say, Black Lives Matter, simply shut the eff up.