Here's Why This Bugs Me

I hate when I'm scrolling through my Instagram feed and someone has the comment "all lives matter" as their caption. Really? All lives matter? Which lives would that be? American lives? Animal lives? Human life? Black lives? Hispanic lives? Why try to take the emphasis away from the Black Lives Matter movement. 

Here's why this bugs me. BLM isn't saying no other life on this planet matters, what they are instead trying to emphasize is that black lives matter so please don't attempt to treat us as lesser beings; solely because of your prejudices or due to the color of our skin.  

If anyone is going to use the term all lives matter then you need to truly be compassionate and passionate about "all life". What do I mean? Put down your knife. Stop eating steak, chicken, salmon, duck, goat, whatever you animal of choice is. Show the world that you truly mean what you say and aren't just spouting rhetoric by giving up meat. Or don't animals bred and tortured in industrial factories matter? Oh they don't, why, because your taste buds matter more? Your tradition trumps the lives of others? 

Open your mind and heart to the fact that you may not know it all. And you may not have all the answers. Instead pledge to be compassionate to all living beings. Don't dismiss the feelings of others because you haven't lived their life. Each of us has a different life experience and it is extremely important that we use compassion and empathy when interacting with one another.  

While I'd love to believe that the all lives matter peeps are sincere in their beliefs, I wasn't born yesterday so I know that's not true. Yes, everyone in this country is probably struggling on some level, be it economically, socially, and educationally - but your struggle doesn't give you the right to dismiss the struggle of another. Minorities, women, animals get the shit end of the stick in the country. So don't tell me all lives matter, especially when I still have to fight for the right to make decisions about my body and animals are treated as inanimate object not the living, breathing, feeling creatures that they are.