How many people, when they hear the phrase, “Black Lives Matter,” add the word “More” to it – as in “Black Lives Matter More.”
It’s not there, but it feels like the gut reaction, the pushback to this moment, is to that. People then feel defensive – “Black lives can’t matter more than all lives do.”
But that misses the point. It isn’t that these lives matter more than others. It’s that these lives have been discounted from the start so that they’ve always mattered less. That stretches back to times even before this nation, this experiment, started.
It’s not that black lives matter more. It’s about the moment when we, as a nation, have to realize they matter just as much.
It’s not a pleasant moment when you realize how ingrained that thinking is into your own being. It hasn’t been for me. But the first part of recovery is being aware you have a problem. It was time for some truth. I appreciate that.
Will I do better? Simple answer, I have to. We all do. And step one for me to understand there is enough recognition to go around for everyone. I need to remember, “Black Lives Matter” does not mean, explicitly or implicitly, that my life doesn’t.
D.G. Speirs is a storyteller, novelist and voice actor living in Florida. He keeps searching for better stories to tell, even if he has to make them up himself. His latest novel, THE AGENCY, is now available on Amazon.com.
D. G. Speirs - Storyteller and Dreamer
The One About… “More”
How many people, when they hear the phrase, “Black Lives Matter,” add the word “More” to it – as in “Black Lives Matter More.”
It’s not there, but it feels like the gut reaction, the pushback to this moment, is to that. People then feel defensive – “Black lives can’t matter more than all lives do.”
But that misses the point. It isn’t that these lives matter more than others. It’s that these lives have been discounted from the start so that they’ve always mattered less. That stretches back to times even before this nation, this experiment, started.
It’s not that black lives matter more. It’s about the moment when we, as a nation, have to realize they matter just as much.
It’s not a pleasant moment when you realize how ingrained that thinking is into your own being. It hasn’t been for me. But the first part of recovery is being aware you have a problem. It was time for some truth. I appreciate that.
Will I do better? Simple answer, I have to. We all do. And step one for me to understand there is enough recognition to go around for everyone. I need to remember, “Black Lives Matter” does not mean, explicitly or implicitly, that my life doesn’t.
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About D. G. Speirs
D.G. Speirs is a storyteller, novelist and voice actor living in Florida. He keeps searching for better stories to tell, even if he has to make them up himself. His latest novel, THE AGENCY, is now available on Amazon.com.