← Back to the listJune 5, 20202 mins read — opinion

‎#BlackLivesMatter

Rayshard Brooks, George Floyd, Natosha McDade, Yassin Mohamed, Finan H. Berhe, Sean Reed, Steven Demarco Taylor, Breonna Taylor, Ariane McCree, Terrance Franklin, Miles Hall, Darius Tarver, William Green, Samuel David Mallard, Kwame Jones, De’von Bailey, Christopher Whitfield, Anthony Hill, De’Von Bailey, Eric Logan, Jamarion Robinson, Gregory Hill Jr, JaQuavion Slaton, Ryan Twyman, Brandon Webber, Jimmy Atchison, Willie McCoy, Emantic Fitzgerald Bradford J, D’ettrick Griffin, Jemel Roberson, DeAndre Ballard, Botham Shem Jean, Robert Lawrence White, Anthony Lamar Smith, Ramarley Graham, Manuel Loggins Jr, Trayvon Martin, Wendell Allen, Kendrec McDade, Larry Jackson Jr, Jonathan Ferrell, Jordan Baker, Victor White III, Dontre Hamilton, Eric Garner, John Crawford III, Michael Brown, Ezell Ford, Dante Parker, Kajieme Powell, Laquan McDonald, Akai Gurley, Tamir Rice, Rumain Brisbon, Jerame Reid, Charly Keunang, Tony Robinson, Walter Scott, Freddie Gray, Brendon Glenn, Samuel DuBose, Christian Taylor, Jamar Clark, Mario Woods, Quintonio LeGrier, Gregory Gunn, Akiel Denkins, Alton Sterling, Philando Castile, Terrence Sterling, Terence Crutcher, Keith Lamont Scott, Alfred Olango, Jordan Edwards, Stephon Clark, Danny Ray Thomas, DeJuan Guillory, Patrick Harmon, Jonathan Hart, Maurice Granton, Julius Johnson, Jamee Johnson, Michael Dean…

This is not a TIL, but a permanent reminder that we need to be better than this. I know how priviledged I am, being a white male, grown up in Europe and now living in Australia because I wanted to. I still regularly catch myself taking a lot of things for granted other people can’t, and I’m actively working on changing that.

But more than that, I want to address all those people who see this and respond with: “but all lives matter!?“. Fuck you! It’s not about black lives (or any lives) being more valuable than anyone elses, and everyone with the tiniest bit of brain capacity knows that. It’s about the fact that certain people have been put down and held back in our societies for centuries because of their heritage, race or believes. If we truly want to fight injustice, we need to focus on the people who are being treayed badly right now in order to fix it, not on those who are doing great already. That doesn’t mean your live doesn’t matter, but other lives need and deserve a lot more help and attention right now.

And you have the right to disagree with me on that. But then I have the right to say that you’re a privileged asshole and I don’t want anything to do with you! Freedom of opinions goes two ways.