LivesMatter… an apology
In both the distant past, and not so long ago, I have written some posts about BlackLivesMatter, and other various hashtags, emphasizing that I don’t really care for that hashtag, and instead believe that AllLivesMatter. Some have agreed. Others have not. And gods only know there has been a lot of debate and discussion on my page from it. Some of the discussion I have appreciated. Some I have not. But upon some serious reflection and side-bar discussions with a few calm people, I have come to a conclusion – I was wrong.
Let me repeat – I WAS WRONG!
And I’m hoping that the many of you who commented in the past are willing to read through the rest of this post to consider why my position has changed.
I was raised without prejudice. Very simply, for as far back as I can remember, I have never cared what one’s gender, color, religion, age, language, religion, or whatever. In my opinion, all people deserve respect unless and until they (as individuals) do something that makes me lose respect for them. Thus, I have already naturally been an ally. When it comes to religious freedom, I’m right there with ya – I believe that people should be able to believe whatever they choose. When it comes to equality, I’m right there with ya – I believe everybody should be given a chance. At the most basic level, I’m all for equal opportunity and equal support.
But when specific hashtags began to appear such as ElmTreesMatter came into being, I was bothered. Why? Because from my perspective, ALL trees matter. And the hashtag appeared (to me at least) to imply that ONLY Elm Trees should matter. And I didn’t like that. I didn’t like the idea of putting myself 100% behind just Elm trees and only Elm trees while some Pine trees and Palm trees might also be suffering. And I hope that those of you who were so annoyed with me before can take my thinking into consideration and try to understand why I took such a strong stance. To me, the hashtag implied exclusiveness – which is something I don’t support.
Now, for those of you who agreed with me that AllTreesMatter, chances are you were of the same thinking as I was. You too are naturally allies and ready to sign on and march on the behalf of the downtrodden. But what you may need to realize (much as I came to realize) is that those who highlighted the plight of the ElmTrees ALSO believe that all trees should indeed matter. The difference, though? What they have been trying to do is to effectively communicate, “sure, all trees matter. But right now, Pine trees as a genus aren’t threatened. A few might get chopped down now and again, but as a class, they aren’t threatened right now. Palm trees are doing fine, as are Maple trees. But loggers are after Elm trees and there is a significant threat right now in this current day and age to Elm trees, and if we don’t wake up and smell the coffee, we are going to find a scarcity of Elm trees.”
So here is my request, one and all. We shouldn’t be fighting and bickering among ourselves over the semantics of annoying hashtags. We are all allies, and are much stronger if we all work together. So I don’t care if one person calls it robin’s egg blue and another calls it cerulean blue. Let’s just all join hands as “team blue” and fight for what it is right. And for my part, I pledge that going forward, I will step away from things like, “AllLivesMatter”. My beliefs have not changed one bit. But I get it – some groups, from time to time, need our help a little bit more than others and need the spotlight cast on them. So that is what I am going to do.
Let me repeat – I WAS WRONG!
And I’m hoping that the many of you who commented in the past are willing to read through the rest of this post to consider why my position has changed.
I was raised without prejudice. Very simply, for as far back as I can remember, I have never cared what one’s gender, color, religion, age, language, religion, or whatever. In my opinion, all people deserve respect unless and until they (as individuals) do something that makes me lose respect for them. Thus, I have already naturally been an ally. When it comes to religious freedom, I’m right there with ya – I believe that people should be able to believe whatever they choose. When it comes to equality, I’m right there with ya – I believe everybody should be given a chance. At the most basic level, I’m all for equal opportunity and equal support.
But when specific hashtags began to appear such as ElmTreesMatter came into being, I was bothered. Why? Because from my perspective, ALL trees matter. And the hashtag appeared (to me at least) to imply that ONLY Elm Trees should matter. And I didn’t like that. I didn’t like the idea of putting myself 100% behind just Elm trees and only Elm trees while some Pine trees and Palm trees might also be suffering. And I hope that those of you who were so annoyed with me before can take my thinking into consideration and try to understand why I took such a strong stance. To me, the hashtag implied exclusiveness – which is something I don’t support.
Now, for those of you who agreed with me that AllTreesMatter, chances are you were of the same thinking as I was. You too are naturally allies and ready to sign on and march on the behalf of the downtrodden. But what you may need to realize (much as I came to realize) is that those who highlighted the plight of the ElmTrees ALSO believe that all trees should indeed matter. The difference, though? What they have been trying to do is to effectively communicate, “sure, all trees matter. But right now, Pine trees as a genus aren’t threatened. A few might get chopped down now and again, but as a class, they aren’t threatened right now. Palm trees are doing fine, as are Maple trees. But loggers are after Elm trees and there is a significant threat right now in this current day and age to Elm trees, and if we don’t wake up and smell the coffee, we are going to find a scarcity of Elm trees.”
So here is my request, one and all. We shouldn’t be fighting and bickering among ourselves over the semantics of annoying hashtags. We are all allies, and are much stronger if we all work together. So I don’t care if one person calls it robin’s egg blue and another calls it cerulean blue. Let’s just all join hands as “team blue” and fight for what it is right. And for my part, I pledge that going forward, I will step away from things like, “AllLivesMatter”. My beliefs have not changed one bit. But I get it – some groups, from time to time, need our help a little bit more than others and need the spotlight cast on them. So that is what I am going to do.