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by ant_li0n 1461 days ago
I'm pretty ignorant of this, but was the phrase "All Lives Matter" really out and about in normal use for a long time? Or did it rise in popular use after "Black Lives Matter"?

If it's the first one, yeah I agree w/you. If it's the second, well...
3 comments
WalterGR 1461 days ago
No and yes, respectively. OP is just being coy; they fully know this and tipped their hand by referring to the demonstrations as riots.

> If it's the second, well...

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honkdaddy 1461 days ago
Would you not classify them as riots? What word would you use?

I'm Canadian but was living in Seattle at the time. Businesses were burned, cars were flipped, statues torn down. I'm not trying to downplay the importance of what was being protested, but to pretend it was a peaceful demonstration is laughable. Riot is a perfectly reasonable word to describe it.

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WalterGR 1461 days ago
At issue is your word choice and how that goes to the answers of ant_li0n’s questions for you.
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Giorgi 1461 days ago
It was full scale riots to the point that rioters actually looted. Don't push your propaganda on Hacker News, please.
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neonsunset 1461 days ago
If you're pretty ignorant of the topic, then why do you know about the fact that "All Lives Matter" phrase only rose to prominence after "Black Lives Matter" movement in the US?

This is a pointed question led with dishonesty. It's important to ask oneself what was the motivation behind trying to manipulate other readers' perception instead of just dropping the "I'm pretty ignorant of this, but..." part in the first place.

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ant_li0n 1461 days ago
No, I really was asking a question. I don't know, was the phrase "All Lives Matter" in common circulation, before "Black Lives Matter" came around?

I really do not know, that's why I asked

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ryandrake 1461 days ago
"All Lives Matter" was not in common circulation until "Black Lives Matter" entered the scene, because the phrase is used as a rebuttal to "Black Lives Matter." That's why it's commonly understood to be a dogwhistle. When person A says "Black Lives Matter" and person B says "All Lives Matter", person B is really saying "NO. All Lives Matter" the un-spoken "NO" is their disagreement with "Black Lives Matter." If they agreed that "Black Lives Matter" they would not have had to come up with a rebuttal to counter it.
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honkdaddy 1461 days ago
Whether it had much use prior to 2020 I'm unsure, the point is that Americans (like the charming one I'm trying my best to be patient with below) will now forever associate their country's own racial backstory with those three words, and for some reason expect others around the world to do the same.
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