All Lives Matter

As far as I can see, the phrase "All Lives Matter" is nothing more than a means of shutting down opposition. It's a tool employed to shut up those that speak out against systemic injustice. What's especially jarring about it is how it's masquerading as a kind sentiment. In any other context than the one it's most frequently used in, it would be, but that's not the case now is it? The only time I've ever heard those particular words are when they're a retort to "black lives matter" which is significant. There's nothing nice about it, because all it's saying is "shut up and accept your shitty circumstance". I've heard it said in more than one way though, there are many ways to express the sentiment. "You think you're the only one that's got it rough?" is a common one. Another huge problem with it is that it furthers the idea that the world is just less than ideal and there's nothing that can be done about it. Everyone is important and even if some have it worse than others, god forbid we focus on endemic issues because it might make some fragile individuals feel that for the first time they aren't the center of attention right? That's all lives matter in a nutshell. One interesting way I've heard "all lives matter" was from a series of articles/memes that were circulating around a little while ago yet I haven't seen one in a bit. They were bringing attention to "Irish slaves" but as with anything, context is key. These articles and memes weren't trying to exalt the Irish and their cultural struggles, they were simply trying to make up an example of why black people shouldn't be complaining. Let's take a moment to clear a few things up concerning Irish "slavery". Like many other cultures, the Irish, at least in ancient times, did partake in slavery, however the practice was gradually abandoned and what the "scholarly articles" were referring to was actually indentured servitude, which was a common contract that Irish people willingly entered into as a means of financing their passage to the new world. Indentured servitude and chattel slavery are two VERY DIFFERENT things. For one thing, in indentured servitude, both parties agree on the contract, and it is temporary as well (typically lasting seven years). In slavery, there is no choice and it is for life. Another important detail is that typically upon the conclusion of the contract, indentured servants were granted a pension of sorts, usually in the form of land or a set sum of money. Slaves, if and when they were freed, were typically given nothing. Indentured servants had a degree of rights, they weren't property so much as they were considered something of butlers or maids. If you struck an indentured servant, there would be legal consequences, in the context of slavery that was rarely if ever the case. The main point I'm trying to make is that the two institutions are very different but the only reason some people were trying to paint them as the same is for the purpose of diminishing the struggles of one of the cultures. It's All Lives Matter, just in a different form. Don't get me wrong, I recognize that the Irish haven't had it easy, they have absolutely had their struggles, but as an Irish-American myself, I really don't appreciate the hardships of my ancestors being used as nothing more than a tool to beat down another culture. That's all the "Irish slaves" narrative was. I don't believe that anyone sharing that crap really cares about my culture, and if they're of Irish descent themselves, I don't believe they respect their own culture even if they may think they do. That was just the best example of "all lives matter" rhetoric I could think of off the very top of my head, but there are many others. There's also the "blue lives matter" concept but I feel that's a topic for it's own entry as that is an entire subculture in and of itself. More significantly in my mind, all lives matter is a phrase that's emblematic of a culture that likes to feign compassion, often as a means of establishing an appearance of caring while having indifference being the true crux of ones worldview. That is "All Lives Matter".