Politician booed for saying "All lives matter," apologizes

[Luiz 4,253]

Democratic presidential candidates Martin O’Malley and Bernie Sanders faced hecklers Saturday in the annual Netroots Nation convention in Phoenix as they tried to impress some of the party’s most influential activists.

As O’Malley was being interviewed on stage, demonstrators protesting cases of police brutality and the treatment of black Americans by law enforcement interrupted the setting.

The protesters stormed the convention hall chanting, “Black lives matter!” As O’Malley and interviewer Jose Antonio Vargas looked on, one of the group’s leaders took the stage and addressed the audience as a largely female group of demonstrators railed against police-involved shootings, the treatment of immigrants and Arizona’s racial history.

Before departing the stage, O’Malley told the convention: "Black lives matter. White lives matter. All lives matter," prompting some heckles and boos in the crowd.

O’Malley was immediately met with scrutiny and apologized for his comments.

"I meant no insensitivity by that and I apologize if that's what I communicated," he told reporters at an immigration event. "That was misstated. What I intended to say was that we're all in this together — that black lives do matter and we have a double-standard of justice in this country."

Sanders was met with heckling and protesters from the crowd as well as he tried to address the 3,000 Netroots activists. At one point, Sanders said: "Black lives of course matter. I spent 50 years of my life fighting for civil rights and if you don't want me to be here, that's OK."

During an abbreviated 20-minute appearance, the self-described democratic socialist from Vermont spoke about the need to address wealth and income inequality, noting that blacks and Hispanics face high rates of unemployment. Sanders was scheduled to meet with representatives of the organization Black Lives Matter after the speech, but his campaign manager, Jeff Weaver, attended the meeting instead, spokesman Michael Briggs said.

Sanders later addressed police brutality at a rally Saturday night, telling a crowd of more than 11,000 it is unacceptable for young black men to be beaten and killed while walking down the street.

"When a police officer breaks the law, that officer must be held accountable," Sanders said. He later quoted the 19th century black abolitionist Frederick Douglass: "Freedom doesn't come without struggle."

Both Sanders and O’Malley are considered to be longshots for the Democratic nomination behind Hillary Clinton. Clinton was not in Arizona Saturday, who instead decided to campaign in Iowa and Arkansas.

The response at the forum to both candidates shows that all Democratic candidates have work to do to understand the black lives movement, according to MoveOn.org executive director Anna Galland said.

"Saying that 'all lives matter' or 'white lives matter' immediately after saying 'black lives matter' minimizes and draws attention away from the specific, distinct ways in which black lives have been devalued by our society," Galland said.

She added that while issues of economic and racial justice intersect, "portrayals of racial injustice as merely an offshoot of economic injustice or the implication that solutions to economic inequality will take care of racism represent a fundamental misunderstanding of how race operates in our country."

The demonstrators were promoting the national “Black Lives Matter” movement, which seeks changes to police policies following high profile deaths of black men at the hands of law enforcement officers.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/07/19/omalley-sanders-heckled-during-presidential-forum-at-netroots-convention/

 

 

[craig 680]

Conservative media had fun with the headline: :O'Malley apologizes for saying all lives matter."

Trump's comment, although tactless and inappropriate, reminds me of General Patton's line: "The object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his."

 

[Morphine Prince 109,650]

Later that day, O'Malley apologized for using the phrase in that context if it was perceived that he was minimizing the importance of blacks killed by police.

"I meant no disrespect," O'Malley said in an interview onThis Week in Blackness, a digital show. "That was a mistake on my part and I meant no disrespect. I did not mean to be insensitive in any way or communicate that I did not understand the tremendous passion, commitment and feeling and depth of feeling that all of us should be attaching to this issue."

Judith Butler, a philosopher at the University of California, Berkeley, recently explained why some find it offensive to respond to the "Black Lives Matter" movement with the "all lives matter."

"When some people rejoin with 'All Lives Matter' they misunderstand the problem, but not because their message is untrue. It is true that all lives matter, but it is equally true that not all lives are understood to matter, which is precisely why it is most important to name the lives that have not mattered, and are struggling to matter in the way they deserve," Butler said in an interview with The New York Times. "If we jump too quickly to the universal formulation, 'all lives matter,' then we miss the fact that black people have not yet been included in the idea of 'all lives.'

Source: http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/18/politics/martin-omalley-all-lives-matter/

 

[Didymus 34,380]

Hmm. I still think that "(All) Lives Matter" is a better message, especially when it's consciously used in a context of racist violence. I mean, obviously the lives of black people do matter. The success of the phrase and the near universal outrage concerning police violence against black people itself makes its message and power confused imo.

I think it's very crude to say that black people aren't included "yet" when we talk about universal mankind. I mean, what kind of bs is that. To pretend that absolutely nothing has been done to include people of color in society is a suspicious move to me  

[Tumblr 1,846]

At least he apologised 

 

[craig 680]

 "If we jump too quickly to the universal formulation, 'all lives matter,' then we miss the fact that black people have not yet been included in the idea of 'all lives.'

You could argue the same for poor white people. They get abused by the police sometimes, and suffer poverty, and don't get near the attention from progressive-leftist media that blacks do,

If you want to reform the police, you'll build a bigger coalition and come up with better reforms if you consider policing overall, not just make it a race issue (which black lives matter does). 

[Supersonic 49,376]

Good. "All lives matter" stems from the racist fear that when black lives matter, yours doesn't anymore. That way of thinking is irratically stupid. White people don't need be catered to in a movement that is specifically about how black people suffer disproportionally from police violence. Accept that your health or life is not in constant jeopardy because of your skin color or join the KKK.

[Didymus 34,380]

Good. "All lives matter" stems from the racist fear that when black lives matter, yours doesn't anymore. That way of thinking is irratically stupid. White people don't need be catered to in a movement that is specifically about how black people suffer disproportionally from police violence. Accept that your health or life is not in constant jeopardy because of your skin color or join the KKK.

I think that the idea of every person who prefers the "All lives matter" phrase to combat racism (which is perfectly logical and appropriate and can even be seen as a synonym for "Black lives matter") being a racist is quite cruel and disrespectful. The two phrases have different effects, the one emphasizes a universal togetherness, the other creates the idea of an experienced inferiority. It just depends where you want to put the focus, I don't see why both phrases shouldn't be accepted as important and useful  

Just reel it in. A translation of your post would be: if you don't wanna insist on the idea of black people systematically and continuously being terrorized then you're a racist. I'm definitely not a racist and yet you're calling me one right now. You're calling me a white person who cannot show the respect black people deserve because I choose to focus on universal togetherness as a way to solve possible conflicts. So why do you think a phrase like "All lives matter" is necessary? For exactly the kind of dynamic you're spreading around here.

[craig 680]

Good. "All lives matter" stems from the racist fear that when black lives matter, yours doesn't anymore. That way of thinking is irratically stupid. White people don't need be catered to in a movement that is specifically about how black people suffer disproportionally from police violence. Accept that your health or life is not in constant jeopardy because of your skin color or join the KKK.

That argument only plays to the hardcore progressive base. Good luck trying to sell it to the white working class or the moderate swing voters who you need for real reform.

If a was a selfish millionaire,  I'd love identity politics, cause it gets everyone fighting about race and gender while ignoring growing economic equality.

[Supersonic 49,376]

A translation of your post would be: if you don't wanna insist on the idea of black people systematically and continuously being terrorized then you're a racist.

Correct.

[Alcina Dimitrescu 1,157]

Good. "All lives matter" stems from the racist fear that when black lives matter, yours doesn't anymore. That way of thinking is irratically stupid. White people don't need be catered to in a movement that is specifically about how black people suffer disproportionally from police violence. Accept that your health or life is not in constant jeopardy because of your skin color or join the KKK.

lol. this is really really really idiotic. Like some next level **** stupid. This is the kind of "progressive" thinking that causes more separation and is just counter-productive to equal treatment.

[Luiz 4,253]

off-topic: posted this yesterday  this is like the third time where i realize my thread titles suck and dont grab attention  

 

anyways, it looks so crazy that someone can basically say "i care for all human beings" and then get labeled a racist  w/e i understand the black lives matter thing but it still feels odd. and then those protesters were pretty disrespectful to bernie sanders after o'malley spoke.

 

w/e, i wonder if we'll get a LatinoLivesMatter soon 

[Melech 9,900]

off-topic: posted this yesterday  this is like the third time where i realize my thread titles suck and dont grab attention  

 

anyways, it looks so crazy that someone can basically say "i care for all human beings" and then get labeled a racist  w/e i understand the black lives matter thing but it still feels odd. and then those protesters were pretty disrespectful to bernie sanders after o'malley spoke.

 

w/e, i wonder if we'll get a LatinoLivesMatter soon 

or #NativeAmericanLivesMatter or #MuslimLivesMatter or #JewishLivesMatter 

I also think the protestors were disrespectful. Especially to Sanders. He is like one of the best politicians in America. 

´

[Didymus 34,380]

#RacistLivesMatter

[Jjang 2,262]

Why include everyone in a movement / statement that is strictly directed to a specific community? It makes no sense no matter how hard you attempt to spin the concept around. Its just unnecessary and quiet self serving, in my opinion. There is no denying that all lives matter is ultimately the politically correct term, but why not address the issue in a specific manner when systematic oppression is specifically directed towards minority groups? that's one ignorant form of tone policing.