Kanye West debuted Season 9 of his Yeezy fashion label in Paris this evening, wearing a long-sleeved shirt with the slogan “White Lives Matter” on the back. Candace Owens was also pictured at the show and seen wearing a version of the shirt while standing with Kanye.
The question then becomes whether this statement was made for “clout” and marketing purposes, or whether it is a necessary statement and pushback against the divisive rhetoric that has been “rammed down our throats” in recent years.
Or is the statement itself divisive?
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11 thoughts on “White Lives Matter – A Necessary statement?”
All statements made today are potentially divisive. This is the nature of our world today. Someone always loses.
I think it is performative – sadly I think Kanye is quite ill and think he has a great insight, but it doesn’t hold up to scrutiny.
I’ve always taken ‘Black Lives Matter’ to be a sharp reminder, in a country (the USA) where racist violence does appear to be pervasive, that black lives matter as much as those of white people.
The phrases ‘all lives matter’ and ‘white lives matter’, although true, seem to be adopted primarily to mock the use of the phrase ‘black lives matter’. They aren’t unconscionable or racist statements, but nor are they very necessary or helpful either, in my view.
It’s not divisive at all, and it only became necessary because of all the other race nonsense we’ve been sold the last 6 years or so … truth is all lives matter… that’s the only necessary statement to make imo
It can be divisive. But black lives matter started the division. They have demonised white people for so long and demonised the our natural culure, which isn’t white culture, since britain isn’t celebrated by all nationalities. They got a taste of their own medicine that’s all I will say
True
Both statements are completely stupid and therefore not necessary at all. These statements are made for one purpose and one purpose only – to cause reactions.
I used to be conservative but since I discovered that both parties are really playing the same games, I decided to be politically homeless. The right say they are countering all the woke nonsense from the left but they are using the exact same tactics. They are no different
Still thinking about it. It shouldn’t be provocative or divisive- it only is if it is interpreted to mean that “black lives don’t matter” or that only white lives matter. I’ve seen posts about how this is “white supremacy” or anti-blackness. And it may be, if targeting to be the polar opposite of the background of the Black Lives Matter sentence/slogan. However, the fact that it seems to be immediately interpreted to mean just that seems to symbolise the politicalization (?) of everything that is said and done… why always immediately position things against each other and immediately judge the whole of someone’s being and actions on that categorisation? I understand how it angers people and how it can be interpreted etc. And it may be that. But for me, it has made me think mostly on how something like this immediately seems to mean that these shirts say that black lives don’t matter or that racism doesn’t need to be wiped out … what happened that everything is so polarised all off the time?!? And why grant so much attention to these two people wearing these shirts- if their intention is to make you stop and think- it’s not worked it seems. If their attention was to divide- job done, don’t fall for it and keep up the good fight for equality and inclusion and wiping out racism, antisemitism, homophobia, islamophobia etc!
I prefer ‘All lives matter’.
Just like with the rainbow flag… It was designed to include everyone. Literally ‘all colours of the rainbow’. But somehow someone found it necessary to add the ‘Black Trans Lives Matter’-triangle. What part of the concept ‘everyone’ didn’t you get? Let’s just stop singling out groups of people that ‘matter’ more than others for a certain period of time. It’s not inclusive at all. Let’s just stop it.
Kanye posted on his Instagram that he thinks BLM organisation is a scam and this was his statement against them. I do think he was being satirical. Taking the piss out of extremist woke militant people who attempt to patrol and control social media.
I don’t think it’s necessary but I get where they’re coming from. Black Lives Matter has become the laughing stock of the world so to hit them back with irony it’s very acceptable.
BLM must be fuming, i can just imagine the whole of the woke community, I’m sure they couldn’t get any sleep the night they saw that picture of Candice Owen wearing White Lives Matter.