The Pitfalls Of A Buzzword Poem by Denis Mair

The Pitfalls Of A Buzzword

Rating: 5.0


If only I could find someone who can really see beyond color
I would take guidance, because I want to see beyond color,
But "ALL LIVES MATTER" is not really a broad-minded phrase.
If only the people who said it could really see beyond color,
But "ALL LIVES MATTER" is a parody of "BLACK LIVES MATTER."
Does echoing this phrase really show respect for all life?
Why show respect in this way for policemen who risk danger?
Why not say BLUE LOVERS NEEDED, or GIVE THE BLUE SHIELD LOVE?
Say something original...don't just echo someone else's words.
'BLACK LIVES MATTER' was a sob wrung from a mother's heart;
It was voiced because somebody's trigger finger was jumpy;
It wasn't intended to exclude the value of other-colored lives;
It advocates against things that are done to a certain group.
I don't like words that run on rails, so I don't want to say
WHITE LIVES MATTER can never steal fire from BLACK LIVES MATTER;
"ALL LIVES MATTER" can never trump the words BLACK LIVES MATTER.
I didn't want to say it, but I said it, because I breathe,
And the air is snide from snide phrases being slung around,
Really I just want to say, BLACK LIVES MATTER to this white soul!

Monday, August 28, 2017
Topic(s) of this poem: respect,response,responsibility
POET'S NOTES ABOUT THE POEM
SOMETIMES A WORD OR SENTENCE WHICH APPEARS INNOCENT MAY DENOTE A NEGATIVE MEANING. After Trayvon Martin's death, his parents helped to found BLACK LIVES MATTER. The organization grew and began to hold public protests. Before long, right-wing politicians and bloggers began using the phrase WHITE LIVES MATTER in a context of attacking BLACK LIVES MATTER. Facebook Pages and leaflets appeared on many campuses under the name of WHITE STUDENT UNION, claiming that BLACK LIVES MATTER is a racist organization. WHITE LIVES MATTER signs appeared overnight on the University of Massachusetts campus, along with signs calling for preservation of white heritage and rights. There were also hangman's nooses strung up on trees and lamp posts. Student sympathizers of BLACK LIVES MATTER were outraged. They occupied the administration building and demanded that the university denounce the "WHITE LIVES MATTER" signs as a form of hate speech. The university leaders did not want to be forced to denounce that slogan as hate speech, so they defused the crisis by implementing university-wide sensitivity training classes. At that time, some voices in the media ridiculed the students for creating a campus disturbance and treating innocuous words as hate speech. It is hard to judge the right or wrong of this, but I sympathize with the students. At around that time, my feelings were also hurt by some politicians who used the phrase ALL LIVES MATTER, because I felt their sympathies were not as broad-minded as the phrase pretends to be. They were deliberately echoing "BLACK LIVES MATTER, " twisting words in a weasel-like way, so I felt my feelings were being toyed with.
COMMENTS OF THE POEM
Laurie Van Der Hart 08 September 2017

Denis, this is a brave and honest discussion. Words are powerful and are used as a powerful weapon or instrument for influencing people's opinions. Buzzwords often arise to counteract some negative idea, such as Black is Beautiful'... I do not live in America, so I don't feel the intensity of the current racial issues. But I grew up in Zimbabwe and South Africa which, countries, as you no doubt know, were bitterly divided to the point of civil war along racial lines. I think that a person has potential to view people of all races as equal, (could think of several anecdotes describing young children's innocent impartiality) but very soon one is influenced by one's parents and the social environment that one is immersed in. For me personally, I have fought against the prejudices I grew up with. I try to cultivate the attitude expressed by the Apostle Paul which reflects God's view of people: 'At this Peter began to speak, and he said: “Now I truly understand that God is not partial, 35 but in every nation the man who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.' (Acts 10,34,35) It's not easy. When I left one job in an educational institute in a predominantly black region of South Africa, my black boss gave me a glowing reference, and said, amongst other things, that I was color-blind. Well, I appreciated that comment, and it was a bit ironic because I disliked him quite strongly! He used to sit and smoke in his office all day, and the rest of us lived in his cloud of smoke and inactivity. But, I didn't dislike him because of his color, but rather his actions, and I suppose I was able not to show these emotions. Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that it's not easy to be color-blind, but it's worth the effort to keep on refining one's attitudes. One thing I know for sure is that, in every nation in which I've lived, there are highly intelligent people, kind and considerate people, and the opposite.

1 0 Reply
Denis Mair 09 September 2017

Laurie, thanks for giving it some thought, and thanks for your honest sharing. It must have been a very sticky, tricky situation. Conflict and lingering grievances were intense in your country, and I believe you tried to live idealistically in the midst of it. In such a situation, misunderstanding can arise easily. if members of the teachers union had stood up against that boss, perhaps their motives would have been questioned. So I know what you mean when you say that it was difficult. I like what you say: IT'S NOT EASY TO BE COLOR-BLIND, BUT IT'S WORTH THE EFFORT TO KEEP ON REFINING ONE'S ATTITUDES.

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Bharati Nayak 30 August 2017

But I want to say, black lives matter to this white soul - - -I like the last sentence. A buzz word may be having different meaning to different people.and some times a word or sentence which appears so innocent may denote a very negative meaning.Yes, when soul is pure, he will surely care for all people irrespective of race, religion, caste or creed. Bri's and Tom BillBorough's comments and your reply have made me understand the poem properly.

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Tom Billsborough 29 August 2017

A very interesting discussion here and a thought provoking poem. As a white person I don't think I could ever use the slogan Black Lives Matter. I feel somehow it would be condescending, as though I was thinking Black Lives matter too, as an afterthought. I can understand why the mother used the phrase because of a perceived and I think true sense of injustice but my immediate feeling would be sorrow that a young person of whatever race had died in this manner. I agree that we should exercise caution in using buzzwords.

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