4 ms·
> Out of context, "it's ok to be white" is not a disagreement with the phrase "it is not ok to be white", it is a disagreement with the phrase "it is ok to be n
by 0815test 7y ago
> Out of context, "it's ok to be white" is not a disagreement with the phrase "it is not ok to be white", it is a disagreement with the phrase "it is ok to be non-white."
This is the exact same argument, almost word-for-word as saying that the phrase "Black Lives Matter" disparages non-Black lives by supposedly implying that they "don't" Matter. And it's clearly wrong, in both cases. Contrary to popular misconception, Exceptio probat regulam de rebus non exceptis is not a generally-applicable principle of English semantics.
- Retra 7y agoYou're assuming the language is inherently symmetrical by focusing on the technical meaning rather than the meaning derived from usage. "Black Lives Matter" is a slogan. It means "Black lives also matter." If someone wanted to respond to that by saying "White Lives Matter", they would be egregiously missing the point, no? Creating conflict from something that they presumably don't disagree with? And why would anybody do that?