Roose and McIntosh— do all lives really matter?

ARGUMENT:

Each author argues, respectfully, about some form of privilege, wherever it be white privilege, male privilege, etc.

In specific, McIntosh, who wrote “White Privilege Knapsack,” brings up specific points of privilege, such as how she, being a white person, go shopping alone without fear of being harassed or followed, or have her voice heard if she was the only member of her race in a group. McIntosh also brings up a good point by saying that white people may not recognize their privilege, as many males also may not recognize their privilege, because they are raised not to.

I feel as though her argument is to bring awareness to white privilege, and argue for what it is. Many people may not see or understand their privilege, and McIntosh takes the time to explain just how privileged males and white people are, using specific examples. She argues that, while we may not see our privilege, that it is still there and we must make an effort to see it, and just how it affects the world around us.

Next, in Kevin Roose's article, he talks all about the all lives matter movement. He gives good scenarios, though, and really makes the reader understand just what all lives matter really means. He compares it to asking for your fair share at dinner, your request being ignored or brushed over, and how it relates to underprivileged people.

 His argument is that, by saying all lives matter, you are denying the voices of all the under privileged people in the world. The difference between all lives matter and black lives matter is the "too" at the end of the statement. He argues that all lives matter is asking and deserving your fair share, but the black lives matter movement is asking for their fair share too.

These articles spoke to me in a very powerful way, especially the all lives matter one. Roose helped me see things from a different perspective, and while I'm already an advocator for black lives matter, it still managed to open my eyes to thing I may not have thought about. In my head, I thought about it like this: by saying "all lives matter", you are denying the voices of minorities because we already know white lives matter. But I never thought about it in the way of asking you father for dinner, and I think that was very enlightening.