On what marks the 19th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, Twitter users are using the hashtag #AllBuildingsMatter to make a provocative point about how tone-deaf and insensitive it is to respond to the Black Lives Matter movement with the phrase “All Lives Matter.”
Immediately, the hashtag was criticized for being insensitive and accused of diminishing the tragedy of the terrorist attacks. But those who are using it say – yes, that’s exactly the point.
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“It can’t be the same people who’ve been callous and apathetic about 195,000 people dying of coronavirus, saying, “so what the flu kills people every year,“ complaining about the #AllBuildingsMatter hashtag, can it?” responded one participant.
It’s been speculated that the hashtag was started by a Black Lives Matter supporter who wrote, “9/11 is sad but let’s remember that #AllBuildingsMatter.”
Social media sleuths uncovered that comedian Micheal Che actually made the first-ever “All Buildings Matter” comparison four years earlier in his Netflix special.
As the debate about the validity of the hashtag raged on, a white user attempted to explain the thinking behind it to his followers explaining, “#AllBuildingsMatter isn’t about downplaying the tragedy of 9/11, it’s an illustration of how ‘All Lives Matter’ downplays the severity of police brutality. It’s not stooping to their level, it’s showing them their own idiocy in terms even they can understand.”
“9/11 was and is a horrible tragedy. Unarmed black people dying at the hands of police is a horrible tragedy. No one should attempt to trivialize either one,” he concluded.
Another supporter posted that it was deeply ironic that people are, “Mad about #AllBuildingsMatter because life is more important. But was just giving praise to a 17 year old boy who went down to a whole different state, and city with AR-15 gun to protect buildings over lives.”
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