I broke my leg while hiking, and it really, REALLY hurt;
As I waited for assistance, calmly writhing in the dirt,
I was contemplating this and that, anticipating hell,
And I hoped the paramedics fixed my other limbs as well!
Just the one was really broken, and the other three were fine,
But, the thing is, all limbs matter, and of course, these limbs are mine!
When the ambulance came screaming up, not many words were spoken—
True professionals, they focused on the limb that had been broken—
What they did could not be faulted, but in truth it seemed to me
That in focusing on that one, they’d dismissed the other three!
They had saved my leg completely—so that battle had been won—
But, the thing is, all limbs matter, and they’d only saved the one!
So the worst of it is over; now a couple weeks have passed
And I’ve sort of grown accustomed to my left leg in a cast
Both my arms are working perfectly; my right leg’s really great,
But they’ve none of them been casted, which I kinda sorta hate
See, I know that they are healthy, but just one has been restored;
And the thing is, all limbs matter—ah, but three have been ignored!
I really doubt that any regular readers here need this explained, but yeah, this is a Black Lives Matter vs. All Lives Matter thing. I am a long time advocate of contextualism, of the understanding that meaning is *always* dependent on context, that “all lives matter” means very different things depending on how it is used. And it turns out, “all lives matter” is often (quite often? Most often?) used as a response to “black lives matter”… which, in context, is not at all inclusive; rather, it is used to shut down, to dismiss, to eliminate.
I could say more, but I’d rather we–you and I–listened, instead. Take a look at the #blacklivesmatter feed on twitter, or Facebook, or whatever. Resist the urge to say “here’s a solution”, even if we think it is a good idea. Read, listen, listen some more, read some more.
Yes, I have more to say here… but I just deleted a whole bunch of it, because this is not about what I think. So I’ll say more, but not here.
Edit: how convenient! A guide to what to do when told “Black Lives Matter”!
Bravo!
Took me a while to get it at first, but bravo!
Also appicable to feminism vs. MRAs and probably pretty much every other social justive discussion. Again, bravo, and thank you!
The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore made a very similar analogy this week, but not as poetically.
On The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore, “Felonious Monk” made a very similar analogy. Not as poetically, but more grandiloquently: “”All lives matter” is an unimpeachable veracity, but if one suffers a schism in the very osseum of their extremity, and seeking assistance, the Hippocratic acolyte tells the sufferer that no limb should suffer such opprobrium, this does nothing to mend the fissure.” Check it: http://www.cc.com/video-clips/cwyjxq/the-nightly-show-all-words-matter—felonious-munk
But more grandiloquently: “”All lives matter” is an unimpeachable veracity, but if one suffers a schism in the very osseum of their extremity, and seeking assistance, the Hippocratic acolyte tells the sufferer that no limb should suffer such opprobrium, this does nothing to mend the fissure.”
Oops. Go ahead and delete the extra post. And this one.
I certainly don’t “get it”. What is the linkage between the verse and the prose?
Beautiful analogy!
This also applies to a common dismissive response to feminism, along the lines of, “if you’re for equality you should be a humanist, not a feminist”.
(Also a heads up, I couldn’t login with Facebook like I normally would because the popup which would normally request permission had some kind of error:
“error”: {
“message”: “Error validating application. Application has been deleted.”,
“type”: “OAuthException”,
“code”: 101
)
As I began reading the poem I thought “oh no!” but by the time I finished reading the whole post I decided it must be metaphorical and that the Cuttlefish limbs were actually ok. Then I saw this on Pharyngula: “Currently, my right leg is ailing me, and I might need a third leg (a cane) or fourth (crutches) or some manipulation of my current appendages (at minimum, some sort of brace).”
So now I’m thinking that the example was real and that condolences are in order. I’m sitting here with a broken toe which has slowed me down considerably, I’m not sure I can even imagine the difficulties of a full on broken leg.
Eat well, stay fit, and… well… you know… Die Anyway
Oh!
Sorry, Die Anyway, thank you so much for your concern, but nothing on me is actually broken! I do have a brace on my right knee as I type this, mostly to let my medial whatchamacallit ligament to rest. I do not anticipate any sort of actual surgery, but if at worst it comes to that, there are tons of people who get that done.
So, no broken leg–I have suffered through a couple of broken toes, though (two different occasions), and a hand, and both bones in the forearm, and a collarbone… all on different occasions… so you have my sympathies for a broken toe! But you were right the first time–only a metaphor.
I seem to have reached the age where most of my conversations are about health issues. If not my own, those of my friends. In any case, best wishes… and puuhleeese, more poems.
I hate that the correct comment of ‘Of course. All lives matter.’ is being used by people trying to deny that very thing. That somehow wanting all people to prosper somehow means it’s ok if some people don’t prosper. They are twisting words and making people think that somehow caring about *everyone* could possibly be wrong.
Been a while since the Cuttlefish posted. Hope all is well and something good will come down shortly. We really need you what with all these rethuglicans running around.
Great poem Cuttlefish. I am beyond sick of hearing the “all lives matter” refrain in discussions of Black Lives Matter protests. Whenever I see someone mention that, I *know* they do not understand what the BLM movement is about.