Dear CBers, 

Chatterbox: Chirp at Cricket

Dear CBers, 

Dear CBers, 

I am The Activist. I want to change the world. And you can help me. Read my posts, please. And please spread the word. 

Everyone matters. 

Black lives matter.

LGBTQIAP+ lives matter.

All lives matter.

These days, we need to take care of the people in risk of getting Covid 19. You can help by wearing a masK! Just wear a fricking mask!!!!! I'm serious!  You can save a persons life by wearing some stupid mask. It's not like you're being forced to wear it. It's a free country. But be a kind person and just wear it.

Thank you.

The Activist 

submitted by The Activist, who’s asking?
(July 3, 2020 - 11:17 am)

The world is messed up. Skin tone should be a feature like blond hair or brown eyes!! Random CBer out.

submitted by Random CBer
(July 3, 2020 - 12:27 pm)

Agreed. 

submitted by The Activist
(July 3, 2020 - 1:30 pm)

This is all so true! By the way, are you a CBer under a different name?

submitted by DoodleGirl, age 13, Earth
(July 3, 2020 - 2:10 pm)

I agree with you, Activist, and I'm really glad you made this thread. The world is messy, and we can't always be perfect- and therefore can't always be oerfect to each other. Still, we must always try our best.

Equality, kindness, peace, justice- things that everyone has the right to be entilted to, and be shown.

Every single one of you are lovely, valuable people, and I hope you know that. <333 

submitted by Luna-Starr, age 27 eons, Existential Ponderment
(July 3, 2020 - 3:04 pm)

Yes, I think the world is messed up. 

The mask issue: We just need to be careful the hospitals don't run outta room. We can't just not go out for five months and hope that's enough. On that note, I kinda miss my grandparents...

On the BLM issue: Well, this one's good.

 @Everybody:  I say what I believe and I welcome debate. I try to be respectful.   

submitted by Velvet Serpent
(July 3, 2020 - 9:08 pm)

Yes, I think this is a great awareness thread.

Thank you for making people aware of theses things. Stay safe everybody! 

submitted by Spellbound, age 11, nowhere to be found
(July 4, 2020 - 8:09 am)

Yes, this is a great thread to have especially in this time.

I think that wearing masks is very important because they protect others more than they protect you. So even if you don't care whether you get sick, if you don't wear a mask you could be asymptomatic and you could get another person sick, and they could even die. My great aunt and uncle died from the virus, and I don't want anyone else to go through that.

Some people will be like "Making me wear a mask takes away my rights because it's a free country". But I think that brave men and women served and even died for our freedom not so that we can use it as an excuse to do whatever we want and even hurt people, but so that we can use our freedoms to make the world a better place for everyone.

We should always be respectful and loving to others. Even if you don't agree with someone's perspective or opinion, you can still love them and be polite. It's honestly kinda scary when you see videos of police brutality against black people. Just because their skin is a different color doesn't mean they don't matter. I also think that the police are very important and I hope that through the recent protests and other events, change can happen so that the police can do a better job of serving the community. 

 

submitted by Barnswallow
(July 4, 2020 - 11:21 am)

Oh dear. Oh dear oh dear oh dear.

I think and hope that you didn't mean it this way, but the phrase "all lives matter" can be problematic. A lot of people use it to invalidate the Black Lives Matter movement - they're like, "You shouldn't say BLM, because all lives matter, and what about white people and non-black POC? Are you saying we don't matter too?"

Imagine there's a house on fire, and the fire department comes to put out the fire. Then, a neighbor (whose house isn't on fire) comes out and says, "All houses matter! Why aren't you spraying water on my house, too?" That's effectively what people are saying when they say "all lives matter."

Or, think about it this way: when people say "save the rainforest" or "save the sea turtles," no one says "no, save all forests!" or "no, save all animals!" So why, when people say "Black lives matter," do people respond, "no, all lives matter"?

I don't want to get in a fight about this, but I wanted to let you know that you really shouldn't say "all lives matter." If you truly believe that all lives matter, then join the Black Lives Matter movement.

I  don't  believe  that  anyone  on  this  thread  means  all  lives  matter  in  that  way . 



Admin   

submitted by Kitten, she/her
(July 9, 2020 - 9:54 pm)

We can’t censor phrases or ideas just because we don’t agree with them or because we think they could be perceived as offensive. Thought policing leads down a dangerous road. Perceiving the phrase “all lives matter” as racist disrespects the person who says it, because it assumes that they are lying and that they are racist without evidence. For black lives to matter, all lives have to matter equally. We can’t say that one race is better or worse, or more or less deserving, even temporarily. It's part of being a colorblind society--which Martin Luther King Jr strove after.

The idea that someone does not truly care about all lives or black lives if they are not a member of BLM is also untrue.

 

And Admin doesn't post comments without checking for accuracy, and we don't always have time to do that, so I have had to cut some of your second paragraph, Micearenice. I hope you understand.

Admin

submitted by Micearenice, age 17
(July 11, 2020 - 9:37 am)

I'm not trying to thought police, and I truly don't think that anyone on this thread is trying to be racist.

We're saying that Black people deserve equal opportunities to people of other races/ethnicities.

You're right; I should not have said that people must join BLM to support Black lives. There are plenty of other ways to fight for equality.

submitted by Kitten, she/her
(July 11, 2020 - 1:38 pm)

Admins, why did you cut most of my comment? It didn't seem problematic.

It's possible that the CB is not the best place for this conversation,
and that's fine with me. I can stop posting about this if my posts are not okay. My goal is just to convey my thoughts and feelings
about this issue. 

Here are some of my thoughts again, phrased a little differently. I'm not speaking for anyone else here; these are just my own thoughts.

I'm not trying to imply that Black people are 'better' or 'more deserving.' I think people of all races are equal, and I think everyone on this thread believes that. However, I think that Black people are not treated as equal, and that they are disproportionately affected by racism and discrimination. 

When I say Black Lives Matter, I'm implying the word "too." I'm not trying to say that only Black lives matter, or that they matter more than other lives. I just think that Black lives are often treated like they don't matter, and I think that the BLM movement is trying to convey that Black people matter just as much as white people.

Again, I'm not trying to speak for anyone else. These are just my own thoughts.

Thank you for rewording your previous comment, Kitten, into this thoughtful comment. This topic can be politicized, and Chatterbox avoids politics.

Admin

submitted by Kitten, she/her
(July 11, 2020 - 4:16 pm)

I agree with what you said Kitten. However, another way you could look at it is that black people are not the only ones who aren't treated equally in society. As humans I believe we all in our minds don't always treat others equally because of various biases or differences in beliefs, social/financial standing, or even as simple as the way we dress or talk. "All lives matter" kind of sums that up. On the other hand, the generality does not do specific groups any favors, so I think it's also necessary to call out the larger groups, such as BLM, more specifically. 

submitted by Jwyn, age 15
(July 11, 2020 - 5:02 pm)

Yes.

Everyone is unique in their own ways.

Everyone is perfect and beautiful.

It's not bad if you love someone your gender or if you have dark skin.  

Why the HECK do people think it is? 

 

Also, wear a mask already! People are literally dying every day because stupid people go outside without a mask and spread covid. what the heck, we might all be dead in a year! 

and on that ominous note, goodbye. 

PS- you matter. everyone matters.  

submitted by HeroesOfOlympus, age eternal, somewhere-everywhere
(July 4, 2020 - 12:01 pm)

This is a good thread, and all of this is very true. I think it's good to acknowledge what's wrong with the world and say that we can fix it, especially with youth here on the CB, because it sounds cheesy, but we all have the ability to change the world. That's what we're seeing in the world now, and hopefully we'll continue to see it in the future. Everyone stay safe, wear a mask, and stand up for what you believe in. Love you all <3

submitted by Quill
(July 4, 2020 - 6:08 pm)

Thank you for making this thread. These are all things that are really important, and there just doesn't seem like there's anything a random kid(/cber) can do. Does anyone have ideas for things that can be done to help in some way?

submitted by another random cber
(July 6, 2020 - 9:23 am)