Musicians across a number of genres have stepped forward in recent days to support protestors following the death of George Floyd in Minnesota. Lil Wayne, Cardi B, YG, Rihanna, and Beyonce are just some of the mainstream voices that have stepped to voice their own sadness and frustration about police brutality against people of color. Adding to that list, Billie Eilish shared an Instagram post where she blasts those who use the “All Lives Matter” slogan when Black Lives Matter is brought up in conversations.
Sharing the screenshots of her thoughts in the post, Eilish began the lengthy post by letting her followers know that she has spent most of the week trying to “figure out a way to address this delicately” and “take time to think through what I say and how I say it.” Getting into the main part of her message, she began by asking for silence from those who say “All Lives Matter.”
No one is saying your life doesn’t matter. No one is saying your life is not hard No one is saying literally anything at all about you…… All you MFs do is find a way to make everything about yourself. This is not about you. Stop making everything about you. You are not in need. You are not in danger.
Eilish then remind those in favor of this phrase that they are in a place of privilege, even when their life struggles are thrown into the mix, saying “YOU ARE PRIVILEGED WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT. SOCIETY GIVES YOU PRIVILEGE JUST FOR BEING WHITE. YOU CAN BE POOR, YOU CAN BE STRUGGLING.. AND STILL YOUR SKIN COLOR IS GIVING YOU MORE PRIVILEGE.”
Eilish then posed a question that ultimately explained the ideology behind Black Lives Matter further down in her message.
If all lives matter why are black people killed for just being black? Why are immigrants persecuted? Why are white people given opportunities that people of other races aren’t? Why is it okay for white people to protest literally being asked to stay at home while carrying semi-automatic weapons? Why is it okay for black people to be called thugs for protesting the murder of innocent people?. Do you know why???? White. F*cking. Privilege.
Closing her message, Eilish reminded her audience of the true meaning of Black Lives Matters.
But right now right in this moment … we have to address hundreds of years of oppression of black people. The slogan of #blacklivesmatter does not mean other lives don’t. It’s calling attention to the fact that society clearly thinks blak lives don’t f*cking matter!!!!!! And they f*cking do!!!!!!!
