Don’t be ambiguous

In Lynne Robinson’s editorial “Dreams from my mother” (Tempo, June 11-17, 2020), she writes: “Black lives matter, but so do red ones, and brown, yellow and white” and, “Yes, black lives matter. But so do all other lives.”

“All lives matter” is a cleverly weaponized statement which has both a meaning and a purpose. While its meaning may appear innocent enough (who can really argue against it?), its purpose is much more sinister – to erase the Black experience of white supremacy in America, and to neuter the potency of this increasingly empowered movement, which has only come this far by way of the labor of Black/Indigenous communities, organizers, thinkers and activists.

Now is not the time for ambiguity. Ambiguous and vague adages, including sentiments equating to “well we’re all the same on the inside,” are rooted in idealism rather than reality. They are conceptually fun, easy to recite and great for putting on bumper stickers, but they cannot alone bear the weight of this moment.

This is a time that calls for specificity: both in articulating Black lives and experiences, and in examining the failure of white people to take aim at structures of power that have benefited us for centuries.

The insidiousness of “All lives matter” rhetoric lies in its nonspecificity. It clogs and derails the flow of productive discourse, erodes the work of Black activism and benefits absolutely no one.

I was disappointed that this piece seemed to lack the introspective work that we must demand of white activism during this incredible moment in civil rights.

Sierra Hardy

El Prado Leave the statues up

I grew up in Taos, descended in equal parts Spanish and Native American, so the blood of both courses through my veins and into my heart.

These statues, now controversial, are of former settlers, OK conquerers/conquistadores. It’s not like they committed their heinous acts recently. Native Americans, at war with the Spanish interlopers, also did some things we can’t be proud of.

Leave the statues up – do you want to tear down statues of Native Americans, too? Leave something for our children and grandchildren so that they learn about the history of past mistakes.

Ric (LeRoy) Rivera Centennial, Colorado