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#ALM V #BLM

Huge differences here.

First off, #ALM seems to be taking a huge defensive stance and throwing out pointed attacks at #BLM whenever they get the chance.

#BLM seems to be much more in pursuit of the real problem at hand.

Overall, #BLM just seems much more controlled and after something whereas #ALM seems to be fighting just “because.”

I first heard about the Philando Castile shooting through some friends who were reading about it via some articles. I didn’t know what was really going on until I searched it up myself, which led me to this article.

http://www.kare11.com/news/family-man-shot-by-police-has-died/265772810

#alm - #blm

I first heard about the shooting in Falcon Heights from a customer who came into the coffeeshop that I work at. They told me that a shooting had just happened near us and showed me the live video taken by Philando Castille’s girlfriend.

#ALM vs. #BLM

Interestingly, over the past few months I have seen both #alm and #blm actually start to (rarely) join fronts when they have stereotypically been opponents. Usually they have been used against each other to push for one side or the other, but since more cases have come out regarding all races, they causes have come together. #alm was generally used sarcastically, but is now being used very seriously. Kyle Johnson

#ALM v #BLM

In terms of aesthetics I think both movements rely on “bold” imagery, by this I mean content that draws from the imagination ideas of protest, resistance to the corrupt system, they do this by utilizing specific grunge (counterculture) typography, images of people in black/protest-wear, racial protest symbols(the raised fist for Civil rights...for BLM).

That being said, I find that #BLM is a reactionary response to both perceived and real slights(this word does not quite encompass what I mean by slight....institutionalized racism and class-ism et al) and #ALM is a reactionary response to #BLM, a sort of slight smudging movement, who’s aim is to "make inclusive” disenfranchisement/oppression...its like when there’s a soccer tournament and the #1 team and #500 team both get gold ribbons for participation...but in this case

“if you’re opressed....we’re all oppressed....so really your not oppressed...or if you are.... only slightly more than the rest of us who are also oppressed by the system...and hopefully in a generation or two.... institutionalized prejudice based on the level of melanin in your skin...or the net worth of the uterus/parental units(because we’re pregnant remember) you came out from won’t matter...so you’ll be back to regular oppression...like the rest of us ”

Philando Castile without the Internet

I heard about this event in a very strange setting. I learned about it a day later on top of a mountain at West Point; one of the few places that had cell phone service. I did not personally read the article but others told me about it. I have since seen the articles shared on social media multiple times and saw screenshots from the video which I cannot find a link for. Kyle Johnson

#BLM and #ALM

What I found in the blm tag was mostly people in support of the movement, people defending an oppressed group’s rights as people, and some consistent questioning of the institutions that uphold racism. Scattered about in between though, were people against the movement, nearly every one of them only referring to black people as “thugs”, a dehumanizing term used to other them.

What I found in the alm tag in turn was also mostly people in support of the movement, but instead of defending the rights of of any oppressed people, it was more like defense of “freedom of opinion” and somehow equating the movement to an inverted KKK, still using the term “thugs”. Intermingled similarly were people arguing against the alm concept, pointing out that it was only created to go against the blm movement.

I think the similarities are that each ends up being treated as more of a “philosophical ideal” or opinion rather than standpoints of defending rights. Everything in opposition of blm and in support of alm brought up things like “if you can express your opinion, than i can express mine”, not acknowledging that this ‘opinion’ is textbook racism, whereas the blm movement is trying to say “stop killing black people, because black people are people”, which most definitely is NOT RACISM.

-steph

Philando Shooting

I was on my phone when I got a Reddit alert about a shooting in MN, that info sent me to a facebook video. Then my little brother came into my room saying that there was a shooting somewhere in Roseville, this was of course right around the time of the Alton Sterling shooting, so that was fresh in my head. I googled Falcon Heights not many media websites were covering the story, checked around 9pm, KARE 11 said something about it, around 12-2am The star tribune, and other local papers were writing about it.

I’m not sure if this was the original, but it was something similar to this :https://www.reddit.com/r/NoFilterNews/comments/4rmwf3/disturbing_video_shows_bleeding_man_in_the/

I first heard of the shooting of Philando Castile this summer from my roommate, who had heard about it the day that it happened as she was very familiar with the Falcon Heights area.

My first exposure to the shooting via digital/social media was a reposting of the video Philando’s girlfriend had shared, which I think later was taken down.

-steph

#ALM and #BLM

While searching #ALM and #BLM on Twitter, they shared similar characteristics but definitely not similar messages. Both argue and critique the other side- for every tweet of support for the hashtag, there was a tweet critiquing the other.

While searching for #ALM specifically, there was more anger, hate, and critique of the #BLM movement, rather than “defending their cause.” I expected this since #ALM isn’t actually a movement, more so just a defense response to the #BLM movement. It took #BLM to form #ALM. #ALM tended to share bias videos and images and false personal testimony to support their opinions.

For the most part, however, #BLM tweets tended to be more diplomatic in content, explaining their reasoning effectively and explaining how #ALM is null. Alongside these tweets, videos of protests and inspiring photos were very evident as to promote their message.

“#ALM is a problem because once again it shifts the focus away from systemic racism and black lives unarmed people being shot and killed” - @Aye_Haaa

“The Black Lives Matter organization is nothing more than the Klan with a tan. #BLM #Klan #ALM” - @GopAaron

- Corey

#blm #alm

Philando Castile

I first heard about this shooting on Facebook. It started with Hamline friends locally and then spread state wide to nation wide. It wasn’t long before something that happened less than 10 minutes way from campus was garnering national attention. That said, I honestly don’t remember where I first heard about this on the news. It might have been Kare11 like many of my classmates have shared or it may have been the StarTribune or WCCO. I imagine it was a local news outlet cause I looked for updates while it was happening, but I can’t say for sure.

Falcon Heights

I first heard about the Falcon Heights shooting the a few hours after the actual event took place through friends posts on social media. The live video feed recorded at the scene had just concluded. Because I was seeing so many rapid fire posts without any context, I sought more information to fully understand what was going on. I saw one of my friends on Facebook had linked this article with the video (DISCLAIMER: GRAPHIC). It was interesting as I was seeing posts on Twitter from people all over the country with extremely different sides of the story compared to people whom were actually in Falcon Heights. People were deeming it fake and attention seeking, while I was seeing live video being taken from friends.

- Corey

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http://www.citypages.com/news/graphic-video-shows-black-man-bleeding-after-police-shooting-in-falcon-heights-video-8415016

#Falcon Heights

#ALM & #BLM

When looking at #AllLivesMatter and #BlackLivesMatter tweets (Not the movement) in perspective to the other, both share similar characteristics - Passionate people, trashing talking, peace talks, sharing biased news articles or videos, etc.

I think the strangest things are the support and criticism tweets (or Sub-Tweets) for each movement/hashtag. For every tweet supporting a movement, there’s a a tweet for criticism. I think the most interesting tag to look at objectively is the #AllLivesMatter one as it provides a possibly wide variety* and often times more questionable opinions. At a glance, I see lots of tweets from people that support this #AllLivesMatter movement that genuinely think that there’s nothing wrong with it. I think there are people that believe that this hashtag is more inclusive and peaceful. Do I think they’re right, no, but I think it’s a conversation with having both in class and with those people about that viewpoint and how it relates to BlackLivesMatter be it for or against it.

(*AKA a bunch of white people sharing the news article of the guy in a gorilla costume wearing an All Lives Matter Jersey running across the field during the Bears game...)

#BLM & #ALM

My findings from the #BLM on Twitter included a lot of videos of protests and people who are retorting against #ALM and explaining that it is not people saying that Black lives matter more, it’s that black lives matter ALSO. There were also numerous posts regarding the new African American History museum and how it is hopeful to help the movement.

There are also numerous people trying to discredit #BLM by saying “Oh what about black on black crime?” and other said bullshit. Essentially there are either people who are supporting #BLM or a bunch of people who don’t understand or care to understand what it is really about. #BLM is as lot of people who are hopeful and want change, while #ALM are people who are afraid of change and not willing to stand up for people that need them the most.

My main findings from the #ALM are people who do not understand #BLM in the first place. They are taking it the exact same way people take the term feminism; they think people are saying that only black people matter, just like how people think feminism means that women are better than men. That is not at all what either of those things mean, however, and people are too busy thinking about themselves to realize it.

There are also a lot of people who are talking about ‘police lives matter’ when they also use #ALM. #ALM is a group of people who do not understand the true meaning of #BLM, or they don’t care too support it.

-Barbara

Falcon Heights

I first found out about the Falcon Heights shooting on Facebook from many friends who had posted about the incident. I remember feeling the horror of how there was video evidence that was live, and indisputable yet people still did not take as seriously as they should’ve. I’m not sure what the exact link I saw was, I’m pretty sure it was just someone sharing the video. Here is another link that I remember finding:

http://www.kare11.com/news/falcon-heights-fatal-shooting-what-we-know/266174103

-Barbara

i found both the #blacklivesmatter and the #alllivesmatter tags a bit hard to navigate, because both seemed to be equal parts criticism and support. it’s hard to sort through the tweets and recognize which ones are trolls, which ones are hyperbolic or sarcastic, which ones are legitimate news sources and supporters, etc. i saw tweets in both categories that were calls for it to be labeled a hate organization or a terrorist group, just as i saw tweets in each that called for action to be taken in support of the group. this is what struck me the most about the stark difference and yet similarities in the groups. the people making the tweets on either side exist in incredibly different realities, depending on their beliefs about cops and black americans, and yet both sides came up with the same arguments, both pro and anti the movement. though the realities were different in a very prominent way, they seemed to follow the same narrative at the same time.

- zoe

#BLM & #ALM on Twitter

Strawmen arguments everywhere.

In my inspection, the primary use for either hashtag was to sling poorly reasoned potshots at either side. There is little room for cogent analysis within the space of 140 characters, and the Twitter feed clearly demonstrates this. Every hashtag reeks of blind rage and finger-pointing, blaming Obama, Clinton, Trump, Millennials, and so on.

“If you tweet #ALM instead of #BLM unfollow me right TF now,” says one tweet.

“ The Black Lives Matter organization is nothing more than the Klan with a tan. #BLM #Klan #ALM,” says another.

“Don't get me wrong #blm and #alm both mean well, but why'd it even get to the point where we have to prove any life matters?” says yet another, taking the middle ground.

On the whole, people tweeting #BLM with activist intentions (i.e. videos of demonstrations, pictures expressing solidarity) are much more reasonable, less antagonistic, solemn, and appear to be just trying to raise awareness of a social ill. Unfortunately, these good intentions are so often drowned out by a cacophony of bullshit.

-Sean

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