Your words matter. Choose the wrong words and your meaning is lost.

Right now, in the US, there is a movement aiming to stop the indiscriminate killing of black people by the police. The name the movement is going by is Black Lives Matter. The cause is worthy. Who could object to stopping people from dying.

The name though, Black Lives Matter, is causing issues. There’s resistance to it. To some the name implies that other lives don’t matter. So there’s a completing hashtag or phrase, All Lives Matter. As a result there are people on social media explaining that Black Lives Matter doesn’t mean that only black lives matter. Explanations that make good points.

If you have to to explain your words you’re losing.

I’m fully for the Black Lives Matter movement and what it stands for – equality. It’s just disappointing that the message has been lost because of the words chosen to express it.

This isn’t the first idea that has fallen short because of the words. Global warming has had a similar misunderstanding. As had feminism. If the term used is meant to encompass a meaning slightly different than the term suggests there will be issues with understanding. There may even be more resistance to it.

Words matter. Choose yours wisely.