Do Uighur Lives Matter?

Black Lives Matter has swept the United States.  It is on tee shirts and signs outside churches.  It is painted on city streets and basketball floors.  Along with the pandemic, it is the thing most associated with 2020. 

My question is: What about “Uighur Lives Matter”?  The Chinese have been cracking down on the Uighurs for years.  The repression has gotten worse since President Xi Jinping took office.  Uighurs are labeled terrorists, and police are everywhere.  Reports are that over a million Uighurs are in forced labor camps, which the Chinese call re-education or training centers.¹

With all of that, “Uighur Lives Matter” would seem entirely appropriate.  But when I thought about it, I began to wonder whether putting up a sign or wearing a tee shirt saying Uighur Lives Matter really would be okay.

When the Black Lives Matter movement first appeared several years ago, some people responded with “All Lives Matter.”  The response was criticized, but people were able to say it.  Now, however, saying All Lives Matter gets you cancelled by many people and in much of the country.  The athletic director of a state university in Illinois said, in a discussion on race, “All Redbird Lives Matter” (referring to the school mascot).  After protests and a boycott of practices by student athletes, he apologized, and the athletic department said it would fulfill the demands of the student athletes.  A month later, the athletic director announced his retirement.² 

As I understand it, the criticism of All Lives Matter is that it diminishes the uniqueness and centrality of slavery and racial discrimination in the history of the United States.  Black lives didn’t matter in the past so now it is important to make it clear that they fully matter today.  Mentioning others dilutes that message.

I think the same criticism would apply to Uighur Lives Matter.  It, too, could be seen as dismissive of the importance of Black Lives Matter.  I also think some on the left would say that until we address the problems identified by Black Lives Matter, we do not have the moral right to say “Uighur Lives Matter” (or any other lives matter).  How can we criticize others for what they are doing given what we have done – and are still doing?  We need to fix our own failings before we criticize others.  We would be hypocrites to say “Uighurs Lives Matter” when we haven’t dealt with our own problems.

All of which is why I think a sign or tee shirt that says Uighur Lives Matter wouldn’t be welcome in much of the United States today and might even get you cancelled.
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¹ Some estimates are higher.  I am going with the lower number to not exaggerate.
² I don’t know the extent to which the controversy and the AD’s retirement are connected, but I note the timing.