Cops saying 'His Life Matters' is the conservative web’s new favorite thing
LatestA photo of two members of the Trinity Police department in Texas has caught the internet’s attention, thanks to a social boost from the American Conservatives of Color.
The image shows Police Chief Steven Jones, who is white, and Officer Donald Givens, who is black, standing beside one another, each holding out one hand toward the camera. “His life matters,” is scribbled on each palm, with arrows pointing toward the other.
You may recognize Jones and Givens from their starring roles in the 2012 reality TV series Big Texas Heat:
The Conservative group added the comment “RIGHT ON, brothers!!” to the image, reportedly taken from the Trinity Police Department’s Twitter feed:
The image appears to have caught on with law enforcement. On Tuesday, the Cincinnati Police Department posted a similar image:
This is not the first time that the #BlackLivesMatter language has been co-opted by other groups: #BlueLivesMatter is used on social media as a way to defend and support police officers, and a nonprofit group in New York City which collects funds for families of slain police officers is called Blue Lives Matter NYC. #AllLivesMatter has also been seized on as a reaction to the hashtag; here’s a good explainer on how that one devalues the movement.
As it would happen, American Conservatives of Color published a post denigrating the #BlackLivesMatter movement:
At least 696 people have been killed by police so far in 2015.
Danielle Wiener-Bronner is a news reporter.