“Black Lives Matter” is seemingly a simple statement of fact. To disagree with such notion would be the mark of a racist.
But BLM is not just a slogan. It is also the name of an organized movement, and it is sometimes perceived to be a racist sentiment itself as it may imply that non-Black lives don’t matter. It is important to unpack each of these at this time of social unrest and rioting after the killing of George Floyd.
The BLM Movement
The BLM movement has a range of statements and demands which are disturbing. To highlight a few from it’s website:
- Defunding the police. While people are justifiably angry at specific actions of police brutality, the call for “a national defunding of police,” is a call for pure anarchy. It is unsafe, unwise and an assault on everyone.
- Anti-“family”. The BLM agenda seeks to “disrupt the Western-prescribed nuclear family structure requirement.” People should be free to live a life of their choosing so the desire to fight against a “traditional” two-parent family is immoral, and is also counterproductive when studies and statistics have shown consistently that children raised in such a structure do better.
- Anti-Israel. The movement states that Israel is committing a “genocide… against the Palestinian people” and that “Israel is an apartheid state.” That’s not just outrageously incorrect; it is insulting to Blacks in South Africa who suffered under genuine apartheid and Holocaust survivors who faced a true genocide.
In short, one can be a believer in the inherent value of Black lives but loudly denounce the radical movement.
BLM versus All Lives Matter
It is a truism that all lives matter, whether Black, Brown, White or Yellow. If someone arbitrarily states that “Yellow Lives Matter,” the comment and person would likely be scorned as it would appear elitist and racist. However, to state that “Black Lives Matter” in reaction to hate crimes against Blacks is appropriate. It is a directly relevant statement about a racist situation.
Consider a discussion about the Holocaust. While there were non-Jews killed by the Nazis in World War II including homosexuals, Catholics, Poles and Roma, they were not the obsession and target for annihilation the way that Jews were, and did not suffer so horribly. While It is perfectly fine to have a discussion about Nazis killing thousands of gays, it is inappropriate to insert such a discussion in the middle of a Holocaust Memorial focused on Jews.
Yes, all lives matter, but when engaging in a discussion with people in a moment of pain and reflection, it is important to give them their space to concentrate on their trauma. It is a time for empathy, not self-absorption.
“Black Lives Matter” is a true declaration that should be given the appropriate space at this time, which in no way undermines the general fact that all lives matter. It is also true that the statement echoes the name of a radical movement which advances horrible ideas which should be shunned. Perhaps a different expression like “Blacks Are Just As Innocent Until Proven Guilty,” might appeal to a basic American credo and unite everyone to concentrate on the legal system to advance and perfect a just society.
Related First One Through articles:
Black Lives Matter Joins the anti-Israel “Progressives” Fighting Zionism
When Only Republicans Trust the Police
Mayor De Blasio is Blind to Black Anti-Semitism
If a Black Muslim Cop Kills a White Woman, Does it Make a Sound?
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בתאריך יום ה׳, 4 ביוני 2020, 14:01, מאת FirstOneThrough :
> First.One.Through posted: “”Black Lives Matter” is seemingly a simple > statement of fact. To disagree with such notion would be the mark of a > racist. But BLM is not just a statement. It is also the name of an > organized movement, and it is sometimes perceived to be a racist sentim” >
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There are couple of very misleading statements you make under the “The BLM Movement” sub-header:
1. You quote part of the statement about family structure, but leave out a key word: requirement. Here is the full paragraph:
“We disrupt the Western-prescribed nuclear family structure requirement by supporting each other as extended families and “villages” that collectively care for one another, especially our children, to the degree that mothers, parents, and children are comfortable.”
So they are not engaged in a “fight against a “traditional” two-parent family” as you claim, but rather are saying that the non-traditional family structures that work for many people of color should not be maligned.
2. You claimed that you had highlights from BLM’s website that are disturbing. Yet your “Anti-Israel” link just goes to a different post on this blog. In that blog post, based off of something you saw on their website. Yet the link you provided does not go to the BLM website. It doesn’t actually go to a functioning website at all.
In that post, you claim to be quoting a “BLM platform” that “Israel committing a ‘genocide… against the Palestinian people’ and that ‘Israel is an apartheid state.’ But if you click on the link to that platform, it’s a dead link. It’s a subpage of M4BL.org – Movement for Black Lives. I understand that MBL and BLM use a lot of the same letters, but they are different organizations with different mission statements.
AND, if you even go to the actual link for Invest-Divest on the M4BL website (again – not the BLM website) it does not mention Israel, or Palestinians. (https://m4bl.org/policy-platforms/invest-divest/)
IN CONCLUSION: I am not going to stand here and say that BLM activists, and perhaps even leaders, are critical of Israel. They very well might be. But it’s simply not true to say that the BLM platform is anti-Israel, or that there are any anti-Israel statements on their website.
Please check your facts next time.
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You are completely incorrect, whether standing or sitting. The original 2016 Invest-Divest section of the BLM platform link may be down but the fact that it was a core part of their platform is not in dispute. There must be 100 articles devoted to the topic from 2016. BLM wasn’t casually anti-Israel but specifically anti-Israel. Your comment is complete disinformation and does the cause no assistance.
I did not say that all BLM activists are anti-Israel, just the platform.
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And while I’m waiting to see if you’ll approve my other comment, I figured I might as well add on that I think you should read a bit more into what “Defund the police” means. While there are some people who really do want to zero out police budgets, those people generally use the terminology of “Police Abolition”.
Most people calling for defunding the police are talking about cuts (possibly drastic cuts) to police budgets. And put more of the work that police are currently doing into the hands of people like social workers, EMTs, nurses, etc. It could also do hand-in-hand with decriminalizing things like marijuana and sex work, making less “needed” police work.
So to paint with a broad brush that Black Lives matters and people calling to #defundpolice are issuing a “call for pure anarchy” is just lazy.
There’s plenty to debate on the question of defunding the police, so why not dive into the issues and take them on? In many ways it a fiscally conservative policy proposal, and might find some favor among libertarians and conservatives.
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Your obnoxious comment about being “lazy” aside, the far left calls to defund/abolish various forms of government protection – whether the police; immigration, customs and enforcement; or the military – alarm most people as the basic function is government is to protect people. The words “defund” and “abolish” have clear meanings. Good luck engaging thousands of angry people with a nuanced debate about budgetary allocations.
Regarding prostitution, I have written before about its need to be legalized. https://firstonethrough.wordpress.com/2019/03/12/prostitution-and-the-hijab/
It may interest you that the only state in the US which actually incarcerates roughly the same percentage of white people as live in the state is Minnesota, where Floyd was killed. https://firstonethrough.wordpress.com/2017/10/03/theres-no-white-privilege-for-prostitutes-in-minnesota/
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