Comparing BLM to the KKK
Any comparison of similarity between BLM and the KKK is ludicrous. KKK is a people-hating group and BLM is protesting the hate that is being received. Tell me exactly how many white people were lynched by BLM. I can post numerous photos of public lynchings and other vile acts carried out by the Klan but I don’t think that’s necessary. However, anyone who feels the need to add some to the comments below, by all means, feel free to share.
Black Lives Matter IS an International Movement
As far as the movement not being a national, actually #blacklivesmatter IS a national movement. Since there are chapters all across the country it truly does qualify as a national movement. The thought that it isn’t a national movement because the majority of white people may not have adopted it is inconsequential to attain national or international reach. Unless you feel that the only way a movement can be considered legitimate is if it has the blessings of the majority of white people.
Black Lives Matter is Militant Group
Let’s talk about the violence and destruction that occur during protests after an emotionally disturbing event. The organizers have repeatedly denounced the disruptive behavior that is associated with these protests. Attendees of any event are individuals and responsible for their own conduct. Unfortunately not every individual responds in the same manner as the majority of the group. The ability to separate the group’s intent from individual responses is a privilege that people of color aren’t always able to exercise. Before you say that’s a victim’s mentality let me reassure you, I’m not whining about the situation. I’m just pointing it out. Even if I DID feel victimized that doesn’t mean that my opinion isn’t based on a fact.
I remember a time right after 9/11 when a conversation with a friend turned towards racial profiling. I said that if the people who crashed the planes were of darker complexion I would be facing the same public scrutiny and hatred that people that LOOK LIKE they come from the Middle East face but when Timothy McVeigh blew up the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City we didn’t scrutinize militias of this country with the same enthusiasm. His response was that they’d be too hard to identify and I said no they wouldn’t. They’d look like him.
I wasn’t whining then either. IT IS WHAT IT IS UNTIL IT ISN’T period! My intention for addressing these issues is to get to IT ISN’T.
Part of the reason that it’s hard for BLM (and other minority activist groups) to distance themselves from the disruptive acts is because of the way Black People are portrayed in the corporate media when exhibiting the same behavior as our white counterparts for entirely different motivations. Since I’ve worked in the media for about 30 years I understand what it takes to sway peoples’ opinion and the effectiveness of the repetitive process. Association is what changed the perception of the Swastika [http://www.holocaust-trc.org/the-holocaust-education-program-resource-guide/the-swastika/] from
Good Luck and Well Being to a symbol of Evil.
Another privilege is the ability to choose not to get involved with a movement because you, your children and grandchildren aren’t perceived to be affected by a situation. Many people use the excuse that they can’t get behind a name that excludes White America. They say All Lives Matter would be better and that they could get behind a name like that. Besides the fact that these same people don’t object Breast Cancer or Prostate Cancer Awareness being exclusive movements that should change their name to include all types of cancer and they also don’t cry foul to the Blue Lives Matter movement for being exclusive.
It seems that the real issue is not the exclusivity that the name Black Lives Matter but that African Americans have the audacity to complain about being killed for such minor infractions as selling loose cigarettes, selling CD’s from the back of a car, refusing to put out a cigarette while they sit in their car, sitting in their car waiting for their kids to come home, the list goes on and the country seems to be OK with it. The truth of the matter is that the people are being killed over minor and non-existent infractions while the nation sits back and watches it unfold. If you feel that the moniker of Black Lives Matter is more offensive than these acts THAT is the problem.