Since the official group "Black Lives Matter" is up for discussion, it might be helpful if we took a look at their website and saw what they are promoting. I certainly support equal rites for people of color. No question. But do I support everything BLM now promotes and stands for outside of racial issues?
The website:
www.blacklivesmatter.comSome material from their website:
"We know that police don’t keep us safe — and as long as we continue to pump money into our corrupt criminal justice system at the expense of housing, health, and education investments — we will never be truly safe."
One headline states: "Black Lives Matter Activist: Abolishing The Police '100%' Means Just That" (
https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2020/07/17/black-lives-matter-activist). The activist states: "When activists say they want to abolish the police, they “100%” mean they want no more police."
This is a blanket statement that at
face value is entirely anti-police. Yes, we need to reform those areas that are corrupt and dysfunctional. But, we do not need to attack the institution, as such. But the call is not to reform. See below.
"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."
The "nuclear family" is not a "requirement." People are free to choose as they desire in this country. So why do we have to make a concerted effort to "disrupt" it, labeling the "nuclear family" as a subpar invention of the western culture? Are black people who support the nuclear family contrary to the goals of BLM?
Does this organization represent the countless Christian black people who uphold traditional values and structures? I think we need to be honest about the black community that is not on board with their stated goals and philosophy. It is in no way a monolithic movement. And we have to be honest the "Black Lives Matter" is a slogan to which much more is attached than simply the need to respect, honor and protect black people. What about law enforcement officers who are black? Should they quit? What if they support what they are doing? Are they, by definition, anti-black?
I don't think that an organization can support BLM without supporting the official organization that now bears this name, and the philosophy that they promote. It is a recognized label and stands for certain things, not all of which are simply calls for justice and equality for black people. For example, they have a philosophy that embraces a broad range of sexual identity politics. It stands for dismantling the entire system of law enforcement. They do not want to 'reform' the system. They are clear on this. They are convinced that such an effort has failed. "It is a system built on harming black people." So law enforcement has been colored as anti-black. Now, in fairness, they talk as well as divesting a part of the current police budges and redirecting it to other areas. But their plan simply divests, but does not at all give any kind of vision for policing and law enforcement after this divesting. Recent riots have shown that a radical, arachical segment, that to a degree is co-opting BLM, is not only anti-police, but has, in essence, declared war on it.
Yet this slogan has taken on a cultural status and to refuse to endorse it, as is, has societal consequences. Is this right?