If BlackLivesMatters can't get people to turn out in midterms and, even more importantly, for state legislative races - state legislators, you know, the people who draw the state legislature and Congressional district lines? - they may as well not raise any money.
1
It's outrageous that people insist Black Lives Matter somehow has to speak to all problems affecting black communities before one can acknowledge the problem of police brutality towards blacks.
The US has a long, ugly history of violence and murder in black communities perpetrated by police. From Harlem in the 30s to Philly in the 80s to Ferguson and Baltimore this year, those commenters blabbering about black on black crime are willfully ignoring this history while trying to criminalize black humanity.
Black Americans -- like me -- are fed up with this. We're fed up with police brutality. And we're fed up with the systemic racism that facilitates it. Our lives matter just as much as anyone else's. And we're going to make sure you hear us.
The US has a long, ugly history of violence and murder in black communities perpetrated by police. From Harlem in the 30s to Philly in the 80s to Ferguson and Baltimore this year, those commenters blabbering about black on black crime are willfully ignoring this history while trying to criminalize black humanity.
Black Americans -- like me -- are fed up with this. We're fed up with police brutality. And we're fed up with the systemic racism that facilitates it. Our lives matter just as much as anyone else's. And we're going to make sure you hear us.
7
My parents and the parents of most of my contemporaries began families in 1945 following WWI. Tens of thousands of young men and women began their lives with little money and unfinished educations. They didn't complain. In New York in 1946 there were few apartments to be had. There were also strikes as production returned to consumer goods and workers demanded better wages. But there were no street protests with slogans asserting that a special group of people were being overlooked. Most everyone started from scratch. There were no housing subsidies and no welfare checks. The use of drugs was unheard of. Everyone made an effort to get ahead and see that their children could go to school and get an education.
Black lives matter. So do the lives of everyone else. The complaints of blacks are misguided and mis-directed. Whites are not to blame for unfulfilled black lives. We're busy building our own.
If black lives matter then its up to blacks to promote education, less criminality, families with 2 parents and children who accept responsibility for learning and making an effort to succeed in school. Blacks are also responsible for policing their own communities and building black institutions and organizations.
Black lives matter. So do the lives of others.
This is silly sloganeering that has no meaning. It is racist and self-centered and does not address the real problems of blacks in America.
Stop complaining and start building lives.
Black lives matter. So do the lives of everyone else. The complaints of blacks are misguided and mis-directed. Whites are not to blame for unfulfilled black lives. We're busy building our own.
If black lives matter then its up to blacks to promote education, less criminality, families with 2 parents and children who accept responsibility for learning and making an effort to succeed in school. Blacks are also responsible for policing their own communities and building black institutions and organizations.
Black lives matter. So do the lives of others.
This is silly sloganeering that has no meaning. It is racist and self-centered and does not address the real problems of blacks in America.
Stop complaining and start building lives.
16
This movement just reinforces the racial issue which has never been so vociferous since the 1960's. I hope all of the very wealthy black movie stars and athletes substantially contribute and I would love to see the list of contributors and the amount.
5
"Black lives matter" as a campaign slogan fails to address the overriding criticism of the movement. Why is it only a white cop/black uncooperative young male issue? The tens of thousands of black on black murder victims, of all genders, is ignored by BLM. Indeed, anyone pointing out their silence on the violence within the black community is called racist.
I can't support their call for pick and choose justice.
I can't support their call for pick and choose justice.
15
Black on black crime is definitely an issue, but it's an issue that is almost completely divorced from the moral/political issue that BLM raises. The issue BLM raises is that there are black people being killed by a racist social structure. Those deaths are the result of the devaluation of the lives of black citizens. That moral issue has no relation to the killing of black people by other black people because it is not linked to a larger and more existential power structure. In addition, the question of black on black violence is a largely racist question to begin with. Most intraracial (one race killing within its own race) is done by white people, but when white people are gunned down, no one stops and says "but what about white-on-white violence?" This is only within black communities, where statistically there's an effectively lower rate of intraracial violence. And finally, to say BLM "ignores" all genders and black murder victims is like saying that the Human Rights Campaign should be derided for not focusing on shotgun weddings. Issue campaigns like BLM have to have a near-singular focus. It's *supposed* to be narrow. Their calling is in the ending of state-sponsored killing of black people (not just men, but also women like Rekia Boyd and Sandra Bland). If BLM was to try and tackle the whole of anti-black racism, they'd end up feckless, ineffective, and irrelevant like the NAACP and the Black Panthers.
3
Rather than the Occupy Movement, this reminds me much more of the Tea Party, for which there is no central committee or spokesperson, but for which there is money being made available.
Organizing a formal group requires structure, and more importantly, responsibility. It's far too easy to say an individual within the movement, who says something offensive, speaks only for himself, not the movement. (Whether Tea party or BLM). When everyone speaks for the movement, no one does.
I hope this 'movement' leads to a more formal organization. I think such an organization would be deserving of support, or at the very least, more consideration.
Organizing a formal group requires structure, and more importantly, responsibility. It's far too easy to say an individual within the movement, who says something offensive, speaks only for himself, not the movement. (Whether Tea party or BLM). When everyone speaks for the movement, no one does.
I hope this 'movement' leads to a more formal organization. I think such an organization would be deserving of support, or at the very least, more consideration.
1
I'd say they're definitely moving towards that. There are formal organizations right now though (Campaign Zero being chief among them) that do stand largely accountable for their actions. They take donations, meet with candidates and lobby. That's as much like an organization as I can expect from something less than a year old.
2
Who did the Tea Party threaten to kill?
5
Well, if black lives matter - and they certainly do, as all lives do - then I will be more inclined to see this movement as worthwhile and legitimate if its leaders will acknowledge the role that self-inflicted misery plays in the lives of its supporters. With a black man in the White House, another the head of NASA, one more the most recent U.S. Attorney General and dozens more in positions of power and authority throughout our culture, I think it's time we lifted the apparent taboo on owning up to the cost of destructive personal behavior. Obama, Bolden, Holder - these are the examples we all need to follow, regardless of our color. These were men who worked hard to educate themselves and succeed; I'd like to see BLM and any other activist organization address openly the fact that bad choices in life lead to bad outcomes while good choices lead to better ones. Absent a willingness to acknowledge that publicly as part of a leadership strategy, it all begins to sound too much like blaming others is the sole basis for the activism. That, I can't support.
12
There are a number of problematic assumptions in your request. The most troubling is that BLM's "supporters," namely black people, are feckless and inactive individuals who only make demands. That's wrong on a number of front, but I'll give you a specific anecdote to make the point (NYTimes word limits...amirite?). Black women, as of this year, make up the majority of new college graduates. They're all entering the workforce and getting jobs. This does not seem like "destructive personal behavior" to me. This fact underlines a very prominent myth that we NEED to debunk about black people. Black people are not lazy. Black people do NOT rely on government assistant to make due. Most black people are honest, tax paying and job holding individuals that do not take government aid. In fact, most government aid goes to either poor white farmers or elderly white baby boomers. The second problematic assumption is that the victims BLM highlights apparently didn't "[own] up to the cost of destructive personal behavior." This is simply not true because, in general, there was no destructive behavior to speak of. Unless buying iced tea and skittles from a convenience store is "destructive," or unless switching lanes is a bad "behavior," the individuals whose deaths brought BLM to prominence were good, honest, law-abiding citizens who more than owned up to their personal destructive behaviors. It seems to me like your own racist assumptions bar you from supporting the movement.
2
One thing that always pains me about coverage of police shootings is that we seem to be locked in a comic-book battle of narratives: was the man as pure as the driven snow and crucified like Christ on the cross, or was he a scoundrel and deserved what he got? There are no “perfect victims” in life, just ordinary, flawed human beings, who make mistakes and want to live.
5
An internet-driven protest movement with no clear organization and divergent sub-groups, each with their own approach? Sounds like Occupy Wall Street, which largely fizzled after they were booted from Zuccotti Park. Organizations need a hierarchy and leadership structure to function effectively. And BLM also needs a clear, stated agenda and a reality-based strategy to achieve it, not just publicity-driven antics. Too many of the campus protesters seem like kids having a group tantrum in a playpen.
13
The nature of protests is to be disruptive. If they seem like attention-grabbing petulant children, that's because that's the only way to get attention in the current media landscape. And as far as I can see, organizations like Campaign Zero have already rolled out comprehensive policy goals that people can support and already have lobbyists on the Hill working things out. I guess there's a bigger difference between this and Occupy than was initially thought.
2
Like we really need another political action cause in America. Admittedly, it is a better cottage industry than drugs, but it is without substance. You don't like the way you are treated locally. Move. You can't move because you can't get a job, and you don't have an education, so politically, what are we talking about here? The police are a brutal bunch. No doubt about that, but so are the residents of the inner cities in many places, where black lives don't seem to matter much at all. One would hope that they will both give it a rest, but that is unlikely, as we know all to well by now. People do feel better though, when they think they are doing something, even if it is meaningless and will be just one less Push on the market place, eventually. It's like Sharpton, who found a way to live off the people he claims to represent. Like I said, it is just another cottage industry.
6
BLM lost its chance for legitimacy after the “Hands Up Don’t Shoot” and “Gentle Giant” narrative turned out to be a fraud.
I prayed they would lead the citizens of Ferguson to register, and turnout in droves for the 2014 election … put real meaning behind the chant “this is the face of democracy in Ferguson” we heard so often. The sad fact is only 128 new voters registered, and there was a drop in turnout.
Instead of meaningful action we get pseudo intellectual lectures from privileged black kids on “micro aggression”, “insensitivity”, calls for re-segregation through “safe spaces”, a fascist like repression of free speech and diverse ideas, and incredibly stupid demands for “policies for dealing with incidents the activists find offensive”.
What is truly sad is that university faculties and administrations are giving credence to this nonsense.
I prayed they would lead the citizens of Ferguson to register, and turnout in droves for the 2014 election … put real meaning behind the chant “this is the face of democracy in Ferguson” we heard so often. The sad fact is only 128 new voters registered, and there was a drop in turnout.
Instead of meaningful action we get pseudo intellectual lectures from privileged black kids on “micro aggression”, “insensitivity”, calls for re-segregation through “safe spaces”, a fascist like repression of free speech and diverse ideas, and incredibly stupid demands for “policies for dealing with incidents the activists find offensive”.
What is truly sad is that university faculties and administrations are giving credence to this nonsense.
32
Change is slow. But one thing that definitely doesn't help is deriding some of the positives of the movement. Micro aggressions are definitely a thing. Subtle racist incidents create a culture that leads to the big police shootings or racist outcries. If its okay on an individual level, who's to say it's not okay on a greater level? Additionally, there is no suppression of free speech being advocated. But incidents where white students are hanging lynching ropes from trees and abusing black students are fascist in and of themselves. They are the definition of hate speech, which has NEVER been protected in this country. Too often, we find people on the fringes of our politics hiding behind the First Amendment or behind other parts of the Constitution to justify their deviant behavior. Racist rhetoric is not protected speech. Sexist and homophobic rhetoric is not protected speech. It never has been, and it never will be (unless Donald Trump is elected). It's still a matter to be seen if BLM will turn people out in 2016, but I wouldn't put it past them.
4
For too many white folk the only lives that matter are their own, it's the reason for the movement. Black lives never mattered to the default Americans, it's the reason cops (especially white police) can kill/assault black men, women, and children, without fear of justice. The only folk who are offended by the BLM are racist, because to not see the need for this movement is pure ignorance/hatred of the others.
5
>The only folk who are offended by the BLM are racist, because to not see the need for this movement is pure ignorance/hatred of the others.
And this is why BLM are not taking seriously. Either you believe with their ideology or they will slander your name. Typical left move. "I don't like you so you are racist".
And this is why BLM are not taking seriously. Either you believe with their ideology or they will slander your name. Typical left move. "I don't like you so you are racist".
15
spot on!!
2
Kim's comment reminds me of the classic Eddie Murphy sketch in which white folk give each other stuff once blacks are off the scene. Not true. We are not a group and are not particularly attached to each other's skins.
7
In this day and age, black people are still subjected to job and housing discrimination, racial profiling and hate crimes which no other American should have to put up with. Despite all this, black people don't dwell on these injustices 24 hours a day. Like every American, they care about good job opportunities, good healthcare, good schools for their children and safe neighborhoods. In short, they want to be treated fairly.
On the other hand, the Black Lives Movement people have the luxury to dwell on these racial injustices 24 hours a day. Since most of them being college students from middle class families, they are more interested in drawing attention to themselves than to what really matters to average black lives. Community activists they are not, but good politicians in the making yes.
On the other hand, the Black Lives Movement people have the luxury to dwell on these racial injustices 24 hours a day. Since most of them being college students from middle class families, they are more interested in drawing attention to themselves than to what really matters to average black lives. Community activists they are not, but good politicians in the making yes.
6
Black lives matters lacks the obvious resonance and moral authority of the civil rights movement in the sixties. The impact of overt racism and sexism wa so clear in the 60's that it struck a natural nerve. Today, BLM conflate problems in the black community around education' family and behavior with racism as though racism eliminated would solve the underlying issues in the community. It would not. They ask for special treatment not equal treatment, they use questionable behavior with protest, the associate themselves with criminals (Baltimore) instead of distancing themselves. The movement does not have a clear set of policies but rather complaints. Were it not for a political season, this would be less movement and more adolescent behavior that misses the mark
29
You fundamentally misunderstand the issue at hand. BLM is not at all saying they can solve all of Black America's problems by "ending" racism. But the battle to at least mitigate the most heinous racialized offenses is always a battle worth waging, whether it was done in the 1960s, the 1860s or now. Many of the problems in black communities come from state-sponsored oppression, there's no denying that. Targeted drug laws break up families and cause economic stress on majority black cities, leading to worsening quality of life and educational systems. Banking discrimination, especially in terms of loan access, makes college and home ownership even further out of reach. You can question the methodology of BLM all you want (I agree that they have no strategy or cohesion), but to say that they lack moral authority or resonance is to fundamentally misread the history of this nation and its policies. And finally, there is a concrete policy strategy. Campaign Zero has put forward an incredibly comprehensive proposal that presidential candidates like Bernie Sanders, Ben Carson, and Hillary Clinton have borrowed liberally from. All that's really lacking is an effect means of disrupting our traditionally racist political discourse. And, God love them, they're trying.
3
The article notes, “The broader movement has also fomented a new brand of activism on college campuses, most notably at the University of Missouri.” However, the university’s Clery Act reports reveal that most interracial violence at the University of Missouri is black-one-white violence, usually armed robberies and strong armed robberies, often accompanied by beatings. These incidents do not count as hate crime, since robbery is considered the primary motive. Clery Reports nationwide show that the proximity to black neighborhoods mostly determines which campuses are rated safe or unsafe. The hate crime section of the most recent University of Missouri Clery Act report (2012-2014) shows that over the three year-period there were four racial bias incidents, none of which involved physical violence or injuries. These incidents consisted of two acts of vandalism in 2013, which may have been committed by a single person, and two acts of intimidation, one in 2013 and one in 2012. The infamous “fecal swastika” which created the current controversy is a typical act of racial bias vandalism on college campuses. The identity, race, ethnicity and motives of the perpetrators are unknown unless arrest are made. Many has been proven to be faux hate crimes committed by racial justice advocates to draw attention to their cause.
16
Mr. William Case of 'Texas' has become a notable presence in the Times comments section regarding African American calls for equal treatment under the law, often, as in this instance, by manipulating and pitching statistics intended to demonstrate that the core of the problem are ''those blacks.'' The Clery Act has become a favorite 'go to' for white racist sites of the sort that 'inspired Dylan Roof,' that seek to link ''Affirmative Action'' with ''violence toward white women.'' This tired trope is coming up on its 100th year anniversary of ''The Birth of Nation'' - originally released under the title, ''The Clansman'' after the book by Thomas Dixon, upon which it was based.
It is emblematic of Mr. Case's falsely premised 'case' that after invoking the "Clery Act Report,'' and alleging that ''most violent crime against white college students is black-one-white (s.i.c.),'' Mr. Case then 'jumps the shark' and claims that the ''infamous'' fecal swastika'' ''will be proven to be [a] faux hate crime committed by racial justice advocates . . .'' - How typical of the new generation of pseudo academic arguments of the right - First invoke the specter of the violent out of control black rapist out for every white father's daughter, then inveigh against BLM. Mr. Case - you are unintentionally making the case for BLM.
It is emblematic of Mr. Case's falsely premised 'case' that after invoking the "Clery Act Report,'' and alleging that ''most violent crime against white college students is black-one-white (s.i.c.),'' Mr. Case then 'jumps the shark' and claims that the ''infamous'' fecal swastika'' ''will be proven to be [a] faux hate crime committed by racial justice advocates . . .'' - How typical of the new generation of pseudo academic arguments of the right - First invoke the specter of the violent out of control black rapist out for every white father's daughter, then inveigh against BLM. Mr. Case - you are unintentionally making the case for BLM.
16
There are two faces to racism, it's inaccurate presumption that race as a definitive and deterministic characteristic exists which it does not, and how stereotyping by race was used to justify the exploitation and exclusion from opportunities for people because of their perceived race, which it was not. The decline of racist beliefs and policies over the last half century in the U.S. has contributed to a society where there is just a lot less racism directed towards people, but both the legacy of racist policies and practices, including persistent poverty and disadvantaged neighborhoods, persists and the lingering of racism amongst a small percentage of the population keeps it alive in coded language, like the denial of Obama's legitimacy to hold office.
But consider the consequences of no more race in our social institutions, the end of characterizing people as being of this or that race. Does it mean that future generations of people whose ancestors were the victims or benefactors of racist thought will lose all awareness of those people's experiences of life. Will they come to identify more with people more like those whose ancestors had been on the other side of the racial divisions? That is a concern, I think, which people feel.
The oppression of poverty, the constraints of criminal convictions and imprisonment, and the constraints of poor educations and limited opportunities affect more whites and Hispanics than African Americans, the remedies must be color blind.
But consider the consequences of no more race in our social institutions, the end of characterizing people as being of this or that race. Does it mean that future generations of people whose ancestors were the victims or benefactors of racist thought will lose all awareness of those people's experiences of life. Will they come to identify more with people more like those whose ancestors had been on the other side of the racial divisions? That is a concern, I think, which people feel.
The oppression of poverty, the constraints of criminal convictions and imprisonment, and the constraints of poor educations and limited opportunities affect more whites and Hispanics than African Americans, the remedies must be color blind.
3
correction
"There are two faces to racism, it's inaccurate presumption that race as a definitive and deterministic characteristic exists which it does not, and how stereotyping by race was used to justify the exploitation and exclusion from opportunities for people because of their perceived race, which it was..."
"There are two faces to racism, it's inaccurate presumption that race as a definitive and deterministic characteristic exists which it does not, and how stereotyping by race was used to justify the exploitation and exclusion from opportunities for people because of their perceived race, which it was..."
African Americas are only disproportionately poor. There are far more poor whites than poor blacks. The most recent Census Bureau poverty report shows that in 2013 there were 29.9 million white Americans living below poverty level and 11 million black Americans living below poverty level. (Source: Table 3: People in Poverty by Selected Characteristics: 2012 and 2013, Income and Poverty in the United States: 2013.) As you point out, poverty programs need to be race neutral to gain widespread public report.
4
Some comments need addressing. I do not speak for Black Lives Matter. I speak only as an African American who believes in self-determinism and social justice, and who has taken part in Black Lives Matter protests and anti-war protests during the Bush II years.
"The problem with BLM is that most people see it as protecting criminals."
There is a tendency for some to gloss over serious problems in the status quo by name calling. Black Lives Matter protests (again I do not speak for the diverse BLM organizations) essentially are about many things, but at the core, it is about racial disparities in police tactics and treatment and concomitant disparities within the criminal justice system itself. Mainstream preoccupation with seeing BLM as "protecting criminals" attests to the power of BLM efforts to expose systematic efforts within the chain of the criminal justice system, beginning with police, to maintain this disparity.
Aside from race, most of the disparity is socioeconomically-based. This is the "hidden cow" that underlies social unrest in America and across the globe. Class disparity. For so many, race acts as a kind of gloss over which class disparity can flourish unmolested. The militarization of police under neoliberalism is another factor in systematic efforts to "control" African American communities.
I see Campaign Zero as another effort to detrimentally "colonize," "contain" and "neutralize" the disruptive capability of BLM.
"The problem with BLM is that most people see it as protecting criminals."
There is a tendency for some to gloss over serious problems in the status quo by name calling. Black Lives Matter protests (again I do not speak for the diverse BLM organizations) essentially are about many things, but at the core, it is about racial disparities in police tactics and treatment and concomitant disparities within the criminal justice system itself. Mainstream preoccupation with seeing BLM as "protecting criminals" attests to the power of BLM efforts to expose systematic efforts within the chain of the criminal justice system, beginning with police, to maintain this disparity.
Aside from race, most of the disparity is socioeconomically-based. This is the "hidden cow" that underlies social unrest in America and across the globe. Class disparity. For so many, race acts as a kind of gloss over which class disparity can flourish unmolested. The militarization of police under neoliberalism is another factor in systematic efforts to "control" African American communities.
I see Campaign Zero as another effort to detrimentally "colonize," "contain" and "neutralize" the disruptive capability of BLM.
2
Possibly the individual branches are autonomously trying new things. Although I doubt it. There is likely coordination through OFA. The branches with the money (and thus suable) won't be the ones out there shutting down an interstate highway.
Sad thing is that other than Black Lives Matter, where's the black voice in this important election? There's not even a succession plan for Jesse Jackson.
1
I am pleasantly surprised by the "readers picks." Several of the most resent events have shown the true face of BLM. First, threatening to shut down a marathon. Next, at Dartmouth students participating in a BLM protest have supposedly yelled obscenities to white students and the use of intimidation can be seen in YouTube videos. Last, BLM recently shut down a freeway in Minneapolis protesting the death of a man that was shot while trying to interfere with paramedics helping his girlfriend, whom he recently beat. I also agree that if they want people to side with them, they need to focus on all black lives, not just the ones taken by police.
20
I have noticed that young black people equate being black with struggle and oppression. Most of the black people on college campuses today have not experienced any type of struggle and oppression due to their middle-class or better lives so they have a disconnect regarding who they are and how they can be black if they are comfortable. Perhaps they need to do some reading about life under Jim Crow and what the civil rights workers endured in their fight to eliminate Jim Crow to put everything into perspective. Also, the college campus encounters with racism that were enumerated in a separate article are a joke. Sorry but some ignorant person shouting a slur from a pickup truck or a frat barring you from a "white girls only" party are not racism. Please get a clue and stop embarrassing yourselves.
21
These internet activists with their all-too-willing partners in the mainstream media , especially TV, are getting unlimited publicity.
But what impact will all the shouts and demands have on the lives of everyday black Americans living in virtual war zones in urban America?
Will some of the semi-professional protesters who travel from city to city ever stop and mentor a fatherless young black boy?
Black Fathers Matter.
Will this movement change the absurdly low black voter turnout in state and municipal elections?,elections that have a host of black candidates at the local level in the Detroit area have turnouts in the 18-21% level, year and and year out.
Black Votes Matter.
Will BLM slow down the exodus of black Americans from urban areas such as Detroit that have had an overwhelmingly black city council and police force for several decades?
We've had movements such as BLM come an go over the past 50 years.
This one will become just another footnote in racial history unless black urban America can take charge of its own destiny and raise its own without the help of white progressives who live safely in their white neighborhoods.
But what impact will all the shouts and demands have on the lives of everyday black Americans living in virtual war zones in urban America?
Will some of the semi-professional protesters who travel from city to city ever stop and mentor a fatherless young black boy?
Black Fathers Matter.
Will this movement change the absurdly low black voter turnout in state and municipal elections?,elections that have a host of black candidates at the local level in the Detroit area have turnouts in the 18-21% level, year and and year out.
Black Votes Matter.
Will BLM slow down the exodus of black Americans from urban areas such as Detroit that have had an overwhelmingly black city council and police force for several decades?
We've had movements such as BLM come an go over the past 50 years.
This one will become just another footnote in racial history unless black urban America can take charge of its own destiny and raise its own without the help of white progressives who live safely in their white neighborhoods.
8
BLM advocates will argue that black on black violence is a separate issue. Fine. Where are the organized protests? The fact of the matter is, black lives only really matter if whites are involved.
28
Exactly. Get your own house in order if you truly want change for the better!!
12
TyroneShoelaces: "Where are the organized protests? "
The one thing that you can be certain of is that BLM will never confront, head on, the carnage that occurs on a daily basis in numerous American cities. Staging a protest march in the neighborhoods, where the violence is endemic, would be too much like work. Much easier to pick the low hanging fruit of bullying college students in a library, or marathon participants.
Whenever questioned as to why they do not channel their animosity towards the black on black crime, invariably the stock response will be something along the lines of "of course we care about that", or "that's not the issue". In essence, just paying lip service to it.
This is similar to the reaction of CAIR or similar groups, when they are pressed about not being more outspoken in their condemnation of ISIS atrocities. Again, lip service, while Turkish soccer fans boo "a moment of silence" and begin chanting "allahu akbar".
Witness the sympathy of blm, at the University of Missouri, for the victims of the Paris attack: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/nov/14/mizzou-protesters-black-...
The one thing that you can be certain of is that BLM will never confront, head on, the carnage that occurs on a daily basis in numerous American cities. Staging a protest march in the neighborhoods, where the violence is endemic, would be too much like work. Much easier to pick the low hanging fruit of bullying college students in a library, or marathon participants.
Whenever questioned as to why they do not channel their animosity towards the black on black crime, invariably the stock response will be something along the lines of "of course we care about that", or "that's not the issue". In essence, just paying lip service to it.
This is similar to the reaction of CAIR or similar groups, when they are pressed about not being more outspoken in their condemnation of ISIS atrocities. Again, lip service, while Turkish soccer fans boo "a moment of silence" and begin chanting "allahu akbar".
Witness the sympathy of blm, at the University of Missouri, for the victims of the Paris attack: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/nov/14/mizzou-protesters-black-...
2
In just the last few years, there's been high profile black-organized protests against violence in Chicago, New York, Newark, Pittsburgh, Saginaw, MI, and Gary, IN, just to name a few. It's like "Stop the Violence", The Interrupters, and Do The Right Thing never existed... One could easily Google the issue and see that black community organizations, black churches, black leaders -- including rappers -- have been addressing this for years. Instead, you'd rather evade the issue at hand: Police brutality against blacks.
I'm happy to see the movement take shape by politically engaging. Focusing on solutions candidates and citizens can get behind is an improvement.
There is a shocking amount of ignorance of the historic injustice towards blacks in America, as demonstrated by the commenters.
But what is also true, is the members of the movement should be more willing to cooperate. There is an attitude of "we don't need you and you're probably racist anyway" that comes across over and over. It's really hard to pitch in and/or be supportive when the movement is so divisive (and sometimes hostile).
I wish BLM luck. Black Lives Matter must be said- because black lives are treated as though they don't matter too often.
There is a shocking amount of ignorance of the historic injustice towards blacks in America, as demonstrated by the commenters.
But what is also true, is the members of the movement should be more willing to cooperate. There is an attitude of "we don't need you and you're probably racist anyway" that comes across over and over. It's really hard to pitch in and/or be supportive when the movement is so divisive (and sometimes hostile).
I wish BLM luck. Black Lives Matter must be said- because black lives are treated as though they don't matter too often.
1
You know who the most repeat offenders are when it comes to treating Black lives as though they don't matter too often?
Other Blacks.
Other Blacks.
16
I am sure that none of the BLM protesters has experienced the oppression of, say, a South Carolina black trying to register to vote in 1901.
1
BLM needs to do a better job of accepting criticism and input regarding strategy. Not everything they do is fair or defensible, or effective. There is too much of an echo chamber among the members of BLM. There is too much insensitivity. When a supreme court decision is issued affecting gay people, BLM immediately disparages it as a victory only for wealthy white gay men - which is simply not accurate. When Paris is bombed, BLM immediately denigrates the grief of others by saying they only care about white lives. When faced with a number of presidential candidates who are openly hostile to racial equality or at best, disengaged (i.e., Hillary), they attack Sanders. BLM has done amazing things in the past few years, but they will not have more impact until they can listen to other voices and not just their own egos.
18
Students involved in the protests at the University of Missouri are tweeting each other, decrying how "unfair" it is that the media is now focusing on the dead and seriously injured in Paris and ignoring them. This is one self-absorbed group.
17
If the Black Lives Matter movement really want to get attention, they should declare that they are a political party and will field their own candidates for office including President of the US. This would give them leverage and if they are in it for the long haul they might follow through.
3
I'm appalled at the lack of understanding. One may not agree with approach - but to feign surprise or confusion at this campaign is either ignorant or dishonest.
5
Black Lives Matter has a serious problem. The laws of the United States are essentially race neutral. In fact, minorities have some distinct advantages under the law (bidding on contracts, college admissions.) So the movement is without many concrete objectives other than the lofty but amorphous aim of stamping out racism in the US. Its anti-police rhetoric is already proving to be counter to the interests of black citizens who have seen the police back off in their communities leading to spikes in crime rates.
To date, the movement's tactics have been downright obnoxious and, in many cases, overtly threatening to others' First Amendment right of free speech. Unless BLM changes its tactics it risks being viewed as a complaining mob without an agenda.
To date, the movement's tactics have been downright obnoxious and, in many cases, overtly threatening to others' First Amendment right of free speech. Unless BLM changes its tactics it risks being viewed as a complaining mob without an agenda.
23
I try to imagine what it would be like to be black (or in other periods of American history, to be Italian, Irish, Chinese, etc.) I have also wondered why the blacks have not shown their potential power before now. For example, when I lived in a suburb of Chicago 50 years ago, the city was ringed with black poverty-stricken communities. Had those people realized it, they could have choked Chicago to death. What I see now is hundreds of years of poor treatment that has finally reached the boiling point. They no longer want others to tell them what to do or think as they are enraged. But if one does not turn down the heat from the boiling water, it will boil away. Hopefully, they will find ways in which to find their rightful place within our society and we will find ways to understand them and help. I don't think blacks are alone in the building rage. I think this same rage is building not only among the poorly paid workers in this country, but across the world. Terrorist groups love disaffected poor people as they make easy recruits.
1
Stop calling this a movement. It is loosely defined cult of grievance, nothing more.
36
They absolutely need political candidates. Heck! They need a presidential candidate. That's what I told them on their website which is weak and irrelevant. (Needs fixing.)
If backs who care and are involved want a change, they need power. They need to field political candidates and they need to sue the ***t out of governments, federal, state, and local. Without power, they get nothing. They need the power to threaten politically with winning elections and they need the power to threaten legally and financially with law suites. They need to sue every right wing government in the U.S. that steps on their rights and denies them justice, including the federal government and the Supreme Court.
They need to scare people, not the way they are scared now but within the system: scared of losing political power and scared of losing law suits and big monetary damages. If they are scared enough, then they will respond to “Black Lives Matter” demands, but not before
No one cares. Get used to it. The right doesn't care unless they care about putting you down. The left says they care. Do you really believe it? Most blacks don't care. Get used to that one too, will you?
Only you care and this country offers the means to get what you want, but you have to do it in the right way. Period. It's going to cost a lot of money. So your website needs to solicit for that starting now. Hey, It works. A dollar here, a dollar there. Next thing you know, you have a million and you're on your way.
If backs who care and are involved want a change, they need power. They need to field political candidates and they need to sue the ***t out of governments, federal, state, and local. Without power, they get nothing. They need the power to threaten politically with winning elections and they need the power to threaten legally and financially with law suites. They need to sue every right wing government in the U.S. that steps on their rights and denies them justice, including the federal government and the Supreme Court.
They need to scare people, not the way they are scared now but within the system: scared of losing political power and scared of losing law suits and big monetary damages. If they are scared enough, then they will respond to “Black Lives Matter” demands, but not before
No one cares. Get used to it. The right doesn't care unless they care about putting you down. The left says they care. Do you really believe it? Most blacks don't care. Get used to that one too, will you?
Only you care and this country offers the means to get what you want, but you have to do it in the right way. Period. It's going to cost a lot of money. So your website needs to solicit for that starting now. Hey, It works. A dollar here, a dollar there. Next thing you know, you have a million and you're on your way.
1
"In Boston, that has meant protesting the city’s short-lived Olympic bid, which activists said would have been harmful to black neighborhoods".
Exactly what harm to "black neighborhoods" would have occurred? Is BLM claiming that meaningless "micro-aggressions" would have hampered their lifestyle?
Hash tags and "safe spaces" make great fodder for the NYTimes and other liberal media. But they don't accomplish anything. Worse, BLM seeks to divide and conquer using the false narrative of "systemic oppression" without being backed by any facts. BLM has hit its zenith. They're now making more enemies than friends.
Exactly what harm to "black neighborhoods" would have occurred? Is BLM claiming that meaningless "micro-aggressions" would have hampered their lifestyle?
Hash tags and "safe spaces" make great fodder for the NYTimes and other liberal media. But they don't accomplish anything. Worse, BLM seeks to divide and conquer using the false narrative of "systemic oppression" without being backed by any facts. BLM has hit its zenith. They're now making more enemies than friends.
22
I don't agree with you, walter. My hope is that BLM continues to define, refine and organize, evolve into what is a desperately needed resurgence movement in this country. Been far too long since the black population has been on the frontline in advocating for their communities, educational opportunities, health, personal welfare, and employment. During the civil rights movement I advocated for and witnessed a surge in communities gathering together, advancements in relationship btw. races, intellectual debate, art, writing, philosophy, and yes, politics. My hope is that BLM will prove itself to be the phoenix rising.
2
BLM was DOA.
21
300 deaths in Baltimore.
BlackLivesMatter is quiet! Not a word! Nope! Nada!
Sometimes silence screams!
BlackLivesMatter is quiet! Not a word! Nope! Nada!
Sometimes silence screams!
29
I am very pleased to hear that "Black Lives Matter" is finally turning their attention to politics; this is long overdue.
The issues of law enforcement abuses and mass incarceration that BLM has addressed are important to all of us, not just black people. Because those practices are unconstitutional, yet for 30 years, these abuses have become more common and even endorsed by courts, while most of us ignore the implications. For all of us.
One of my greatest concerns about our country has been the disengagement of young people from politics. I was dismayed that Occupy Wall Street never seemed to develop a coherent message or agenda. Many of the young people of voting age I talk to find politics bewildering, nasty, and deceptive. They don't want to take the time to understand and they want no part of it. (All accusations are true--yet politics control the lives everyone in this nation.)
As an environmental activist, I was dismayed to find that young folks would live in a tent before they'd write their state reps, or vote in local elections.
IF this movement can inspire young people to step up to the plate, then I think this represents progress in our nation.
The issues of law enforcement abuses and mass incarceration that BLM has addressed are important to all of us, not just black people. Because those practices are unconstitutional, yet for 30 years, these abuses have become more common and even endorsed by courts, while most of us ignore the implications. For all of us.
One of my greatest concerns about our country has been the disengagement of young people from politics. I was dismayed that Occupy Wall Street never seemed to develop a coherent message or agenda. Many of the young people of voting age I talk to find politics bewildering, nasty, and deceptive. They don't want to take the time to understand and they want no part of it. (All accusations are true--yet politics control the lives everyone in this nation.)
As an environmental activist, I was dismayed to find that young folks would live in a tent before they'd write their state reps, or vote in local elections.
IF this movement can inspire young people to step up to the plate, then I think this represents progress in our nation.
11
Bravo! Hooray! A comment from a member of the human race! Thank you.
From an article in today's Times: What to Do in Case of an Attack? Britain Issues Advice
Armed Police Response
• Follow officers’ instructions.
• Remain calm.
• Can you move to a safer area?
• Avoid sudden movements that may be considered a threat.
• Keep your hands in view.
Officers may
• Point guns at you.
• Treat you firmly.
• Question you.
• Be unable to distinguish you from the attacker.
• Officers will evacuate you when it is safe to do so.
News: This applies to *any* interaction with the police. Is it really necessary to tell people this? Is it really worth it to do otherwise, when it could cost you your life?
Armed Police Response
• Follow officers’ instructions.
• Remain calm.
• Can you move to a safer area?
• Avoid sudden movements that may be considered a threat.
• Keep your hands in view.
Officers may
• Point guns at you.
• Treat you firmly.
• Question you.
• Be unable to distinguish you from the attacker.
• Officers will evacuate you when it is safe to do so.
News: This applies to *any* interaction with the police. Is it really necessary to tell people this? Is it really worth it to do otherwise, when it could cost you your life?
6
Police need to learn how to treat people
1
Apparently, FSMLives! aspires to live every day as if it were a terrorist attack, or North Korea.
BLM will never be legitimate until it acknowledges the finding of the Obama Justice Department that the killing of Michael Brown was legally justified.
28
Who sent the remaining membership of the John Birch Society to this comments section today? The racism and ignorance virtually drips off the screen.
9
Typical progressive response. And and all criticism is immediately equate with racism.
8
If you don't agree with Neal you are an ignorant racist. Nice job Neal.
10
When anyone criticizes this movement, they are labeled "racist".
11
The Black Lives Movement is based on a lie. White America is not waging a war against black America. Interracial murders are relatively rare, but blacks are much quicker on the interracial trigger finger than whites. The FBI Uniform Crime Report (Expanded Homicide Data Table 6) shows that 409 blacks murdered whites while 189 whites (including Hispanics) murdered blacks in 2014. The vast majority of Americans killed by police are white, not black. The running tally kept by the Guardian shows that so far this year police have killed 1,012 of Americans, including 253 black. African Americans up 25 percent of police-involved homicide victims but only 13 percent of the population. However, percent of population is not the relevant statistic. Blacks make up 38.7 percent of those arrested for violent crimes, including 52.3 percent of those arrested for murder or manslaughter and 56.4 percent of those arrested for robbery. A recent Washington Post analysis showed “only a small number of the [police] shootings — roughly 5 percent — occurred under the kind of circumstances that raise doubt and draw public outcry.” The Post revealed that, “In 74 percent of all fatal police shootings, the individuals had already fired shots, brandished a gun or attacked a person with a weapon or their bare hands.” And of course, many police shootings save lives by stopping murderers.
28
I would urge the Black Lives Matter movement not to fall into the same trap that befell the Occupy movement before it -- that is, staging high-profile demonstrations that generate lots of headlines and not much else. I understand their preference for decentralization and distaste for mainstream politics, but the fact is that meaningful change is more likely to occur not in the streets but in the halls of power. And unless you put real pressure on lawmakers, or get your own candidates elected to office, or just simply get out and vote, those in power aren't going to give a rat's ear about your movement.
That's what the civil rights activists of the '60s understood well, and it's what the Tea Party understands today. You can "raise awareness" all day long, but real changes in policy are accomplished through the messy business of politics.
That's what the civil rights activists of the '60s understood well, and it's what the Tea Party understands today. You can "raise awareness" all day long, but real changes in policy are accomplished through the messy business of politics.
6
There is clearly a problem of oppression and marginalization facing Black Americans today. But there are also problems in the Black community that must be acknowledged, however painful, and addressed from within. The problem is that many white Americans are unwilling to be accountable for the oppression Black Americans face, and Black Americans want to attribute all of the community's problems to that oppression alone. Neither position is acceptable and neither will result in the necessary change. Either, however, is painful to accept, and that is why the debate gets so mired in steadfast polarity.
23
As a Black man I totally disagree with you.
There is no requirement of the White community to magically reach in, wave a wand and cure the ills within my community that plague my race. Moreover, that reality does not give BLM or any of the Obama/Sharpton inspired "activists" the right to demonize, harass, shout down and mistreat White people.
It's like an able bodied person in a hole saying the guy who gave him a ladder has trapped him down there because the ladder guy won't climb the ladder for him. It makes absolutely no sense.
If Black lives mattered as much to Blacks as BLM wants them to matter to Whites, we wouldn't be having this discussion.
There is no requirement of the White community to magically reach in, wave a wand and cure the ills within my community that plague my race. Moreover, that reality does not give BLM or any of the Obama/Sharpton inspired "activists" the right to demonize, harass, shout down and mistreat White people.
It's like an able bodied person in a hole saying the guy who gave him a ladder has trapped him down there because the ladder guy won't climb the ladder for him. It makes absolutely no sense.
If Black lives mattered as much to Blacks as BLM wants them to matter to Whites, we wouldn't be having this discussion.
21
Extreme and inflammatory rhetoric, which you repeat here, is part of the problem.
"Oppression" is a characteristic of authoritarian or totalitarian regimes, of an entire system of law and governance.
South Africa was oppressive. The Soviet Union was oppressive.
Are we really in that category?
Does our democracy deserve to be viewed as having more in common with those truly oppressive regimes than with, say, contemporary France?
We face many complex problems, including policies regarding crime and punishment. But systematic, legal oppression is not one of them.
The absurd and maximalist view of these people is destroying any sympathy they might have expected from reasonable Americans.
"Oppression" is a characteristic of authoritarian or totalitarian regimes, of an entire system of law and governance.
South Africa was oppressive. The Soviet Union was oppressive.
Are we really in that category?
Does our democracy deserve to be viewed as having more in common with those truly oppressive regimes than with, say, contemporary France?
We face many complex problems, including policies regarding crime and punishment. But systematic, legal oppression is not one of them.
The absurd and maximalist view of these people is destroying any sympathy they might have expected from reasonable Americans.
3
@tintin,
"The problem is that many white Americans are unwilling to be accountable for the oppression Black Americans face"
Could you please define "oppression" and say what does "willing to be accountable" concretely mean?
"The problem is that many white Americans are unwilling to be accountable for the oppression Black Americans face"
Could you please define "oppression" and say what does "willing to be accountable" concretely mean?
3
The attacks on progressive heroes, both present (Sanders) and past (Woodrow Wilson), are telling.
This is a digital version of the late 1960s-70s Black Panther / Black Power movement.
That movement's main achievement was to fracture the Democratic Party, alienate moderates and even liberals, and thereby make it possible for the GOP to come back strong and win five of the next six presidential elections.
Is that what these jacobins want?
Are they GOP operatives in disguise?
This is a digital version of the late 1960s-70s Black Panther / Black Power movement.
That movement's main achievement was to fracture the Democratic Party, alienate moderates and even liberals, and thereby make it possible for the GOP to come back strong and win five of the next six presidential elections.
Is that what these jacobins want?
Are they GOP operatives in disguise?
21
Woodrow Wilson was a racist who made it his personal goal to force Black citizens out of Federal jobs. He was a supporter of the KKK and no progressive hero. Progress does not go in a straight line and can only be achieved by contesting the status quo. evidently you are fine with the wanton killing of unarmed African Americans and the fact that the KKK and other racist organizations have a higher representation in our police departments around the nation than in the general population.
2
Are you a GOP operative in disguise? The same call for progressives to join the Democratic Party or doom them to failure against the GOP is based on a cynical logic that the lesser of two evils approach should guide progressive thought. BLM does not guy that logic, nor do I. Your assertion about the Black Power movement somehow alienating moderates and liberals into somehow helping the GOP is a well-worn, toothless warning used to silence progressive voices and maintain two-party rule through meager reformism for one party and total indifference and disregard for the other.
2
When, during Sander's speech, he was shoved by a stated member of the BLM, in a forum wherein there was no CIA or police to provide boundaries for BLM members and afterward, Clinton took heed to potential for physical harm from the group after the episode at Sander's presentation by quickly corralling members into a safe room with guards, I would have thought that BLM would begin to understand need to learn their great legacy in organized civil rights action, the self- discipline required. Instead, those members presented in mainstream media seem to have disdained, cast aside, great civil rights leaders who came before them, to continue their own loose self-representation of unformed ideas for change. Organize, identify your message and objectives, and please remember, you cannot accomplish those objectives alone, so stop shoving others who are proposing policies that would help you in your endeavors, one of which is most definitely, Senator Sanders.
19
How coincidental. Bernie Sanders is publicly embarrassed by a rushing crowd but Hillary is given a private ,quiet ,one on one discussion which was perfectly choreographed for the media.
To the contrary Mr. Eligon, I think they they know the system very well.
To the contrary Mr. Eligon, I think they they know the system very well.
3
My impression is not that Sanders was embarrassed, nor am I embarrassed for him. He was obviously outnumbered by an raging group (no crowd) of large people. He was not invited to participate in discussion on stage, was shoved, and he stepped away, as would any unprotected, sane, individual. And there was no "discussion" in the safe room. Clinton, under federal guard, shook her finger in the faces of the BLM representatives and told them that she doesn't believe in heart. Basically, she admonished the young BLM member who asked her a question about changing hearts and minds to go become a lobbyist. And who is Mr. Eligon ? I do agree, however, that Clintons castigation of the young BLM representative was obviously created for centrist-right democratic mainstream media audiences.
What BLM is look for a free ride and a sit at the table. BLM shouldn't matter.
21
I was a lifelong liberal Democrat before "Black Lives Matter" took over my community in Ferguson and displayed some of the ugliest racism and vile behavior I've ever witnessed. This is a group that targets white people for the express purpose of making them uncomfortable, and viciously harasses black people who do not join them.
They actively support criminals. They chant the words of a convicted cop killer and wanted fugitive. And worst of all, they peddle the collective delusion that police are the main problem in the black community, NOT the scores of young black men killing each other and terrorizing innocent people.
So no, I'm sorry. I won't be supporting any candidate or party than panders to Black Lives Matter. No way.
They actively support criminals. They chant the words of a convicted cop killer and wanted fugitive. And worst of all, they peddle the collective delusion that police are the main problem in the black community, NOT the scores of young black men killing each other and terrorizing innocent people.
So no, I'm sorry. I won't be supporting any candidate or party than panders to Black Lives Matter. No way.
65
I feel the black community needs to start cleaning it's own house.
Many feel that white people are the scapegoat for any issues the black community has.
Respect is not entitlement it is earned.
I can be very 'polite', very engaging & very nice but that doesn't mean I respect you.
Your ACTIONS determine respect - NOT YOUR SKIN COLOR!
Many feel that white people are the scapegoat for any issues the black community has.
Respect is not entitlement it is earned.
I can be very 'polite', very engaging & very nice but that doesn't mean I respect you.
Your ACTIONS determine respect - NOT YOUR SKIN COLOR!
40
so the words "white priveledge" do not mean you owe people of color anything?
Another comment that makes no sense. "The black community... " Your ACTIONS determine respect - not your skin color. Those two comments are non-sequitur.
That is correct Yoda. I do not owe POCs anything at all.
1
Wow, I invite posters to compare the "NYT Picks" to "Readers' Picks" for this piece. Talk about a disconnect. Compared to the coverage of endemic violence in communities of color that have appeared, and continue to appear in the L.A. Times, The Washington Post, and many other papers across the nation, the silence surrounding that issue, in the Times is almost breathtaking. Likewise the paper's constant cheerleading for BLM, and I might add, its total obfuscation of the forensic facts underlying the genesis-event of that movement, the Michael Brown affair. When is the Times going to wake up?
47
The problem with BLM is that most people see it as protecting criminals. To pretend that the criminal element in the black community isn't so skyhigh that it scares the G Whitakers out of everyone, is akin to saying that Isis can be stopped with flowers and candles. When the black crime rate starts to equal the national average I will start to listen. Until then I like most people just rolled their eyes and think "are they for real."
46
I find them really unimpressive. When they start helping their own, then I will be impressed.
16
This comment isn't thoughtful. Black = Criminal? This is exactly why this campaign is being undertaken.
3
I and many of my friends are tired of "Black Lives Matter." Frankly, we are sick of it. It is a meaningless phrase intended to make whites responsible for black lives. We are not responsible. All lives matter! All of them! Why must we kow tow to a group of people who insist they have been slighted by whites. Its not so. I'm tired of phrases that make excuses for an entire ethnic group that refuses to acknowledge its own shortcomings. Seventy two percent (72%) of all black children are born out of wedlock. Black children have no role models. None. Fathers are non-existent. When was the last time we saw a black family walking through a park with fathers holding the hands of their children. But they sure will talk about "Baby Mommas". And they'll wear their pants half off their butts. And the rate of black on black crime is not caused by whites. Its caused by blacks. Whites don't keep black students from excelling in school. They don't tell you it's not cool to succeed. If black kids do drugs its not because whites compel them.
My life matters. So do Irish, Vietnamese, Chinese, Jewish, Egyptian and every other life. If black lives matter then educate your children. Get a job. Any job and end your poverty including the poverty of ignorance. Don't tell me that I'm at fault because you have shortcomings and failures. They are your failures and your responsibility.
Build black schools and institutions. Build black character. Build an African American Community Center too.
My life matters. So do Irish, Vietnamese, Chinese, Jewish, Egyptian and every other life. If black lives matter then educate your children. Get a job. Any job and end your poverty including the poverty of ignorance. Don't tell me that I'm at fault because you have shortcomings and failures. They are your failures and your responsibility.
Build black schools and institutions. Build black character. Build an African American Community Center too.
54
@Jay in Florida, this is a pretty amazing rehash of just about every negative stereotype about black people out there. You might benefit from exposure to real black people, not just as seen on Fox News and other rightwing media.
BLM is not demanding that white people take responsibility for black people. They are demanding that our criminal justice system conform to American notions of justice--and the Constitution. The actions BLM opposes are, in fact, unconstitutional.
BLM has not been focusing on poverty, baby mamas, or falling down pants. They are focusing on the fact that police believe they can kill with impunity--as judge and jury and executioners. And that we jail more of our population than any of most repressive nations on this planet. (And this does not only happen to black people, though they are disproportionately affected.)
Stop the bogus efforts to change the subject. It is a fact that the black community talks about other problems related to crime and poverty, are concerned, try to fix them in their communities, especially via their churches.
It's not wrong for BLM to pick one thing at a time to fix--this is called "being effective."
Be aware the Fox News is very selective in what they cover, and only trade in the most negative and racist stereotypes. (And I'm old and white, so I know those racist dog whistles when I hear them.) Ignore that stuff, and educate yourself.
BLM is not demanding that white people take responsibility for black people. They are demanding that our criminal justice system conform to American notions of justice--and the Constitution. The actions BLM opposes are, in fact, unconstitutional.
BLM has not been focusing on poverty, baby mamas, or falling down pants. They are focusing on the fact that police believe they can kill with impunity--as judge and jury and executioners. And that we jail more of our population than any of most repressive nations on this planet. (And this does not only happen to black people, though they are disproportionately affected.)
Stop the bogus efforts to change the subject. It is a fact that the black community talks about other problems related to crime and poverty, are concerned, try to fix them in their communities, especially via their churches.
It's not wrong for BLM to pick one thing at a time to fix--this is called "being effective."
Be aware the Fox News is very selective in what they cover, and only trade in the most negative and racist stereotypes. (And I'm old and white, so I know those racist dog whistles when I hear them.) Ignore that stuff, and educate yourself.
4
Thank you, New York Times, for publishing a balanced article on Black Lives Matter and Campaign Zero that looks at the DETAILS and NUANCES of the work of these activists who are finding their way through a variety of routes to address an extremely important issue of our time.
12
Which article did you read?
2
Bullies. Period.
46
Agreed.
Nothing progressive or liberal about them.
Nothing progressive or liberal about them.
11
"Nothing progressive or liberal about them."
I love it when the radical right pretends to care about us.
I love it when the radical right pretends to care about us.
1
They need a reboot. Start with an outline of realistic goals, and for God's sake, change that slogan! It is too irritating, to the point of being outright rejected by those who see it.
6
“I think that it’s not just about changing hearts and minds, it’s not just about changing laws, it’s about actually changing action,”
Doesn't this one statement pretty much express the utter futility of this and other movements to change ways that did not just spring up over night, but were centuries, if not eons, in the making. It's almost as effective, I'm sure, as sound-bite politics having any real effective role in the business of government.
Doesn't this one statement pretty much express the utter futility of this and other movements to change ways that did not just spring up over night, but were centuries, if not eons, in the making. It's almost as effective, I'm sure, as sound-bite politics having any real effective role in the business of government.
5
You can't pick and choose which murders to protest. I don't see any mention of black on black murders, which are the most dominant killers of blacks.
36
Looking at the photograph of the white police officer and the black protester in Minneapolis, they both refuse to look at each other. The conversation isn't happening, and the movement needs to do a better job of proactive engagement and discourse.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/20/us/minneapolis-protest-police-jamar-cl...
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/20/us/minneapolis-protest-police-jamar-cl...
6
The photos show the police officer and protestor happened to be looking away from each other at the instant the photograph was taken. It doesn't show that they refused to looked at each other or communicate with each other.
9
Am I the only person who feels that all of the copy for the Black Lives Matter news coverage and rhetoric is being written by Tom Wolfe and all of us are characters in a story that he is writing? Those of us old enough to recall some of the protests in the 60s may remember people chanting, "Hey Hey, Ho Ho, Ungawa! Black Powa!" Anyone recall hearing it lately?
"Black Lives Matter" will have the same currency in short order.
"Black Lives Matter" will have the same currency in short order.
10
BLM seems like a professional whiners & protesters with no real issue.
30
They fight micro-aggressions (whatever that means) with hash tags and "safe-spaces".
#winning
#winning
9
"BLM seems like a professional whiners & protesters with no real issue."
No, you're thinking of the War on Christmas.
No, you're thinking of the War on Christmas.
The soft bigotry of low expectations includes acclaiming people like Cornel West and Michael Brown.
21
The "black lives matter" movement condemn killing by police only. Black lives matter will continue to be a joke until they address the daily murders of blacks by other blacks. Except for White Ivy League apologists who are rich and feel guilty while they collect their trust funds.
36
I will support and respect BLM when it gets around to showing up at the scenes of dozens of shooting deaths of black people where the shooter wasn't wearing a badge. Apparently black lives taken by (mostly) black men don't matter enough. That is a real shame.
59
Careful what you wish for. Just as the riots in the late '60's helped Nixon come back from political oblivion, the tactics of these BLM groups - intimidation, attacks on and slander of progressives no less than conservatives, and stoking mob violence as in Ferguson - will alienate many decent-minded centrists and help the GOP candidate greatly next fall.
Get ready for President Rubio. Or maybe even President Bush 45.
Get ready for President Rubio. Or maybe even President Bush 45.
23
To whom is the slogan "Black Lives Matter" geared towards?
11
blacks and whites ashamed of their own skin color.
6
The BLM leaders may reject violence, but people who have used its name have engaged in intimidating and aggressive actions, especially toward whites. That's hardly a way to change hearts and minds.
It's a mistake to diminish the importance of legislative action. That's the primary way to enact change.
If BLM could ensure that its activists could contain themselves during a town hall meeting, those meetings could be a productive medium for getting their voices heard. We really need to have that discussion. The thing is a discussion has to go both ways. I've seen little that indicates BLM is interested in dialogue.
It's a mistake to diminish the importance of legislative action. That's the primary way to enact change.
If BLM could ensure that its activists could contain themselves during a town hall meeting, those meetings could be a productive medium for getting their voices heard. We really need to have that discussion. The thing is a discussion has to go both ways. I've seen little that indicates BLM is interested in dialogue.
19
BLK needs to come up with a real Effective agenda. They dont seem to have any actual ideas that are going to actually help the community. The only one i can see so far is for police not to police as aggressively. That has resulted in the slaughter of thousands of black lives by other blacks as shown by the huge increase in murders in Baltimore, Chicago, Newark etc. I dont think the policy is working when the result is a huge increase in violence in the black community.
The world is up in arms about Paris but thats just 1 American city, Chicago murders in 2 months and they are almost exclusively black. That is a national tragically and BLK has only made it worse.
The world is up in arms about Paris but thats just 1 American city, Chicago murders in 2 months and they are almost exclusively black. That is a national tragically and BLK has only made it worse.
14
If the "Black Lives Matter" signs are not just an empty slogan why is there no national as well as local black outrage and mass protests at premeditated—not unexpected or accidental—killings of blacks by blacks?
Take a good look at Jason L. Riley (WSJ editorial member) article "Race, Politics and the Zimmerman Trial."
He states, "The homicide rate claiming black victims today is seven times that of whites, and the George Zimmermans of the world are not the reason. Some 90% of black murder victims are killed by other blacks"
In 1993, Jesse Jackson told organizers in Chicago: "There is nothing more painful to me at this stage in my life than to walk down the street and hear footsteps and start thinking about robbery. Then look around and see somebody white and feel relieved."
If he, a black man, was afraid of blacks what can we expect of a police whose lives may be in real danger?
C.L. Bryant, the former head of the NAACP in Garland, Texas, said that in the Trayvon Marvin case the national attention from perennial leaders of the black community, Sharpton and Rev Jesse Jackson was not welcome.
The problem with African-Americans is they had or have so called leaders and role models who are self-aggrandizing, corrupt, adulterers, immoral, or anti-Semitic; leaders like Bill Cosby, Adam Clayton Powell Jr., Charles Rangel, Jesse Jackson, Louis Farrakhnan and Al Sharpton.
Martin Luther King where are you when we need you?
48
Birds of a feather, indeed.
1
It's important for the Black Lives Matter movement to move from the protest stage to the political arena, much as the Tea Party succeeded in doing, and Occupy WallStreet did not. Awareness of what constitutes racism is rare in the mind of the unconscious racist. Policies that have kept minority communities oppressed in a thinly disguised manner are coming to light. Opening up the conversation and making it part of the presidential process rather than just random marches and clashes will be the long game to success.
6
The problem is, this group is not playing well in Peoria. Hillary will have to embrace them, the pushback may elect Trump.
4
They have moved to political arena. Why else is there any attention being paid?
1
It would be quite illuminating to see how many of those denying the racism existing in our country are white? My personal experience with racism pertains to my Jewish heritage and it has not been pretty. I can not even imagine what it's like to be Black or First People or Hispanic in a state such as Alabama or North Carolina.
As to those that claim "how about voting to start with" how starting with stopping voter suppression and ensuring accurate voting machines.
As to those citing murder rates, how many white people were shot were unarmed, were lying on the street handcuffed, or already in police custody?
As to those that claim "how about voting to start with" how starting with stopping voter suppression and ensuring accurate voting machines.
As to those citing murder rates, how many white people were shot were unarmed, were lying on the street handcuffed, or already in police custody?
13
Those "denying the existence of racism" are also the ones usually being accused of it. Do they have not have the freedom to respond to such accusations? The accusation of racism, itself, is deserving of investigation, especially since it is thrown around today quite liberally against anyone who doesn't agree with certain viewpoints.
11
The article seems to at least try to summarize what these black movements are doing and how they might evolve. I remember the old movements....and recognize the current tactics. I think the town meeting idea has value, get black communities to deal with their local issues. I personally wish they would call out some republicans rather than just attacking their allies in Dem party. I really dislike their fascist tactics like the thing in Seattle. Reading posts on FB from them then alienated me from their movement. Having seen black movements come and go...well, I hope they can make a difference for peoples of color in the US and not just African Americans. Young and radical...we'll see.
17
Hi Mitzi - "attacking their allies" - as an old white person I'll say the taking over the mic thing seems new and different - the best understanding I can come up with is that it shouldn't necessarily be seen as an attack, but as a demand that only makes sense when addressed to allies - there is an assumption that a Republican audience wouldn't even have a pretense of sympathy, to give you anything to talk about - but addressing liberal Dems, the message is, "you are supposed to be on our side, well, if you really are, here is what we need done..." I think there is a kind of realism there. Remember also, back in the days of MLK, he was not remotely seen as an emblem of moderation and peaceful discussion, the way modern conservatives like to depict him - he was seen as an aggressive agitator, pushing far beyond the bounds of the reasonable or attainable... the levels of confusion and hostility back in those days might have been even worse than what we see now. It's hard to remember these things objectively.
3
The Black Lives Matter Movement attempts to reinvigorate and renew the historical 60's Rights Movement subducted by the Migrant Amnesty principally Hispanic Movement. While great progress has been made since the 60's, the economic times and political structures in place do not sufficiently compensate for continued abdication of personal responsibility centering on continued and challenging parenting and educational deficiencies. The Police, as the enforcement face of Social Order are maligned as the representatives of a discriminate Society. As a response to such stigmatization, there has been a withdrawal from proactive policing to the detriment of the groups most needing protection. All lives must matter in the Sane Society
14
Astute observation. Well done.
1
Ironic that the Migrant Amnesty movement helped destroy the growing black middle class, is it not?
News: Low skilled jobs are a zero sum game. The more low skilled workers we import, the less jobs for our own low skilled workers, because those jobs do not 'grow' the economy and have not for more than four decades. They do not pay enough and never will, not even at $15 an hour.
Be careful what you protest for.
News: Low skilled jobs are a zero sum game. The more low skilled workers we import, the less jobs for our own low skilled workers, because those jobs do not 'grow' the economy and have not for more than four decades. They do not pay enough and never will, not even at $15 an hour.
Be careful what you protest for.
6
But members of an organization named Black Lives Matter, which first asked for the debates, asserted that only a debate would demonstrate the Democrats’ commitment to their cause.
----------------------------
Sow the wind ...
And yet they insist this is not a racist group. They are more dangerous still. They enforce the idea that all black people think, act and feel the same. It is a sin, but a predictable one, that identity politics has come down to this.
----------------------------
Sow the wind ...
And yet they insist this is not a racist group. They are more dangerous still. They enforce the idea that all black people think, act and feel the same. It is a sin, but a predictable one, that identity politics has come down to this.
32
Identity and litmus tests. The bread and butter of democratic politics.
8
Identity politics is fool's gold.
The Democratic Party leaders think they can use identity politics to ensure political dominance, but it's just as likely to alienate centrists and many progressives as well.
Bashing cops and white progressives is not a path to long-term popularity.
Look at the collapse in support for DeBlasio among white liberals and moderates. If today's digital Black Power mobs keep acting out, this same fracturing of moderate-lib support will happen to Hillary's candidacy as well.
The Democratic Party leaders think they can use identity politics to ensure political dominance, but it's just as likely to alienate centrists and many progressives as well.
Bashing cops and white progressives is not a path to long-term popularity.
Look at the collapse in support for DeBlasio among white liberals and moderates. If today's digital Black Power mobs keep acting out, this same fracturing of moderate-lib support will happen to Hillary's candidacy as well.
3
When Black Lives Matter come to cities like mine and address black on black killings they will earn the right to be at the table.Do they have the guts to address babies having babies. Until they do forget them. Oh yes, already this year 71 murders in my city.
79
"When Black Lives Matter come to cities like mine and address black on black killings they will earn the right to be at the table."
Imagine the outsized sense of privilege it must take to think you determine who has earned the right to be at the table.
Imagine the outsized sense of privilege it must take to think you determine who has earned the right to be at the table.
2
They interrupted Bernie TWICE- very rudely despite his long record on human rights- going all the way back to his student days before any of the Black Lives Matter "activists" were born. Video shows them charging the dais in a manner that worried many that is was an attack.
Why did they not interrupt Hillary or any of the Republicans? Still waiting to see them charge the dais for a Hillary event. The Secret Service might not be too happy.
There is a legitimate issue regarding the way police handle African-Americans as well as others, but charging the stage at a public Rally and calling the audience racists (Seattle) is not the way to get it done.
Why did they not interrupt Hillary or any of the Republicans? Still waiting to see them charge the dais for a Hillary event. The Secret Service might not be too happy.
There is a legitimate issue regarding the way police handle African-Americans as well as others, but charging the stage at a public Rally and calling the audience racists (Seattle) is not the way to get it done.
31
Not progressive. Not liberal.
4
If black lives matter, then all black children deserve to have their own father living in the house, married to their mother.
43
If he is not in jail on a trivial offense that would have been probation if white.
4
Maybe if it wasn't his third time committing such a trivial offense.
10
"If black lives matter, then all black children deserve to have their own father living in the house, married to their mother."
And white children? Do they deserve the same, or are whites exempt? How is Bristol Palin's abstinence campaign coming along? Are you prepared to frog-march all the single-parent families out of your neighborhood, or only if they're a certain color?
And white children? Do they deserve the same, or are whites exempt? How is Bristol Palin's abstinence campaign coming along? Are you prepared to frog-march all the single-parent families out of your neighborhood, or only if they're a certain color?
1
Black Lives Matter is a great name Who could be against a organization with sucb noble goals? Well to me it's a hoax. What emphasis has been directed at black on black crime? How many solutions have they been pushing addressing police conduct?
To my surprise they have directed some focus on Israel. Specifically They have signed on to a statement that supports, among other things:
Boycotting Israel (BDS),
ending diplomatic and economic aid to Israel, and
Right of return which would eliminate Israel as a Jewish state
Here is the statement:
http://www.blackforpalestine.com/read-the-statement.html
Signatories including more than a half dozen BLM members including their founder Patrisse Cullors (signature number 854):
http://www.blackforpalestine.com/view-the-signatories.html
To my surprise they have directed some focus on Israel. Specifically They have signed on to a statement that supports, among other things:
Boycotting Israel (BDS),
ending diplomatic and economic aid to Israel, and
Right of return which would eliminate Israel as a Jewish state
Here is the statement:
http://www.blackforpalestine.com/read-the-statement.html
Signatories including more than a half dozen BLM members including their founder Patrisse Cullors (signature number 854):
http://www.blackforpalestine.com/view-the-signatories.html
24
BLM already alienated their natural allies. They certainly burned their bridges as far as this liberal is concerned. They can talk to my hand.
65
"BLM already alienated their natural allies. They certainly burned their bridges as far as this liberal is concerned. They can talk to my hand. "
That's so adorable the way you can dismiss an entire movement's concerns with a wave of your hand while at the same time appropriating black slang for effect!
That's so adorable the way you can dismiss an entire movement's concerns with a wave of your hand while at the same time appropriating black slang for effect!
Pun intended?
"Black Lives Matter" people need to 'walk the talk'. If Black Lives Matter, where are the fathers? Mothers having four kids by four different men? Young black males killing each other at record rates.
There is no question that there are serious police issues to address, random stops, revenue generating ticketing, etc. But these are a drop in the bucket to the problems listed above.
Walk the talk.
There is no question that there are serious police issues to address, random stops, revenue generating ticketing, etc. But these are a drop in the bucket to the problems listed above.
Walk the talk.
60
" Mothers having four kids by four different men?"
How is your friend Kim Davis doing? How about Bristol Palin?
How is your friend Kim Davis doing? How about Bristol Palin?
2
Exactly what do the "black lives matter" activists want? Hillary Clinton couldn't figure it out, and I don't think anyone else has, either.
Our country has proven that it cares about people, and that it responds to help those in need. It has also proven than government needs mature, thoughtful people that understand the needs of everyone, and not just one particular special interest group.
As it is right now, this group is becoming what MacBeth described as: "full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing."
Our country has proven that it cares about people, and that it responds to help those in need. It has also proven than government needs mature, thoughtful people that understand the needs of everyone, and not just one particular special interest group.
As it is right now, this group is becoming what MacBeth described as: "full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing."
34
What is black? Is a Jamaican Black? Is an Australian Black? An Englishman? The failures of the black race (?) in this country can only be traced to absentee parents, mainly fathers who love making kids but despising raising them. Also, mothers who make bad choices in mates. This political (?) movement is similar to the "Latino" myth. Is someone from Spain latino? Oh, they speak Spanish so I guess. Does and Italian and Austrian constitute a "European American"? Don't know, Is someone form Quebec and France French American? Maybe? This is the furthest thing form Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. This a movement that is wrapping itself on power and retribution. There is no nobility in this movement. Just look at the responses to when you object to their actions, middle fingers and cursing. As we gaze and consider this president's legacy I'm sad to say it has nothing but division and rancor.
30
Black Lives Matter might gain political influence in the African American community because they express anger and resentment about racial discrimination and exploitation that is an historical fact but it cannot extend beyond into the greater culture because it's already rejected everyone else with a kind of giant, to hell with everybody else message. People have a right to express their feelings but if they want to gain allies and join with other groups to correct injustices they have to do more than complain loudly or act out their anger and resentments.
52
Unfortunately, the "us vs. them" mentality of the Black Lives Movement, coupled with the aggressive sense of victimhood (even at highly privileged institutions like Yale) is now manifesting itself as outright racism and race-based hostility.
See the Dartmouth incident: http://www.dartreview.com/eyes-wide-open-at-the-protest
See the Dartmouth incident: http://www.dartreview.com/eyes-wide-open-at-the-protest
34
"outright racism and race-based hostility"
It's a good thing there are no white people (or organizations or entire institutions) who could be accused of that.
It's a good thing there are no white people (or organizations or entire institutions) who could be accused of that.
2
What about all of the white people getting shot? You don't hear about them on the news and we aren't having a movement for "White Lives Matter" because if we did we would some how be considered "racist." Black people are just self segregating themselves with this movement they are presently engaged in. Over the last 200 years they've been fighting for equal rights and equality, well now you have it. You're being shot and arrested just like the white people and you're mad about it? I do not condone police killings in any way, but they need to open up theirs eyes and realize that they aren't the only ones being shot for Gods' Sake. All of these protests are ludicrous and need to halt but they won't.
15
"Over the last 200 years they've been fighting for equal rights and equality"
I wonder why?
I wonder why?
3
While it is absolutely true that racism is abhorrent and that cops need to be put in check, you will not see me supporting this movement in its current incarnation. This is not about "being real" at all. Black criminals are FAR more a danger to black people than police are -- if black people want safety, they should be supporting more police presence and stronger penalties for crimes. They should be flying the hashtags in their own neighborhoods, supporting their own upcoming youth and worrying a little less about outcomes for criminals like Michael Brown. This is a utilitarian perspective -- the energies are in the wrong place, absolutely, and it's madness that the movement has taken this path. It's misplaced resources, poor organization and bad planning. It's a travesty to young black children who need their adults to lead them down a sensible path, guided by clear-eyed truth and the ability to critique one's own community. If this energy were focused inward -- who knows what these impassioned people could do -- the problem is that they have focused on a bogeyman, created by the press and their anxieties. And it is absolutely not racist to say something like this -- it's business, it's numbers. It's strategic. Who in the community will stand up and say so?
29
One more time: black criminals killing innocent black people does not give the police (of any color) license to kill innocent black people, and yet it keeps happening and people like you refuse to admit it.
2
Before moving to Arkansas this year, I lived for 11 in East Oakland and 10 on the West Side of Chicago. The killings of people of color by members of their own communities should be a national shame and a national scandal. And yet, we are treated to the sordid spectacle of a national movement identifying itself as Black Lives Matter, that almost steadfastly refuses to even recognize the endemic carnage in many of OUR communities of color, focusing instead on a handful of police shooting and the demeaning nature of traffic stops. I just don't know what to say. This is a disgrace, and that the Times seems hellbent and determined to act as megaphone for this misguided nonsense, while willfully ignoring the disproportionate plague of violence in communities of color, is a blemish on the reputation of this paper that will not soon go away.
46
"And yet, we are treated to the sordid spectacle of a national movement identifying itself as Black Lives Matter"
Isn't it possible their message is aimed at ALL people, including African Americans? And what is there about this (very loosely defined) movement that could be described as "sordid," which means dirty, squalid or immoral?
Isn't it possible their message is aimed at ALL people, including African Americans? And what is there about this (very loosely defined) movement that could be described as "sordid," which means dirty, squalid or immoral?
I am a Black attorney in Washington DC.
Nothing articulated in the "Black Lives Matter" movement applies to me in any way, shape or form. Yet the White-owned and operated NYT quickly crowns BLM as a civil rights movement for my race.
Shouldn't I have something in common with BLM besides skin color before a roving band of Sharpton-inspired malcontents, fame seekers and thugs who roam the streets screaming at young White girls (like we see in Washington DC) and chanting that they want to see "dead cops now" is anointed the second coming of Martin Luther King and the struggle?
I am not a Hillary supporter, but she was brilliant in calling out the disorganized, unfocused, bellicose BLM thugs when they interrupted her campaign event.
We need more of that.
Black lives matter. Misplaced angst, unfocused protests, burning and looting your own community cannot be allowed to matter.
Nothing articulated in the "Black Lives Matter" movement applies to me in any way, shape or form. Yet the White-owned and operated NYT quickly crowns BLM as a civil rights movement for my race.
Shouldn't I have something in common with BLM besides skin color before a roving band of Sharpton-inspired malcontents, fame seekers and thugs who roam the streets screaming at young White girls (like we see in Washington DC) and chanting that they want to see "dead cops now" is anointed the second coming of Martin Luther King and the struggle?
I am not a Hillary supporter, but she was brilliant in calling out the disorganized, unfocused, bellicose BLM thugs when they interrupted her campaign event.
We need more of that.
Black lives matter. Misplaced angst, unfocused protests, burning and looting your own community cannot be allowed to matter.
105
What is astounding is that BLM members do not see the racism in their sympathy with criminals, based on a shared skin color.
11
Since the vast majority of black murders are committed by blacks, the Black Lives Matter movement needs to redirect their anger at themselves.
37
The suggestion of Khalil Gibran Muhammad, the director of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in New York "that activists might have to work within the traditional political system" will take longer but will produce the most enduring change.
Ranting about the past by either blacks (the law and the police are harsher to blacks, etc.) or whites (blacks commit more crimes than whites, etc.) merely fuels the fires that must be put out before there can be meaningful, enduring change.
Some day, we are going to have to be able to say that "all lives matter" and mean it. Only then will it be so.
Ranting about the past by either blacks (the law and the police are harsher to blacks, etc.) or whites (blacks commit more crimes than whites, etc.) merely fuels the fires that must be put out before there can be meaningful, enduring change.
Some day, we are going to have to be able to say that "all lives matter" and mean it. Only then will it be so.
8
Yesterday, Black Lives Matter at Princeton University took over the president's office, demanding, among other things, that statues and references to Woodrow Wilson (you know, the father of American political progressivism) be removed.
For every black unlawfully killed by a white police officer there are hundreds of blacks killed by other young black men, and no less important, still hundreds more blacks whose lives are literally saved every day by police officers putting their own lives on the line to protect blacks from other blacks--as is their duty.
Outbursts of rage from young, idealistic Americans who have yet to learn the complexities of reality and who have yet to learn the meaning of humility is nothing new. What is new is social media, which allows these outbursts to operate within an "echo chamber" in which "factual" assumptions (about police brutality, for instance) go virtually unchallenged.
And of course, there's the mainstream media (like NYT), where relativism conveniently fuses with the guilty consciences of upper-class white liberals who are insulated from the effects of youth outrage.
We need to stop granting so much attention and credibility to the excesses of youth culture. They need to grow up. We need to act like adults.
For every black unlawfully killed by a white police officer there are hundreds of blacks killed by other young black men, and no less important, still hundreds more blacks whose lives are literally saved every day by police officers putting their own lives on the line to protect blacks from other blacks--as is their duty.
Outbursts of rage from young, idealistic Americans who have yet to learn the complexities of reality and who have yet to learn the meaning of humility is nothing new. What is new is social media, which allows these outbursts to operate within an "echo chamber" in which "factual" assumptions (about police brutality, for instance) go virtually unchallenged.
And of course, there's the mainstream media (like NYT), where relativism conveniently fuses with the guilty consciences of upper-class white liberals who are insulated from the effects of youth outrage.
We need to stop granting so much attention and credibility to the excesses of youth culture. They need to grow up. We need to act like adults.
87
Read about the students at Yale...those poor babies read a 'triggering' email!
11
Why does "Black lives matter" seems to matter more when it's white on black crime. When it's black on black crime, it's mostly silence?
60
"When it's black on black crime, it's mostly silence?"
Do you know this from your many close relationships within the African American community, or are you just letting your personal prejudices off the leash?
Do you know this from your many close relationships within the African American community, or are you just letting your personal prejudices off the leash?
Carry on BLM and OZ, carry on! The nitpickers and naysayers may bring up truths that need to be addressed for certain - like black on black crime - but the mission of BLM and OZ are central to our democracy. We cannot claim to live a true democracy when over 10% of our population lives in fear of the police. Their zeal and passion are what make this country great - we create change through verbal arguements, effective marketing, group orgnaizing, and loud noise. Not guns and violence. BLM and OZ are making using the tools of democracry to address inequity - a truly American undertaking!
4
". We cannot claim to live a true democracy when over 10% of our population lives in fear of the police. "
we cannot live in a true democracy when non-blacks, who make up 90% of the population, are in constant fear of teh 10% of the population who commit so many crimes either. To us this is a more important issue. Take it from someone who has been robbed twice by people "of color".
we cannot live in a true democracy when non-blacks, who make up 90% of the population, are in constant fear of teh 10% of the population who commit so many crimes either. To us this is a more important issue. Take it from someone who has been robbed twice by people "of color".
11
Its amazing how much leeway and apologising far left, unappealing media outlets like the NYT will do for extremist groups like "black lives matter," which is no less racist and disgusting than la raza and other identity-based, racist groups.
Further amazing is how much more accepting and softer its coverage is of such extremist groups on the left as opposed to its coverage and descriptions of the Tea Party and other groups on the right. Conservative groups are labeled "extremist" and "far right wing," while far left groups like blm are an "Internet-driven civil rights movement."
Someone needs to inform the NYT editorial staff that they are fooling no one with an IQ, or age, over 12.
Further amazing is how much more accepting and softer its coverage is of such extremist groups on the left as opposed to its coverage and descriptions of the Tea Party and other groups on the right. Conservative groups are labeled "extremist" and "far right wing," while far left groups like blm are an "Internet-driven civil rights movement."
Someone needs to inform the NYT editorial staff that they are fooling no one with an IQ, or age, over 12.
70
Is this article some type of sick joke? The Black Lives Matter movement has not even attempted to condemn the real issues responsible for the sad state of black america. It has done nothing to protest black on black killing. Instead it has sought to blame "discrimination" and "racism" and to blame white cops. It has done absolutely zero to discuss or do anything about the most important fact contributing to black poverty - the very high illegitimacy rate among blacks. About 2/3 of black births are illegitimate, about double the rate for whites. It has done nothing to discuss black drug addiction.
What it has done is to blame whites (as well as asians for not supporting affirmative actino), "discrimination" and "racism" instead of the aforementioned factors mentioned above that are the real causes of poor state of black america today. As such it is nothing more than a diversion from real action needed to solve the problems of black america.
What it has done is to blame whites (as well as asians for not supporting affirmative actino), "discrimination" and "racism" instead of the aforementioned factors mentioned above that are the real causes of poor state of black america today. As such it is nothing more than a diversion from real action needed to solve the problems of black america.
57
Black lives matter. Tell that to all the blacks killing other blacks.
60
R.I.P. Eric Garner, all police must be held accountable.
1
Agree. This is simply a protest theme. It will not become a movement until it comes up with a plan of action.
They might start by coming up with some better slogans. 'Black Lives Matter' makes it sound like they are calling for a generalized improvement in the life prospects of African Americans. But the real point is fighting endemic, racist people and practices among police.
And 'Don't Shoot!' is especially useless. As a white in a liberalish town, I'm already not shooting. I have a black mayor! Must be many millions of us who want to know what we can do to affect practices by local police in some very different jurisdictions.
They might start by coming up with some better slogans. 'Black Lives Matter' makes it sound like they are calling for a generalized improvement in the life prospects of African Americans. But the real point is fighting endemic, racist people and practices among police.
And 'Don't Shoot!' is especially useless. As a white in a liberalish town, I'm already not shooting. I have a black mayor! Must be many millions of us who want to know what we can do to affect practices by local police in some very different jurisdictions.
1
Especially the ones that have not broken the law and/or have had to protect themselves from harm?
3
This what we call demagoguery.
I have found Black Lives Matter protest actions puzzling, with a fearless image but actually timid actions:
After they had so infamously disrupted the Seattle rally of Sanders, a bona-fide lifelong civil rights advocate, I hoped BLM would roll up their sleeves and get going to take on the racist, xenophobic, classist candidates like Donald Trump. But months later....where is the battle royale where they take their disruptive capabilities to an all-white, all-racist Trump rally? Instead they took on Hillary?! And, oh, brave souls: Twin Cities Marathon??!!
Besides one disruption at an August event of Jeb! Bush, BLM has not targeted any GOP candidates' events, though the entire GOP field's message is anathema to BLM's own. Or what about any of the thinly-veiled pro-Confederate events celebrating "Southern Heritage?"
Despite their image of strong will to disrupt anything, seems the BLM protesters are actually afraid to take on large HOSTILE crowds.
The 2015 Twin Cities Marathon: BLM protesters declaring they will refuse to let marathoners who just ran 26.19999 miles cross the finish line? At an event that has nothing to do with civil-rights struggles? That's a sure way to enrage tens of thousands of runners, among whom the support for civil rights is likely higher than any crowd entering any NFL stadium on Sundays.
After they had so infamously disrupted the Seattle rally of Sanders, a bona-fide lifelong civil rights advocate, I hoped BLM would roll up their sleeves and get going to take on the racist, xenophobic, classist candidates like Donald Trump. But months later....where is the battle royale where they take their disruptive capabilities to an all-white, all-racist Trump rally? Instead they took on Hillary?! And, oh, brave souls: Twin Cities Marathon??!!
Besides one disruption at an August event of Jeb! Bush, BLM has not targeted any GOP candidates' events, though the entire GOP field's message is anathema to BLM's own. Or what about any of the thinly-veiled pro-Confederate events celebrating "Southern Heritage?"
Despite their image of strong will to disrupt anything, seems the BLM protesters are actually afraid to take on large HOSTILE crowds.
The 2015 Twin Cities Marathon: BLM protesters declaring they will refuse to let marathoners who just ran 26.19999 miles cross the finish line? At an event that has nothing to do with civil-rights struggles? That's a sure way to enrage tens of thousands of runners, among whom the support for civil rights is likely higher than any crowd entering any NFL stadium on Sundays.
24
Minority students at Yale read an email from a professor about free speech and Halloween costumes and they protested and screamed and had to be taken to safe spaces to play with stuffed animals.
Those poor babies!
Those poor babies!
37
The students at the University of Missouri are whining because the media has chosen to focus on the events in Paris, bumping them out of the spotlight.
6
"The students at the University of Missouri are whining because the media has chosen to focus on the events in Paris, bumping them out of the spotlight."
Are you really asserting that the student protesters at the University of Missouri are as cold-hearted and uncaring about the victims of the Paris attacks as you are about the students at the University of Missouri?
Are you really asserting that the student protesters at the University of Missouri are as cold-hearted and uncaring about the victims of the Paris attacks as you are about the students at the University of Missouri?
If the movement really cared about Black Lives, they would start focusing on the 93% of Black victims who are killed by other Blacks, because that's the place to save the most Black Lives! Ignoring this elephant in the room leads people to the conclusion that the Black Lives Matter campaign is mostly an anti-police movement, not really concerned with Black Lives so much as kicking the Cops.
56
Once again we hear from someone who believes that if black criminals murder innocent black people, police should not be reprimanded for killing innocent back people. Prosecuting a killer in uniform is not anti-police, it's the law.
2
Not surprised. They've definitely got the 'lies & half-truth' part down pat!
20
“I think that it’s not just about changing hearts and minds, it’s not just about changing laws, it’s about actually changing action,” said Elle Hearns, a strategic adviser to the Black Lives Matter organization who is based in Ohio.
Black lives do matter, however, they don't seem to matter equally by members of this movement. The majority of when I read about the "Black Lives Matters" movement is only when a black life has resulted in death or injury after an encounter with a white law enforcement officer.
What I do not respect nor support is the "picking and choosing" of the sensationalizing or capitalizing of this movement when it becomes convenient based on the circumstances. If ALL black lives don't matter equally and aren't voiced equally, then this movement is merely a political charade.
39
Just recently in NYC, a black police officer was killed by a black criminal.
The silence from BLM was resounding.
The silence from BLM was resounding.
16
It's remarkable that some white people who clearly don't understand what Black Lives Matter is about are happy to express publicly what they think Black Lives Matter SHOULD be about.
4
Why do you assume all of the criticism is coming from the white population? Why do you assume that all blacks are impressed by the movement?
4
In order to have any real and true impact, the first thing BLM needs to do is to acknowledge the fact that blacks killing blacks is the major crisis that needs to be addressed immediately. When I lived in North Minneapolis for almost 20 years, it had the highest homicide rate in the STATE. And it was because the murders were almost entirely African Americans killing African Americans. It also had the highest amount of gangs, school dropouts and teen pregnancies. Efforts from the social and human services non-profits that I worked with barely made a dent. Black lives do matter. But, nothing can change for the better until they fight for change in every avenue of their lives.
62
Apples and oranges. Both may be rotten, but that doesn't make them the same.
When blacks kill blacks it's because they live in the same neighborhood, with the same crime, poverty, drugs, gangs, and other disruption. A number are innocents simply caught in the crossfire.
But these incidents of white cops killing blacks are different. It's not shootouts and such. It's white cops killing blacks who pose no threat whatsoever. Sometimes they are defiant or even crazy. But often they have surrendered or are even running away. One guy was even calling for the cop to help! If white cops were doing this to whites to the same degree, I'd kinda see your point. (Indeed it does happen occasionally.)
Besides, why do we call for any one ethnic group to police itself before the society's laws protect the individual citizens who belong to it?
When blacks kill blacks it's because they live in the same neighborhood, with the same crime, poverty, drugs, gangs, and other disruption. A number are innocents simply caught in the crossfire.
But these incidents of white cops killing blacks are different. It's not shootouts and such. It's white cops killing blacks who pose no threat whatsoever. Sometimes they are defiant or even crazy. But often they have surrendered or are even running away. One guy was even calling for the cop to help! If white cops were doing this to whites to the same degree, I'd kinda see your point. (Indeed it does happen occasionally.)
Besides, why do we call for any one ethnic group to police itself before the society's laws protect the individual citizens who belong to it?
2
Robert T. Colorado:
Then the name should be "Black Lives Should Matter to Police Officers". It is not. Its current name is not taken seriously because black lives don't seem to matter to certain blacks.
To be taken seriously, the movement must also focus on where the greatest risk to blacks actually lies.
Then the name should be "Black Lives Should Matter to Police Officers". It is not. Its current name is not taken seriously because black lives don't seem to matter to certain blacks.
To be taken seriously, the movement must also focus on where the greatest risk to blacks actually lies.
8
Why does BLM need to make the acknowledgement of "black on black" killings and other issues affecting the African American community? We ALREADY know that's a problem, and have known that for decades, but we choose to not address it. It's not a black problem, it's an AMERICAN problem. And you should ask yourself, "why are so many African Americans living in essentially ghettos?
It's been only very recently that white America is beginning to understand the deadly interactions especially African Americans have been having with law enforcement for ... well a long long time. That's what BLM is trying to bring to your attention. They're not saying OTHER lives don't matter. They're saying that since forever in this country that black lives DON'T matter, and they're trying to change that.
It's been only very recently that white America is beginning to understand the deadly interactions especially African Americans have been having with law enforcement for ... well a long long time. That's what BLM is trying to bring to your attention. They're not saying OTHER lives don't matter. They're saying that since forever in this country that black lives DON'T matter, and they're trying to change that.
15
Clearly we are seeing how police departments all over this country are filled with unqualified people (mostly men) becoming cops.
5
REALITY ALERT!!!!!!! Police positions are filled by people who APPLY! Maybe people complaining about police representation should apply to be cops! What a concept!
8
As of November 19th, police have killed 1012 Americans (sadly, one must go to a British source, The Guardian, to get accurate totals).
506 white
253 black
Yet the national media including The Times have yet to make a single white victim a cause célèbre along the lines of Mr. Garner or Mr. Scott or Mr. Gray.
Can someone from The Times explain to my why the paper is ignoring the broader issue of US police killings, instead choosing to push a racial narrative which the numbers above clearly do not support?
506 white
253 black
Yet the national media including The Times have yet to make a single white victim a cause célèbre along the lines of Mr. Garner or Mr. Scott or Mr. Gray.
Can someone from The Times explain to my why the paper is ignoring the broader issue of US police killings, instead choosing to push a racial narrative which the numbers above clearly do not support?
57
Though more Whites than Blacks have been killed by police, proportionally, the number of Blacks, a third, far outweighs the number of Whites, two-thirds, with respect to the populace. That said, according to your reckoning, what of the more than Two Hundred Blacks killed who have remained anonymous? The reason for those who made headlines is due to the suspicious circumstances of their deaths which may pertain to race. The racial narrative of which you speak clearly supports a racial narrative. Perhaps you have other numbers just as skewed which disprove your theory?
DD
NYC
DD
NYC
5
Worse is that the Times only mentions race when it fits their bias.
15
"506 white
253 black"
So black Americans make up 50% of the casualties when they're only about 13% of the population and you see nothing wrong with that? That's your justification?
253 black"
So black Americans make up 50% of the casualties when they're only about 13% of the population and you see nothing wrong with that? That's your justification?
4
Of course black lives matter but I would argue that the movement is too focused on a symptom rather than the cause. Hilary Clinton is right, the movement needs to identify concrete initiatives and force policy makers to focus on the agenda. How do we improve the socio-economic issues that plague this part of our society? Jobs, housing and education will lift up Black lives. Violence will continue to be an issue until these problems are solved.
11
If Hillary loses it will be in part because of BLM and their elk.
Then they won't have a friend in the White House. BLM doesn't know who their friends are. They have set civil rights back 50 years. If a Republican wins it could stay that way for another 50 years. People who turn their backs on friends become out of sight and out of mind.
Then they won't have a friend in the White House. BLM doesn't know who their friends are. They have set civil rights back 50 years. If a Republican wins it could stay that way for another 50 years. People who turn their backs on friends become out of sight and out of mind.
6
"If Hillary loses it will be in part because of BLM and their elk."
I didn't know BLM had an elk. I heard they were shopping for a Thompson's gazelle. Did they get rid of the moose?
"BLM doesn't know who their friends are. They have set civil rights back 50 years."
As the old saying goes, with friends like you....
You've
I didn't know BLM had an elk. I heard they were shopping for a Thompson's gazelle. Did they get rid of the moose?
"BLM doesn't know who their friends are. They have set civil rights back 50 years."
As the old saying goes, with friends like you....
You've
Of course, black lives matter. If only we could convince the 95% of murderous black male aggressors--who disproportionately murder other black men--that black lives matter. I challenge anyone to review the FBI murder statistics of black on black crime. Notice how whites are far more likely to be murdered by black. So, perhaps, a movement named "White Lives Matter" should be started.
The instances of blacks being killed by whites or by other non-blacks is relatively low. Of course, this untidy fact has never stopped the likes of Al Sharpton from concocting stories (a la Tawana Brawley) to justify his race rhetoric and anti-cop vitriol. Michael Brown, the "gentle giant"--who violently rob a store owner hours before viciously attacking a police officer--was another hoax that was elevated to martyrdom. By treating him as an icon, the untidy truth about his violent aggressive behavior was brushed under the rug. Context is lost amidst all the protests and emotional rhetoric. The elephant in the room seems to be the statistical proof of how little black lives seem to matter to a small percentage of violent, aggressive black males who wreak havoc on their own community.
The instances of blacks being killed by whites or by other non-blacks is relatively low. Of course, this untidy fact has never stopped the likes of Al Sharpton from concocting stories (a la Tawana Brawley) to justify his race rhetoric and anti-cop vitriol. Michael Brown, the "gentle giant"--who violently rob a store owner hours before viciously attacking a police officer--was another hoax that was elevated to martyrdom. By treating him as an icon, the untidy truth about his violent aggressive behavior was brushed under the rug. Context is lost amidst all the protests and emotional rhetoric. The elephant in the room seems to be the statistical proof of how little black lives seem to matter to a small percentage of violent, aggressive black males who wreak havoc on their own community.
123
Yes Michael Brown was a thug, he pushed a store owner and stole a coke. So, it's ok for the cops to kill him, right?
2
"Notice how whites are far more likely to be murdered by black. "
I'm not sure where you are getting your facts from, the FBI crime statistics clearly shows that in 2014 84 percent of white victims were killed by whites .
I'm not sure where you are getting your facts from, the FBI crime statistics clearly shows that in 2014 84 percent of white victims were killed by whites .
3
Josh, another very important point you miss is critical. That is the extremely high rate of illigitimacy in the black community. About 2/3 of blacks are illigitimate. This has contributed more to their poverty and sad situation than any other fact according to Edmund Phelps, nobel prize winning economist. yet they refuse to even admit to the problem, never mind tackle it.
16
Kudos to the leaders of this movement. It is very relevant and modern and like a start-up company, nimble and quick acting. NAACP and the Black Panthers had their time, but Black Lives Matter is the voice of the current generation. Fight the good fight and run the race. Influence political leaders and inspire others. Help our country "to form a more perfect union". I would also like to hear more from the Occupy Wall St movement over the upcoming election year.
8
The "voice of the current generation?" It's a cult of grievance, nothing more.
17
I am a young Black man.
"Black Lives Matter" has as much relevance for me as the price of tea in China.
And I've never been to China.
Stop making offensive generalizations.
"Black Lives Matter" has as much relevance for me as the price of tea in China.
And I've never been to China.
Stop making offensive generalizations.
23
@Thomas G. Smith
All I know is that everyone accused the "Tea Party" movement of being violent and racist, and yet I see more destruction, ignorance, and hate spewed by the "Black Lives Matter" movement.
All I know is that everyone accused the "Tea Party" movement of being violent and racist, and yet I see more destruction, ignorance, and hate spewed by the "Black Lives Matter" movement.
13
From Bob: a movement founded on a lie (hands up-don't shoot) that promotes the death of Trayvon Martin in the same breath as police brutality (another lie) and who's members 'frequently' call for violence against cops but assure the gullible that 'they are the exception' (another lie) now wants us to accept that they are a positive force in public/police relations?
86
Thank God for cameras, that is all I have to write.
7
"who's members 'frequently' call for violence against cops"
Carole, you couldn't cite one real example of this if you tried, which you didn't — because you know you can't!
Carole, you couldn't cite one real example of this if you tried, which you didn't — because you know you can't!
1
Check out their tweets after the Ferguson decision.
Stay within the system but only support candidates that actually stick to your agenda and resist the urge to compromise. This creates visible disruption. That is why the Tea
Party has had such notable success.
Party has had such notable success.
5
And make sure you never vote for a Republican. That way, Republicans won't be confused into thinking they can actually deliver something that will garner your votes. Similarly, Democrats need to know you will always vote for the Democratic candidate, regardless of what is actually delivered.
4
The campaign to reduce the meaning of the term "political" to the asinine contest between the Democratic and Republican parties is the real aim of this garbled roundup of rumor and blather that claims to be about #BlackLivesMatter.
I'd urge activists to consider, instead of "One Slogan, Many Methods," the actual line of history from which the core of today's movement has emerged. It was enunciated by Malcolm X (late 1964 and early 1965), who identified three principles:
* Internationalism. On a world scale, white supremacists and are in the minority; the mass (including some with white skin color) are the nonwhite majority of the earth's population. No political question need be asked only in terms of U.S. "politics."
* Political Independence. The objective of both U.S. Democrats and Republicans is to contain any movement within the rituals of electoral politics and legislative maneuvering that can't alter the status quo. Organizations and their leaders must stay independent of the D/R two-headed serpent.
*"Black Nationalism." The oppressed themselves must control any movement and its organizations. In the months before Malcolm X was assassinated, this became a strongly socialist vision.
#BlackLivesMatter (the slogan and its best organizations) has focused on key struggles against incarceration and police militarization. Married to the principles above, #BLM is very clear in its aims and not "politically confused" at all, as this article misrepresents.
I'd urge activists to consider, instead of "One Slogan, Many Methods," the actual line of history from which the core of today's movement has emerged. It was enunciated by Malcolm X (late 1964 and early 1965), who identified three principles:
* Internationalism. On a world scale, white supremacists and are in the minority; the mass (including some with white skin color) are the nonwhite majority of the earth's population. No political question need be asked only in terms of U.S. "politics."
* Political Independence. The objective of both U.S. Democrats and Republicans is to contain any movement within the rituals of electoral politics and legislative maneuvering that can't alter the status quo. Organizations and their leaders must stay independent of the D/R two-headed serpent.
*"Black Nationalism." The oppressed themselves must control any movement and its organizations. In the months before Malcolm X was assassinated, this became a strongly socialist vision.
#BlackLivesMatter (the slogan and its best organizations) has focused on key struggles against incarceration and police militarization. Married to the principles above, #BLM is very clear in its aims and not "politically confused" at all, as this article misrepresents.
1
Now you have me confused, as you quote Malcolm X, who seems to say that being in the majority justifies being in control. That is the opposite of the philosophy of those who are considered to be in the minority in the US, I would guess.
The point that I, as a white person, would like to make is that black lives have always mattered to most of us, and we certainly do not condone the inappropriate use of force or the arbitrary targeting of anyone in the application of the law. We are not the police, but somehow the actions of the police have reflected upon the white populace as a whole, and only that population, even when, as in several of the incidents protested or featured in the NYT, some of the objectionable behavior was exhibited by black officers. That seems racist to me.
Having traveled in Europe, I think the alternative to profiling is mass surveillance with artificial intelligence not subject to the bias inherent in human judgement. This is especially important now that we are faced with the threat of terrorism by those who, excepting converts, seem to belong mostly to particular racial groups, but overt profiling is considered, as it should be, unacceptable. We Americans place a high value on privacy, but we have only a false sense of security with respect to that, as nearly everyone uses devices that enable tracking of our location at various times. The majority of American people of all races might be willing to trade just a bit of that privacy for safety.
The point that I, as a white person, would like to make is that black lives have always mattered to most of us, and we certainly do not condone the inappropriate use of force or the arbitrary targeting of anyone in the application of the law. We are not the police, but somehow the actions of the police have reflected upon the white populace as a whole, and only that population, even when, as in several of the incidents protested or featured in the NYT, some of the objectionable behavior was exhibited by black officers. That seems racist to me.
Having traveled in Europe, I think the alternative to profiling is mass surveillance with artificial intelligence not subject to the bias inherent in human judgement. This is especially important now that we are faced with the threat of terrorism by those who, excepting converts, seem to belong mostly to particular racial groups, but overt profiling is considered, as it should be, unacceptable. We Americans place a high value on privacy, but we have only a false sense of security with respect to that, as nearly everyone uses devices that enable tracking of our location at various times. The majority of American people of all races might be willing to trade just a bit of that privacy for safety.
1
Black lives do matter. And white racists are a bunch of suckers. They think that the billionaires like thembetter because of the color of their skin, but corporations and billionaires only care about green. They use racism as a tool along with religion, gender ethnicity, etc, to keep the people divided so that they c can control the political process and convince government to promote policies to make them richer whole scapegoating blacks and putting them in for profit prisons.
Unity among the People is the only solution. Wake up.
Unity among the People is the only solution. Wake up.
8
J McGloin,
having been robbed twice by people of color I strongly disagree with you.
having been robbed twice by people of color I strongly disagree with you.
19
"having been robbed twice by people of color I strongly disagree with you"
Yoda, you don't seem to understand how little that anecdote means other than expressing your own personal fear of black people.
I bought my first bag of pot from a white on-duty uniformed police officer. Does that mean all police officers are corrupt? Does that mean all white people are drug peddlers? Should two petty thieves harden your heart to an entire race of human beings?
Yoda, you don't seem to understand how little that anecdote means other than expressing your own personal fear of black people.
I bought my first bag of pot from a white on-duty uniformed police officer. Does that mean all police officers are corrupt? Does that mean all white people are drug peddlers? Should two petty thieves harden your heart to an entire race of human beings?
"From 1980 through 2008, 84 percent of white victims were killed by whites and 93 percent of black victims were killed by blacks." Fact check.
"According to the 2013 FBI Crime Report, that year the number of blacks killed by whites was at approximately 0.77 per 1,000,000 blacks, while the number of whites killed by blacks was at 9.83 per 1,000,000 whites." Fact check.
OK, so when will the "black lives matter" group start demonstrating in their own neighborhoods on a daily basis to stop their killing of their own race by their own race so they have some principle to stand on before they start their next march?
“The Color of Crime” report, revised and issued in 2005, laid out a litany of additional facts about black criminality:
“Blacks are seven times more likely than people of other races to commit murder, and eight times more likely to commit robbery.”
“When blacks commit crimes of violence, they are nearly three times more likely than non-blacks to use a gun, and more than twice as likely to use a knife.”
“Of the nearly 770,000 violent interracial crimes committed every year involving blacks and whites, blacks commit 85 percent and whites commit 15 percent.”
“Blacks commit more violent crime against whites than against blacks. Forty-five percent of their victims are white, 43 percent are black, and 10 percent are Hispanic. ”
“Blacks are 2.25 times more likely to commit officially-designated hate crimes against whites than vice versa.”
"According to the 2013 FBI Crime Report, that year the number of blacks killed by whites was at approximately 0.77 per 1,000,000 blacks, while the number of whites killed by blacks was at 9.83 per 1,000,000 whites." Fact check.
OK, so when will the "black lives matter" group start demonstrating in their own neighborhoods on a daily basis to stop their killing of their own race by their own race so they have some principle to stand on before they start their next march?
“The Color of Crime” report, revised and issued in 2005, laid out a litany of additional facts about black criminality:
“Blacks are seven times more likely than people of other races to commit murder, and eight times more likely to commit robbery.”
“When blacks commit crimes of violence, they are nearly three times more likely than non-blacks to use a gun, and more than twice as likely to use a knife.”
“Of the nearly 770,000 violent interracial crimes committed every year involving blacks and whites, blacks commit 85 percent and whites commit 15 percent.”
“Blacks commit more violent crime against whites than against blacks. Forty-five percent of their victims are white, 43 percent are black, and 10 percent are Hispanic. ”
“Blacks are 2.25 times more likely to commit officially-designated hate crimes against whites than vice versa.”
167
Are you suggesting that it's ok for police to kill unarmed black people?
2
Black people are 3.7 times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than white people despite comparable usage rates. Furthermore, in counties with the worst disparities, blacks were as much as 30 times more likely to be arrested. Fact check.
From 2003 to 2013 marijuana possession arrests in Virginia increased 76% from 13,032 to 22,948. In the three years from 2011 to 2013, marijuana possession arrests increased by 1,987, with black Virginians accounting for 82% (or 1,627) of this increase.
During the eleven-year period from 2003 to 2013, arrests of black people in Virginia for marijuana possession more than doubled from 4,991 to 10,923 - a 106% increase. By comparison, arrests of white people increased by 44% during this period.
"Broken Window" policing as a policy needs to be replaced with yes, some self-discipline from within black communities.
From 2003 to 2013 marijuana possession arrests in Virginia increased 76% from 13,032 to 22,948. In the three years from 2011 to 2013, marijuana possession arrests increased by 1,987, with black Virginians accounting for 82% (or 1,627) of this increase.
During the eleven-year period from 2003 to 2013, arrests of black people in Virginia for marijuana possession more than doubled from 4,991 to 10,923 - a 106% increase. By comparison, arrests of white people increased by 44% during this period.
"Broken Window" policing as a policy needs to be replaced with yes, some self-discipline from within black communities.
4
Thank you for these facts. The press and the public has gone overboard on this "BLM" slogan without fact check.
6
The message Republicans are send is neither black lives matter but neither do refugee’s from Syria doesn’t matter either. The is no difference between the groups, both groups are being used to play on the fears of others.
6
having been robbed 2X and beaten 1X by people "of color" I can tell you unequivacably that my "fear is not being played on" but is legitimate and real.
16
@carlson74
Actually, republicans just want additional security checks on refugees. Your entire post is a lie based on distortion, dishonesty, and ignorance.
Actually, republicans just want additional security checks on refugees. Your entire post is a lie based on distortion, dishonesty, and ignorance.
7
Sorry, Yoda, I quoted the wrong comment. This is the part of your comment I intended to cite:
"having been robbed 2X and beaten 1X by people "of color""
"having been robbed 2X and beaten 1X by people "of color""
Black Lives Matter has become similar to Occupy Wall Street.
Much energy and time expended by "protesters" without a message.
Yes, police abuses need to be investigated and corrected but homicides in the U.S. are at historic levels.
With over 400 homicides in Chicago and 300 in Baltimore alone this year, the"protesters" are silent about this catastrophe.
"Protesters" are enraged at the University of Missouri that a racial epithet is shouted from a passing truck, but silent about the epidemic of crime that ruins so many lives.
Using the unfortunate death of Michael Brown,the unarmed black man, who assaulted a police officer after robbing a store, as an image of injustice negates the "protesters" message.
Much energy and time expended by "protesters" without a message.
Yes, police abuses need to be investigated and corrected but homicides in the U.S. are at historic levels.
With over 400 homicides in Chicago and 300 in Baltimore alone this year, the"protesters" are silent about this catastrophe.
"Protesters" are enraged at the University of Missouri that a racial epithet is shouted from a passing truck, but silent about the epidemic of crime that ruins so many lives.
Using the unfortunate death of Michael Brown,the unarmed black man, who assaulted a police officer after robbing a store, as an image of injustice negates the "protesters" message.
90
jck can't even decide if the protesters have a "message" or not. They do, but jck definitely does not want to hear it.
3
The original article pretty much says they don't have a message, Neal.
5
In case you were Wondering, the message is as simple as this: Black Lives Matter just as much as others' do.
3
It will be interesting to watch this next important step in the maturation of a political force. I hope that they acquire wise and thoughtful leadership and become a true force for good.
11
In addition to the protests and publicity, perhaps going into black communities and helping instill hope in young children there. The report mentions in the passing that the activists consider money better spent in hiring social workers and teachers in schools. Break the cycle of dysfunction and despair, but it takes a long time and real commitment.
OF course they should sit at the table and work stuff out. Why is that portrayed as somehow defeatist? It is great to see these young people engaged. So they need to start getting jobs as teachers and police officers and join the school boards and run for local elections. The same goes for the Occupy Wall St movement. Join the club. Change the club.
28
The surest way the democratic party will lose the 2016 presidential election is if the candidates and the party embrace the values of the BLM movement.
For some reason the NYT editors think this small, fringe quasi weatherman underground group of frustrated people speaks for the black community or for the young more broadly. There is no evidence whatsoever that they do, while there is much evidence that their tactics, their lies and their methods only invoke anger, not fear, of the broader electorate.
Capitulation by Sanders and Clinton to the extortionate demands for publicity at political rallies only underscores for the republican opponents how weak the democrats might prove in the face of such international bullies as Putin, et al.
BLM doesn't matter to democratic ambitions as much as it does to republican ambitions.
As for BLM's attitude about other lives that matter, just google the BLM hashtag for the Paris terrorist attack. Read through the postings and you'll understand all you need to know about BLM's political sagacity and probably a lot more about their views on racism.
For some reason the NYT editors think this small, fringe quasi weatherman underground group of frustrated people speaks for the black community or for the young more broadly. There is no evidence whatsoever that they do, while there is much evidence that their tactics, their lies and their methods only invoke anger, not fear, of the broader electorate.
Capitulation by Sanders and Clinton to the extortionate demands for publicity at political rallies only underscores for the republican opponents how weak the democrats might prove in the face of such international bullies as Putin, et al.
BLM doesn't matter to democratic ambitions as much as it does to republican ambitions.
As for BLM's attitude about other lives that matter, just google the BLM hashtag for the Paris terrorist attack. Read through the postings and you'll understand all you need to know about BLM's political sagacity and probably a lot more about their views on racism.
117
This. As a millennial, I can not tell you how off put I have been by the Blacklivesmatter movement. I would never vote for any of the Republican candidates, but the BLM movement being coapted by the Democratic candidates is extremely concerning. It demonstrates the same lack logical thinking that we so often associate the Republican side with. Not only that, but being accused of "white priviledge" at every turn when the most I have made per hour is $11.50 and being currently $230000 in debt for school at the age of 27 is insulting. Frankly, their use of rhetoric reminds me of Donald Trump.
19
Shouting out "white privelege" and hence claiming that whites owe blacks is a racial slur. Using it will guarantee repugnance from whites (as well as asian americans).
15
These people are far worse than Donald Trump. For all of Trumps rhetoric, we must defend the fact that he has created thousands and thousands of jobs and has actually given a great deal of money away. Sure, he is all about profit and marketing himself, but let's not confuse these two. I agree with much of what you said. BLM is a Democrats worst nightmare. This is the direct byproduct of years of handouts and entitlements that have come back to bite them (and everyone else in the process). I've already looked it up, just checking many of the names published in the news and papers and the huge majority of the rabble rousers and loud mouths are actually enrolled through diversity programs. In short, most of the people protesting are not people who actually earned to get where they are, and in a perverse way, self sponsored by the institutions themselves. Sprinkle in a few misguided boomer children who have never held a job, make for a recipe of disaster. My inner self is still a liberal, as I fully support all my gay friends in their ventures, pro-choice, and universal healthcare, but I will vote Republican in 2016 and most likely for the rest of my life. What I've witnessed the last 7 years has left an impression on me (I'm 39 and the forgotten generation), along with being a White male and castigated at every corner when I've been nothing but supportive. I've actually dropped some of my ultra liberal acquaintances and friends as I just can't stand to listen to them anymore.
19
Although police conduct should always be held in check by civil vigilance, if the Black Community wants black lives to matter, they really need to take a look at blacks killing blacks, blacks destroying their housing, and blacks blaming everyone else for their problems.
They have plenty of societal advantage, incentive and opportunities to get ahead.
They have plenty of societal advantage, incentive and opportunities to get ahead.
130
"They have plenty of societal advantage, incentive and opportunities to get ahead." Sure. It's so much better to be black than white. So many opportunities. LOL.
1
Black can have a much lower scores to go to elite colleges. So yes, I call that an advantage.
11
Actually, there are a lot of opportunities out there. With an education and skill to communicate your worth you can go far. Many Blacks are doing that everyday. This one included.
7
Raising awareness about heavy-handed police tactics and overly punitive, revenue-generating fines by courts is a cause most Americans are sympathetic to. But this movement has done just about everything possible to alienate the public, from obstructing traffic in places that have no link to police incidents to spouting off about 'white privilage' in contexts that make no sense. And the recent campus iteration of the movement is bordering on absurd. As someone else put it, does anyone honestly believe today's college campuses are hotbeds of racism? America certainly has its problems, and I'm fine with protests in response to specific, documented incidents involving racism but I have no use for 'let's burn down the house' rhetoric and tactics. How about just voting to start with?
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As someone else put it, does anyone honestly believe today's college campuses are hotbeds of racism?
considering the fact that asian americans are limited to 18% of slots at elite US universities and 36% of CA state school positions there is obviously plenty of racism. Just not of the type the black lives matter movement likes to see (and racist that it itself supports).
considering the fact that asian americans are limited to 18% of slots at elite US universities and 36% of CA state school positions there is obviously plenty of racism. Just not of the type the black lives matter movement likes to see (and racist that it itself supports).
14
I think you've missed the main point of the article. There is not ONE group that represents the entire BLM movement, but many different groups with different strategies. That's why it was wrong for politicians to critiziae all of BLM for wanting to "kill police officers." Furthermore, this was a deliberate attempt to paint BLM in a negative light and to dismiss it with one stroke. Also, you are wrong about racism in college campuses. It's very, very real. Did you not read about the incidents in Missouri? I myself attended a college in Middle Georgia where racism and racist incidents were common.
1
"But this movement has done just about everything possible to alienate the public, from obstructing traffic in places that have no link to police incidents to spouting off about 'white privilage' in contexts that make no sense. ... I have no use for 'let's burn down the house' rhetoric and tactics."
Yes, obstructing traffic and complaining about white privilege are certianly terrifying examples of 'let's burn down the house' tactics. Tell us more about the ways non-white people frighten you by their mere existence.
Yes, obstructing traffic and complaining about white privilege are certianly terrifying examples of 'let's burn down the house' tactics. Tell us more about the ways non-white people frighten you by their mere existence.
1
How black lives that matter every year are killed by other black people? How many by police? Please let me know what the stats are for the last couple of years. When I was living in Ghosttown in Oakland last year I know that there were many black people killed pretty much every day by other black people, and I never heard of one killed by a police officer...
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Inner city killings is a problem. But that isn't the government killing its own citizens. That's the difference. The other question to ask is: Why do so many black people live in poverty in our inner cities? If you look at the U.S. history of housing, education, and employment, you may begin to understand what has been done to African Americans in our country.
3
but the black lives matter movement, no doubt, blamed the police correct? It shows how relevant this group is (and its true value).
7
"How black lives that matter every year are killed by other black people? How many by police?"
That's right, Mr. Hastreiter — criminals and police should be held to exactly the same standards. If black criminals kill innocent black people, the police have every right to do the same. Right?
That's right, Mr. Hastreiter — criminals and police should be held to exactly the same standards. If black criminals kill innocent black people, the police have every right to do the same. Right?
2
Perhaps the most useless, disorganized and misguided "movement" of our 239 year old country. This group or whatever you want to call it, doesn't have an agenda, and always when asked, as I've seen many reporters do, if they personally have felt an injustice or racially discriminated against, most say no. In fact, it seems like every time a camera is put on these people, they are pushing other people out of the way, bullying them (see Sanders speech from a couple months ago) and issuing seemingly terrorist threats of "agree with me or else."
To quote the headline, this group now seeks political capital and as we all knew all along, this was never about curing or proving a cause, it was only politics and just wanting to be heard, regardless of the message being conveyed, even if wrong, which it is.
Any presidential candidate or politician would be stepping onto a slippery slope to back or identify with this group. It will almost inevitably bite back as these people have shown little moral compass and sadly, a very poor understanding of our nations constitution and just how many wonderful things already exist to give all of us great freedoms and the "safety" of being.
Another thing not written, many of these rabble rousers are invited to campuses and given free educations, hence their misguided position. Had they earned it through hard work, being academic or with physical employment and saved for their education, many of these folks would change their tune.
To quote the headline, this group now seeks political capital and as we all knew all along, this was never about curing or proving a cause, it was only politics and just wanting to be heard, regardless of the message being conveyed, even if wrong, which it is.
Any presidential candidate or politician would be stepping onto a slippery slope to back or identify with this group. It will almost inevitably bite back as these people have shown little moral compass and sadly, a very poor understanding of our nations constitution and just how many wonderful things already exist to give all of us great freedoms and the "safety" of being.
Another thing not written, many of these rabble rousers are invited to campuses and given free educations, hence their misguided position. Had they earned it through hard work, being academic or with physical employment and saved for their education, many of these folks would change their tune.
130
"Perhaps the most useless, disorganized and misguided "movement" of our 239 year old country."
I suspect this was posted by a member of the Tea Party and the Freedom Caucus.
"these people have shown little moral compass and sadly, a very poor understanding of our nations constitution"
I take it back; this was more likely posted by a member of the John Birch Society.
I suspect this was posted by a member of the Tea Party and the Freedom Caucus.
"these people have shown little moral compass and sadly, a very poor understanding of our nations constitution"
I take it back; this was more likely posted by a member of the John Birch Society.
2
Did you not read the article? i think you missed its main point. BLM is a movement made up of many different groups with different strategies. As one activist said, claiming that all BLM activists want to "murder police officers" (as Chris Christie did) is like saying that all Christians are represented by the KKK (who claim to be Christian). It is wrong to dismiss the entire movement with one broad stroke. You have obviously eaten up the rhetoric thrown out by Republican pundits that deliberately wish to dismiss and destroy the entire movement by linking it to the Black Panthers, etc. All the actions of people involved in the movement are not perfect, but it is a new movement gaining force and gathering ideas. Just because it's not perfect does not mean its entire raison d'etre is worthless. We have a major problem in this country (look at not only the killing of unarmed black people, but the profit-driven mass incarceration of black people, or as Ta-Nehisi Coates and others have called it "The New Jim Crow." Your "pull up your boot straps" mantra is old hat and it dismisses the stark reality of historical and systematic racism at every level of this country. And by the way, white privilege is REAL.
2
Neal, we get it. You're The White Guy Who Cares. Can't you find anyone else's causes to staple your self-regard to?
2
The fact that law enforcement officials up to the Director of the FBI are allowed to mouth a paradigm that intolerance of civilian African American deaths is the equivalent of causing increased crime, violence and police killings lies at the heart of the matter.
8