I’m 39 years old; their style of activism is new to me - it is very in your face and not focused on inillectualizing racial disparity.
I think it is good on the one hand, I think there is no other way to attack racism on the more subtle levels in which it exists.
On the other hand, I think they may underestimate the ability for white people to completely turn on them and it could actually set back progress on certain things; e.g. affirmative action.
I thought this was a question about the Bureau of Land Management.
I thought talking about that would be too controversial; so I decided Black Lives Matter would be a better subject.
Only history can say.
Well, what do you predict - this is IMHO after all, WAG’s are fine:cool:
I’m unclear about which particular actions the OP is talking about. Mostly, I see the BLM movement as leading protest marches and vigils and such. That seems very traditional to me.
One problem they have to deal with, though, is that unlike the Civil Rights Movement, this problem is NOT going to be solved at the national level. Each state, and possibly many cities, are going to have to be taken on individually. We might be able to create a national consensus that could work, in some cases, at the local level, but the government in Washington isn’t going to fix the problem of local police forces.
It’s a daunting task, and I’m afraid the attention of the nation is going to shift away from the issue except when there is some major news event that throws it back into the spotlight. And right now, the focus is on Islamic Terrorism again-- a real problem, for sure, but it shouldn’t even be in the top 5 that we’re worried about as a country.
I cringe when I hear of another BLM protest. I don’t want kids getting hurt or locked up unless the fight is the right one. And it’s always hard to know if the fight is the right one in real time.
But I know that I’d also be the type to cringe during the protests of the 50s and 60s. I would have also been the little darkie cringing under the bed during slave rebellion. I cringe whenever people are angry enough to actually do something. I much more prefer talking in abstracts and ideals in a calm voice rather than taking to the streets and getting dirty.
History will judge me too.
I know one thing. I don’t cringe when I hear or read about yet another black life needlessly murdered by the police. I feel a rage, but it eventually fades away because it’s not in my nature to sustain a emotion for longer than a few minutes. One day maybe it won’t be that way. Maybe one day I’ll be angry enough to join a protest and make someone else cringe for a change.
I am not going to post any links because I would not want to be accused of using biased sources. BLM is going far beyond the police force in its activism. The new to me aspects of BLM protests compared to similar activism I have seen in the past includes:
There are many ways you could look at all this, but as long as I have been around, these demands are different. I do not have any solidly formed opinion on these issues yet other than the focus of the protests is different than what I personally have seen before.
Another difference to me is the reaction I am seeing from people in response to this.
I think you articulate well the possible necessary reasons for choosing to move beyond polite tea time conversations. They get a lot of criticism for this AFAICT.
Don’t feel bad. Being a devout tree-hugger, I thought the same thing.
That being the case, I think it depends on which part of the movement we are speaking about at any given moment or what particular action is being protested today. Like with the Black Panther and related “Black Power” movements, some good will result. But the question really is how the coming generations will judge it. I doubt that it will be included as a significant factor in a history of the ongoing Civil Rights Movement, but I doubt it will be forgotten.
I don’t think I have one singular opinion about it; the movement is too decentralized and the members have such varying tactics, opinions, and rhetoric. The protests I’ve walked through (in Berkeley, CA, it’s impossible to avoid) have been calm, focused, and on point, but other protests seem to have been less restrained. It it notable, I think, that I couldn’t tell you the name of a single leader of the movement. That sort of decentralization is a little unusual historically, though I think it’s going to be more common going forward (the Tea Party and Anonymous come to mind).
I worry about the last. I also worry that they jump to conclusions - as they are in Minneapolis - without waiting for evidence - and then when the evidence comes in, it can weaken their case - i.e. someone grabbing for a cops gun. But there certainly have been plenty of cases of inappropriate use of excessive force that have been brought to light.
Some specific actions have been foolish, like trying to shut down the Mayor of Los Angeles when he tries to speak in private venues.
Other actions have made a lot of sense, highlighting racial disparities in public policing. It’s an important issue and needs to be brought to a higher level of attention.
Absolutely!
Their wild horse policy is completely stupic & self-defeating, and needs to be completely re-thought,
See, and here my first thought was Black Mages from the Final Fantasy games.
—Maggie “Lvl 75 RDM, 75 BLM, way too much time playing FFXI”
WTF? I guess you’re posting in the right forum then, since this IMHO. Well, IMHO you don’t know what you’re talking about unless you’re willing to link to something that substantiate your claims.
OK, I went to their website, and didn’t see any of the things Nylock is claiming, but I did find this gem:
We are committed to disrupting the Western-prescribed nuclear family structure requirement by supporting each other as extended families and “villages” that collectively care for one another, and especially “our” children to the degree that mothers, parents and children are comfortable.
That’s not gonna do them any good!
I totally support an effort to tackle police brutality, punish police officers who break rules or laws, and generally reduce prison sentences and the overall effect that policing has on Americans’ lives. But when Black Lives Matter gets in the news, it’s usually not because of they’re doing those things. The bad stuff:
[ul]
[li]Complaing when anyone says “all lives matter”.[/li][li]Disrupting lunch for restraunt-goers for no apparent reason.[/li][li]Disrupting studying in a college library and yelling racial slurs and white students.[/li][li]Censorship and threats.[/li][/ul]
Admittedly I may not be getting the whole story. Perhaps there are some BLM protests that are intelligently chosen and focused on the right things, but what I’m reading about seems to have nothing to do with police brutality, and only with the protestors trying to stroke their own egos.
I’d rather just have people look it up on their own using whatever news source they feel comfortable with. I’m just sick of posting links on controversial subjects only to have to listen to people go on and on about how the source is biased.
How is affirmative action “progress” in any sense? It’s institutionalized and fully sanctioned racism.