Actions speak louder. When you post stats as an answer those are the actions that are speaking. When you talk shit about the media and then take their word when they portray BLM as negative and racist, those are the actions that are speaking. When we're whitesplained to that we need to protest peacefully (even though we already are) then we do protest peacefully in a way that will bring more awareness we're whitesplained to that we're not doing it the right way, those are the actions that are speaking. When the same people who LOVED Ali and Jackie say negative things about Kap's protest, those are the actions that are speaking.
So I don't assume, I go off of your actions.
No, you assume motives in ways that are colored by your own biases and worldview.
Look, I'm a 63 year-old white guy. I've got a lot of mileage in the world and I've seen things get better, slowly and painfully and incompletely, for blacks and gays in this country over the course of my life. We're nowhere near where we have to get to yet, but only a fool would argue that things aren't better than they were in the '60s. We have a black president and a black attorney general. Gay people are out in the open and getting married. Those things would have been unthinkable when I was a kid.
From my perspective, Black Lives Matters is a reasonable response to a bunch of very questionable deaths of black people at the hands of police. It's good to protest and raise questions about these things. I have little doubt that without the raised awareness from the protests of the '60s, little of the positive changes that we've seen in my lifetime would have happened. You get no objection from me to BLMs formation or it pushing things in order to highlight injustice. That said, even well-intentioned people with a righteous cause can overstate their case and misinterpret reality. It's good to step back and examine facts to see where there is truth and where there may be simple misunderstanding. That's my motive in posting the links that I did.
So what are these egregious actions of mine that you're talking about?
I posted a political cartoon about Colin Kaepernick. I didn't say that I was totally in agreement with the cartoon's message, but I threw it out there for discussion's sake. Kap has his reasons for what he's doing and he's willing to accept the heat associated with his protest. I have some issues with what he's doing, but no complaint with his right to protest.
I posted a link to a New York Times column about a study by a black professor at Harvard University that seems to say that the data shows that blacks are not being killed by police in disproportionate numbers. The New York Times and Harvard University are about as respected as it gets when it comes to reporting and researching social issues. The professor is black and he anticipated that his study would confirm racial bias, but he was honest enough to report that the facts did not bear out his original expectations. This study is not the be-all, end-all, answer on this issue. There may be other studies I'm not aware of that can be pointed to that conclude differently, or further research may come to different conclusions. But if you and other people associated with BLM are not willing to look at such a study objectively because it doesn't fit with your view of your world, that's on you. All it says about me is that I took the time to try to find some facts to gage the truth behind this issue.
I also posted a quote from Wikipedia about BLM. I did this in response to Sly's posted link from the BLM website. Wikipedia says, "Wikipedia is
written collaboratively by largely anonymous
volunteers who write without pay. Anyone with
Internet access can write and make changes to Wikipedia articles, except in
limited cases where editing is restricted to prevent disruption or vandalism. Users can
contribute anonymously, under a pseudonym, or, if they choose to, with their real identity." It relies on the fact that people in common can correct the information on its site and thereby reduce personal or institutional bias. Is it perfect? No, but I think that what it said about BLM would fit with the general perception of the organization's intent. If you have a different idea, you're obviously free to post it.
I'm absolutely willing to admit that my knowledge of what happens in black neighborhoods in regards to interactions with police is extremely limited and colored by what I see in the media. I'm open to hearing other viewpoints and welcome any light that you can shine on this issue. What I'm not willing to do is accept everything that BLM, or anyone else, says as absolute gospel. I'm going to keep reading other sources for more information and other viewpoints. I think that shows that I do care about this issue. If you think differently, that's your right.
