Black lives matter!

[Gary Childress]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 9, 2015

At this time, #BlackLivesMatter does not endorse any presidential candidate. Moreover, we are not affiliated with a political party. Our work is not funded or driven by any political party nor is it influenced by local or national candidates.

As stated in our mission, #BlackLivesMatter is an ideological and political intervention; we are not controlled by the same political machine we are attempting to hold accountable. In the year leading up to the elections, we are committed to holding all candidates for Office accountable to the needs and dreams of Black people. We embrace a diversity of tactics. We are a decentralized network aiming to build the leadership and power of black people. We do not endorse any political party and we are not supported by any political party. Our political aims we’ve stated clearly.

Historically, all political parties have participated in the systematic disenfranchisement of Black people. Anti-black racism, especially that sanctioned by the state, has resulted in the loss of healthy and thriving Black life and well-being. Given that, we will continue to hold politicians and political parties accountable for their policies and platforms. We will also continue to demand the intentional dismantling of structural racism.

For more information about #BlackLivesMatter nationally, please visit the official website at www.blacklivesmatter.com, follow @BlkLivesMatter on Twitter, or visit the Facebook page here.

http://blacklivesmatter.com/

The black lives matter movement is currently trying to get their voice heard and on center stage in American politics. I was a little surprised that they have been picking on Bernie Sanders because I think of Sanders as probably the candidate most attuned to the concerns of ordinary people. But I read somewhere that the security at Sanders' rallies tends to be less than at other rallies, so there has been more disruption at them than others. On the other hand, it seems like the only way people with so little power can get their voice heard in these days of "gated" political rallies is to seek whatever opportunities are even remotely available to them.

What are others' thoughts on the Black Lives Matter movement.

 

[illram]

I think it's great but like any popular black social movement the slightest misstep, like the Sanders rally thing (which was in my opinion unwise), is under a huge critical microscope and I think a lot of people are secretly waiting for it to just go away because it makes them uncomfortable.

What I like about it is the simplicity of its message. It's a brilliant circa 2015 "140 character limit" message because it implies so much just from its short and sweet slogan. "Wait, all lives matter don't they?" <---therein lies the rub. The political gaffes carry the tune.

 

[Timsup2nothin]

By going through Sanders they get heard at the Democratic party convention, which puts them on the agenda of the most likely next presidential administration. I will be extremely happy if reform of the justice system is moved towards the top of the priority list.

 

[amadeus]

Ridiculous demands that'll never be honored.

But these activists are good for conservatives; what's the Democrats to do? Either reject them and offend black voters, or bring them into the fold and offend white voters?

 

[Formaldehyde]

Right. Because treating blacks just like everybody else is a "ridiculous demand" to so many authoritarian ultraconservatives.

How many other similar posts are you going to make before this latest drive-by is concluded?

 

[Timsup2nothin]

Ridiculous demands that'll never be honored.

But these activists are good for conservatives; what's the Democrats to do? Either reject them and offend black voters, or bring them into the fold and offend white voters?

Well, this is fifty years out of date. The Southern strategy worked, because by deliberately offending the black vote the Republicans attracted the much larger scared whites vote, and the whites who weren't scared still weren't particularly offended by the blatant racism. Those days are long over, since the scared white demographic has gotten smaller and the not scared white vote now has a significant component that are offended by blatant racism.

Worrying about the people who will be offended by equal rights is no longer practical from a political point of view.

 

[amadeus]

Right. Because treating blacks just like everybody else is a "ridiculous demand" to so many authoritarian ultraconservatives.

I looked at the website. They want Wilson arrested (on what grounds?) and they also want the DOJ to release info on all police who shot a black person in the last five years "so they can be brought to justice."

 

[illram]

More info on police shootings would be a good thing.

 

[Timsup2nothin]

I looked at the website. They want Wilson arrested (on what grounds?) and they also want the DOJ to release info on all police who shot a black person in the last five years "so they can be brought to justice."

For anyone who doesn't want to take the time to visit the website and check, this distillation is absurd, as can be expected from Amadeus.

 

[illram]

Yeah they have a fairly comprehensive list of fairly sensible things.

We demand an end to all forms of discrimination and the full recognition of our human rights.
We demand an immediate end to police brutality and the murder of Black people and all oppressed people.
We demand full, living wage employment for our people.
We demand decent housing fit for the shelter of human beings and an end to gentrification.
We demand an end to the school to prison pipeline & quality education for all.
We demand freedom from mass incarceration and an end to the prison industrial complex.
We demand a racial justice agenda from the White House that is inclusive of our shared fate as Black men, women, trans and gender-nonconforming people. Not My Brother&#8217;s Keeper, but Our Children&#8217;s Keeper.
We demand access to affordable healthy food for our neighborhoods.
We demand an aggressive attack against all laws, policies, and entities that disenfranchise any community from expressing themselves at the ballot.
We demand a public education system that teaches the rich history of Black people and celebrates the contributions we have made to this country and the world.
We demand the release of all U.S. political prisoners.
We demand an end to the military industrial complex that incentivizes private corporations to profit off of the death and destruction of Black and Brown communities across the globe.

Sounds OK to me.

 

[amadeus]

For anyone who doesn't want to take the time to visit the website and check, this distillation is absurd, as can be expected from Amadeus.

Hmm? They're the first and fourth bullet points on their own demands page.

 

[Timsup2nothin]

I've always wondered what it would be like to get caught in a bald faced lie on this forum...your distilling that out of their website is blatant misrepresentation, as Illram has demonstrated.

 

[illram]

They admittedly have two demands pages. My list is from http://blacklivesmatter.com/state-of-the-black-union/ which is accessible via a button that says "Learn About Our Demands" halfway down the page. Amadeus is pulling that from their drop down "demands" menu visible when mousing over the "about us" top menu of the website. Someone call a web designer!

They're not really contradictory demands though. Seems the "about us" demands page is just a more in depth discussion of point 2 in their other demands page.

We will seek justice for Brown&#8217;s family by petitioning for the immediate arrest of officer Darren Wilson and the dismissal of county prosecutor Robert McCullough. Groups that are part of the local Hands Up Don&#8217;t Shoot Coalition have already called for Wilson&#8217;s swift arrest, and some BLM riders also canvassed McCullough&#8217;s neighborhood as a way of raising the public&#8217;s awareness of the case.
We will help develop a network of organizations and advocates to form a national policy specifically aimed at redressing the systemic pattern of anti-black law enforcement violence in the US. The Justice Department&#8217;s new investigation into St Louis-area police departments is a good start, but it&#8217;s not enough. Our ride was endorsed by a few dozen local, regional and national organizations across the country &#8211; like the National Organization for Women (Now) and Race Forward: The Center for Racial Justice Innovation &#8211; who, while maintaining different missions, have demonstrated unprecedented solidarity in response to anti-black police violence. We hope to encourage more organizations to endorse and participate in a network with a renewed purpose of conceptualizing policy recommendations.
We will also demand, through the network, that the federal government discontinue its supply of military weaponry and equipment to local law enforcement. And though Congress seems to finally be considering measures in this regard, it remains essential to monitor the demilitarization processes and the corporate sectors that financially benefit from the sale of military tools to police.
We will call on the office of US attorney general Eric Holder to release the names of all officers involved in killing black people within the last five years, both while on patrol and in custody, so they can be brought to justice &#8211; if they haven&#8217;t already.
And we will advocate for a decrease in law-enforcement spending at the local, state and federal levels and a reinvestment of that budgeted money into the black communities most devastated by poverty in order to create jobs, housing and schools. This money should be redirected to those federal departments charged with providing employment, housing and educational services.

Again--seems OK to me.

 

[Timsup2nothin]

The point is that distilling two bullet points off one page and presenting it as "their website says" when their website consists of dozens of pages is blatantly misleading. It demonstrates that all Amadeus did was skim for something that could be presented as disagreeable and then use the "authority of linkage" to claim credibility.

 

[illram]

I would not dispute that one of the problems is that this movement like any other black social movement is subject to an unfairly critical eye and a casual misinterpretation of their goals and words that in some cases is ironically (tragically?) based in inherent racial bias/fear--e.g. the difference in perception between a white politician and a black person saying they will "aggressively attack" certain things, or what it means to say you want to bring people "to justice."

I'm not going to necessarily pinpoint those on you Amadeus but I do believe it is A Thing, so Tim I would generally agree with the point you are getting at minus the personal touch.

 

[amadeus]

The point is that distilling two bullet points off one page and presenting it as "their website says" when their website consists of dozens of pages is blatantly misleading. It demonstrates that all Amadeus did was skim for something that could be presented as disagreeable and then use the "authority of linkage" to claim credibility.

You accused me at first of lying, now you're saying I skimmed for something that could be presented as disagreeable.

Shouldn't you stop jumping to conclusions already? It didn't work for you last time!

 

[Timsup2nothin]

It didn't work for you last time!

Wanna bet? Do you think anyone coming along and reading this thread is going to give your post any shred of credibility at this point?

It isn't personal Illram, it is just a question of whether to allow arguments to stand out of courtesy when they have no credibility. If those arguments are not removed decisively the entire conversation is shifted in a direction that is fundamentally irrelevant. Is there any point in discussing "ridiculous demands that will never be honored" when the vast majority of what the movement represents is totally reasonable to anyone who is not a supporter of glaring institutional bigotry? Of course not.

 

[Snorrius]

What are others' thoughts on the Black Lives Matter movement.

Every country it seems has its own share of ridiculous movements. Personally I was under impression that While Lives Matter Too as well as Yellow Lives and Red Ones.

But as for this specific movement it seems to be a product of parasite activity of the Left in the USA. Remember last riots? In orderly nation, say Singapore, hooligans would be gently stopped and kindly punished. It used to be the same in Victorian UK or older USA, now, it seems, they allow scoundrels to vandalize with impunity.

Now, I also dislike combination of black and red they have chosen for their ribbon.

Their site also feature ludicrosity like "A Herstory of the #BlackLivesMatter Movement". A herstory, my dear Carl! No less.

 

[Timsup2nothin]

Every country it seems has its own share of ridiculous movements. Personally I was under impression that While Lives Matter Too as well as Yellow Lives and Red Ones.

But as for this specific movement it seems to be a product of parasite activity of the Left in the USA. Remember last riots? In orderly nation, say Singapore, hooligans would be gently stopped and kindly punished. It used to be the same in Victorian UK or older USA, now, it seems, they allow scoundrels to vandalize with impunity.

Now, I also dislike combination of black and red they have chosen for their ribbon.

Their site also feature ludicrosity like "A Herstory of the #BlackLivesMatter Movement". A herstory, my dear Carl! No less.

A TYPO, my dear Carl! This abuse of the English language must not stand!!!!

Anyway, all lives do matter. The reason behind the protest is that it has become apparent that to authorities in the US this "all lives matter" position has become something that can be ignored in the specific case of black lives. Saying "black lives matter" does not in any way imply "other lives don't." It is a specific and appropriate response.

 

[Gary Childress]

I think it's great but like any popular black social movement the slightest misstep, like the Sanders rally thing (which was in my opinion unwise), is under a huge critical microscope and I think a lot of people are secretly waiting for it to just go away because it makes them uncomfortable.

What I like about it is the simplicity of its message. It's a brilliant circa 2015 "140 character limit" message because it implies so much just from its short and sweet slogan. "Wait, all lives matter don't they?" <---therein lies the rub. The political gaffes carry the tune.

I agree, picking on Sanders may alienate a few people who would normally not consider themselves opposed to the BLM movement, on the other hand Sanders seems to be relatively receptive to them at least in comparison to most other candidates.

I also just found this article. Apparently the two activists who closed down Sanders' rally in Seattle were from some sort of loosely affiliated group called Outside Agitators 206 and BLM wants them to apologize to Sanders. (BLM itself I take it is a sort of umbrella for many different groups to join together.)

Black Lives Matter wants the two women who shut down a Bernie Sanders event in Seattle on Saturday to publicly apologize to the Senator and Presidential Candidate.

http://www.politicususa.com/2015/08...ivists-publicly-apologize-bernie-sanders.html

Sanders apparently has recently changed his platform a little to include more emphasis on race issues.

After activists from the Black Lives Matter movement repeatedly disrupted speeches by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) over the past few weeks, the popular and populist presidential candidate released a comprehensive racial justice platform and hired a young racial justice activist as his national press secretary.

http://thinkprogress.org/election/2...nie-sanders-releases-racial-justice-platform/