The Black Lives Matter Movement

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I want to address this divisive – even within the black community¹ – movement, but not too deeply, although I don’t want to trivialize any aspect of it.

Whenever an BLM-related incident is reported in the news, I think of this equation:

Commit a Crime + Resist Arrest = Death by Cop

Committing a crime then resisting arrest plays right into the hands of a trigger-happy cop, racist or not.  Here’s a 2015 story about a white teen in MN who was killed by a cop after being pulled over for a moving vehicle violation then attacking the cop:   http://www.cnn.com/2015/10/16/us/michigan-sheriffs-sergeant-teen-shooting-lawsuit/ .

I remind myself of this story every time there’s a news story about a black motorist being killed by a cop because I need to know some of the shootings are not racism-driven.

It’s neither OK to commit crimes and OK to resist arrest without expecting repercussion.  THAT plays into the hands of racist cops.  I’m not even sure my parents even had to tell me how to behave when stopped by a cop; it’s just intuitive to not provoke anyone with a gun or anyone representing the law.  I’m not saying the cops are justified in their extreme actions but the playing field is not level in any citizen-vs.-cop scenario.  Cops carry guns they can shoot legally and they have the law on their side.  And, unlike most of us, they go through their workday knowing there’s a chance they may be killed or be put in a position where they have to to shoot or kill anytime they pull someone over.

As far as the random shooting of police officers, there’s no justification for it and each shooting is a terrible and senseless tragedy.  It’s sickening to think people who become police officers with nothing but good intentions would have their lives end for no reason.  When cops shoot citizens in the BLM-related instances, the acts are not random, but that doesn’t make them right.

Then there are the cops that harass innocent people in trying to provoke a response, clearly in the hopes of either arresting or shooting them (I personally have experienced that twice with cops).  THOSE power-mad lunatics should be shot.  I hate to think about how many of them get away with murder by hiding behind their badges and other cops.

The BLM movement started after the tragedy/fiasco of the Trayvon Martin murder trial, which Zimmerman clearly got away with.  Even his girlfriend or wife at the time said he got away with murder.  I can’t think about that trial, surrounding events and verdict without getting ill, especially for Martin’s parents, who were twice dealt massive injustices.

Because it’s not a one-dimensional problem and there are no easy or foreseeable answers, I don’t see the Black Lives Matter movement ending anytime soon.  Let’s hope the senseless killings do.

DPW

December 5, 2016

¹ Here are two examples of high-profile blacks who question the movement:

http://atlantablackstar.com/2016/08/31/why-comedian-dave-chappelle-takes-issue-with-the-black-lives-matter-movement/

http://www.xxlmag.com/video/2016/12/lord-jamar-not-a-black-lives-matter-supporter/

Here’s a video of Dave Chappelle on the topic:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rm0fpvUuxUQ

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