SOME THOUGHTS ON “BLACK LIVES MATTER”

 

Black Lives Matter (BLM) is a movement that started as a response to the death of Trayvon Martin, a black teenager, who was killed by Hispanic neighborhood watch leader George Zimmerman in Florida, back in 2012.

Zimmerman was later acquitted of a second degree murder charge, causing a backlash of protests.  The phrase “black lives matter” became a rallying cry in that community and it grew from there.

Since then, there were several different incidents of blacks who had confrontations with police and were killed, causing the BLM slogan to be fixed in the public eye.

The focus of the slogan then shifted to protest police brutality by white officers against black citizens.

Two Sides of the Same Coin

As a slogan, “black lives matter” is absolutely true.  Black lives certainly do matter.  There is intrinsic value in all humans, since we are all created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27).  Blacks should not be thought of as less than any other people group.  As human beings, we should all be treated equally.  But the flip-side to that equality is personal behavior and accountability.  As persons, we are all equal, but common sense dictates that one should be evaluated by his actions, his individual behavior.  If an individual behaves well, he should be acknowledged and/or rewarded.  If the individual does not behave well, then he must be corrected.  Parents are primarily responsible for properly directing their children into adulthood.  If the parents fail to discipline a child, the authorities will be forced to do the correcting later on.  This goes for any and every people group. 

When Police Stop You

The reason I bring this up is because some of the confrontations with the police that BLM advocates like to point to are highly questionable.  In some cases, the individuals involved with the police were not cooperative or were downright disrespectful, even violent.   But just because a person’s life “matters,” doesn’t entitle him to misbehave.

No matter what color you are, bad things tend to happen when you fail to cooperate with the police (no matter the officer’s race).  I’m not saying that the cop is always right or that the individual is always wrong.  I’m saying that things almost always turn out better (for both parties) if the policeman is shown respect and cooperation.  That’s not an unreasonable request.  If you feel that the officer overstepped his boundaries, you can always take it to court.  That’s better than getting tazed or shot for resisting arrest any day.

Behavior also matters, and using generic or vague slogans like “black lives matter” to justify criminal behavior (as they sometimes do) is wrong.  ALL lives matter, but all lives should act responsibly, as well.

Racism in the Police Force?

Many blacks feel that there is racism in most of the American police force and also in our laws, and that they (blacks) are being singled out for harassment.  For the record, I believe that racism does exist in America, but I believe that it is found in individuals and not built into the laws of our country.  I believe that most police officers are good people and that they just want to do their job and go home to their families at the end of the day.  But I strongly disagree that racism is rampant in the American police force or that America’s white officers set out each day with an agenda to harass black people.  I don’t think anyone can bring forth actual evidence for that.  And I don’t believe that there is “systematic racism” in government organizations throughout the country, since our society tries so hard to be politically correct.  It seems that many in the BLM movement are blinded by raw emotion and tend to promote knee-jerk reactions when certain confrontations happen, before all the facts are known.

What has followed from that blind rage is, in many cases, rioting, mindless vandalism of local businesses (which have had absolutely nothing to do with the original problem), and the hurting and killing of innocent people.  But lashing out in anger at the wrong people helps no one.

If a cop of any color hurts or kills a person of a different color for no valid reason, then be angry at him, not all people of his color, because THAT ITSELF is racism.     

No matter the race of the victim or the perpetrator, rather than let our emotions flare, let’s give the authorities (if possible, an unbiased and independent group) enough time to sort out what actually happened.  Then proper legal action can be taken, if necessary.  Let’s not be afraid of the truth.  If a white police officer committed a crime, then let him be tried by the law and punished accordingly.  If a black “victim” was a criminal or was in the act of committing a crime and his resistance caused the problem, then he cannot blame anyone else for his bad decision.  Whatever happened, the truth is the truth.  Instead of immediately lashing out with claims of racism, give the authorities time to figure it out. 

We need to realize that there are cases of black cops killing white people and there are cases of white cops killing black people, but BLM seems to ignore the former but loudly proclaim the latter.  If it can be proven that the confrontation was indeed caused by racism, then the officer should be exposed for that.  But to scream “Racism!” before you know the facts only causes more problems for everyone. 

There were even shrill cries to “defund the police” during some of these riots.  But does any sane person really want this?  Is their hatred so deep that they would desire this kind of suicidal legislation?  Black lives are in far more danger without the police than with them present.  Ironically, I heard of one particular “defund the police” rally that requested the services of the police as protection during the rally!  Hypocrisy at its finest.

Living Up to Their Name?

Saving black lives is indeed a worthy cause.  But if protecting black lives is really BLM’s purpose, then shouldn’t they be more concerned about black on black violence?  I don’t see much effort by BLM to remedy that, in spite of its supposed deep concern for protecting black lives.  Now, to be fair, there is also a high incidence of white on white violence, as well.  But for a movement that seems to be on a massive crusade to fix problems and to promote the protection of black Americans, their lack of concern in this area makes their motive suspect.

Also, abortions in the black community are the highest of all people groups in America.  Since BLM likes to protest so much, why are they not protesting abortion clinics or Planned Parenthood, which is where the vast majority of blacks, BY FAR, are getting killed?  Innocent black babies have been getting brutally slaughtered by the millions in America, but very little, if anything, is being done by BLM to stop it.  In fact, they seem to encourage it.

So, don’t tell me that black lives really matter to you if you’re supporting abortion or if you’re ignoring black on black violence.

Where’s Dad?

Furthermore, if the organization that calls itself Black Lives Matter really believed in its name, it would support fatherhood.  One of the biggest problems in the black community is children growing up without a father.

I disagree with former president Barack Obama on many things.  But I totally agree with him on the following quotes about fatherhood in his 2008 Father’s Day speech:

“But if we are honest with ourselves, we’ll admit that what too many fathers also are is missing – missing from too many lives and too many homes.  They have abandoned their responsibilities, acting like boys instead of men.  And the foundations of our families are weaker because of it.”

“You and I know how true this is in the African-American community.  We know that more than half of all black children live in single-parent households, a number that has doubled – doubled – since we were children.  We know the statistics – that children who grow up without a father are five times more likely to live in poverty and commit crime; nine times more likely to drop out of schools and 20 times more likely to end up in prison.  They are more likely to have behavioral problems, or run away from home or become teenage parents themselves.  And the foundations of our community are weaker because of it.”

See here:

https://www.politico.com/story/2008/06/text-of-obamas-fatherhood-speech-011094

Single parenthood does sometimes happen and it isn’t always avoidable.  There are many well-adjusted single parent families out there, but if any society is going to flourish, there must be a strong presence of the traditional family unit, i.e., a family with one (male) father and one (female) mother, living together and lovingly caring for their children (for whom they are responsible). 

The New and Improved “Family”

But on the official Black Lives Matter website, we see that one of their goals is to:

“…disrupt the Western-prescribed nuclear family structure requirement by supporting each other as extended families and ‘villages’ that collectively care for one another, especially our children, to the degree that mothers, parents, and children are comfortable.” 

Notice that in their stated goal, the words “parents” and “mothers” are specifically mentioned.  But “fathers” is not.  It seems to be designed that way.

The traditional family unit has provided stability and has stood the test of time in America (and in most other parts of the world). 

And by the way, haven’t we heard this “It takes a village” nonsense before?  This was Hillary Clinton’s idea of an American “family.”  But these missing fathers in the black community seem to not even be able (or willing) to handle their own normal family responsibilities, how would they ever handle the responsibilities of a “village”?

And yes, this is Marxist language.  Marxism is the basis upon which Communism is built.  Socialism and Communism are what follow this type of “family.”  This is where your children ultimately belong to the state and everyone ends up oppressed by a dictatorship!

And speaking of Marxism, Co-founder and Strategic Advisor of Black Lives Matter, Patrice Khan-Cullors, admits in a video that she and Co-founder Alicia Garza are “trained Marxists”:

https://nypost.com/2020/06/25/blm-co-founder-describes-herself-as-trained-marxist/

This should disturb all Americans.

So, how are black lives supposed to flourish under the BLM guidelines?  The very thing that caused the great majority of the problems in the black community in the first place (i.e., the disruption of the family) is what BLM is striving for!

The Truth About BLM

BLM seems to assume that all those that are, or were, stopped by the police and got hurt or died, were purely victims, specifically victims of racism.

Could it be that some of them were not so innocent as BLM makes them out to be?

According to the evidence, some were indeed less than innocent.  But will BLM retract their false allegations?  Will they admit their deception?  Not according to this very interesting article by an independent research and analysis organization:

https://www.brightworkresearch.com/criticalthinking/2019/11/why-the-claims-by-black-lives-matter-on-police-shootings-are-false/

Here are just a few quotes from the above article concerning Black Lives Matter:

“Repeated observations of Black Lives Matter representatives makes it seem that BLM has a strong need to misstate the statistics.”

“Black Lives Matter is a professional grievance organization that only cares about one race, and only if members of that race are murdered by members of just one other race.”

“Legitimate organizations do not jump to conclusions and make false claims and then refuse to retract these claims once they are proven to be incorrect.”

“Black Lives Matter is creating the impression they are true through only publicizing killings of black individuals or through selectively reporting data points (i.e., staying silent when blacks murder blacks, or when an officer kills a person who is not black, etc.).  In most cases, Black Lives Matter disseminates false information to the public about those cases.  When this information is eventually debunked, Black Lives Matter does not issue retractions – so their followers think incorrect information – that is, changes the narrative of the incident is true.”

“Black Lives Matter provides a constant stream of false information to the public.  Their incorrect information is promoting riots, like the nationwide riots that have occurred in response to the George Floyd killing.  As with the protests/riots in Missouri in response to Michael Brown, the participants are using the meme “Hands Up… Don’t Shoot,” which never happened in the Michael Brown case.  Because Black Lives Matter did not issue a retraction, the protesters still think this occurred.”

According to another article concerning BLM, this writer says:

“Let’s set the record straight: Black Lives Matter is part of the Democrat establishment’s extreme left wing.  They are a political tool used to manipulate black Americans, compelling them to vote Liberal… They think they can use the death of a few black people to whip up black Americans into a frenzy… they turn black Americans against their neighbors and do nothing as innocent lives are lost.”

It also described BLM as “a domestic terrorist organization that relies on threats and violence to achieve its goals.”

See here:

https://spartalive.com/stories/the-black-lives-matter2-grand-deception-is-real,35722

Racism and Guilt

There are many whites (and others) who have joined the ranks of the BLM movement, thinking it is a worthy organization.  But some have suggested that many whites join out of guilt.  There does seem to be much guilt-inducing rhetoric by BLM members.

But no one needs to apologize for being white (or Hispanic, or Asian, etc.), as some have actually done.  But on the other hand, there are also many blacks who see through the hype and deception of BLM.

Again, BLM is fostering in its members a chronic “victim of racism” mentality, where they find a white racist under every rock and behind every bush.  Apparently, these racists have also infiltrated the ranks of every police department and government institution in America.  Emotion abounds, but evidence of this “systemic racism” throughout America is non-existent.  If you notice, when BLM members are presented with any kind of evidence, the chanting and screams begin and they almost always try to drown out those who are presenting rational arguments and real evidence.  By the way, this is one way you can tell someone is losing an argument – when the yelling and chanting start.  Apparently, BLM members don’t always want to know the truth, but they are known to make ridiculous demands upon political leaders and American institutions.  The hate, rage and hype continue and one of their main goals seems to be to capture the mainstream media’s attention.

Another Cause of Deception

And speaking of the media, they are also a major problem for this country.  Concerning chaos and misinformation, there are few as guilty as the mainstream media in America.  The media doesn’t seem to be able to say anything negative about Black Lives Matter.  They have the resources to check out the facts of a story, but they either ignore the facts, or they choose not to verify the facts.  As long as they can get a story and keep up their ratings, they will run with it.  The media is not seeking to remedy the problems, but participates in BLM’s deception by holding hands with them to further a political agenda.

Conclusion

Ok, so what is the answer to all this fighting, misinformation, destruction and chaos?  There is no real secular solution to this scenario.  But there is a spiritual one - get rid of the hatred in the heart, whether it is found in blacks, whites, Asians, Hispanics or whoever.  And how do we do that?  The answer is the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Someone once said about racism, “It’s not a ‘skin’ problem, it’s a sin problem.  As I said in the beginning, we are ALL created in God’s image.  We know that from Scripture.  We also know that every one of us were born with a sin nature (Romans 7:14), with a natural tendency to lie, to steal, to cheat, hate, fornicate, covet, etc.  And, if we are honest with ourselves, we must confess to failing God at many points in our lives, i.e., we broke His Law.  Whether it was long ago or very recently, we have all sinned and fallen short of God’s standard (Romans 3:23). 

And the only way to get rid of the hatred or racism in your heart… is to get a new heart.  I’m not just talking about going up to the front of the church and “make a decision for Christ.”  It is far more than that.  It is recognizing your own spiritual bankruptcy, your pride, your unclean thoughts before God, your utter inability to get to Heaven by your own good deeds.  It is a total surrender to Him.  This applies to even the best of us.  The prophet Jeremiah said that the human heart is “deceitful above all things and desperately wicked…” (Jeremiah 17:9)!    

When we recognize our sin and the multitude of times we offended God, then we can receive forgiveness.  We sinned, and just as in a court system, a penalty must be paid for your crime.  But when we offend a holy and majestic being like God, we can never pay the fine required. 

But all is not lost.  The Son of God (Jesus Christ) humbled Himself and came down to earth and became a human being to live a perfect life, and then die a horrendous death on the cross in order to pay for our sin debt.  This debt payment is a free gift to anyone who wants it.  All we need to do to receive that forgiveness and make it to Heaven is to repent of our sins (i.e., turn away from them in disgust) and trust in His suffering on that cross.  Surrender to His will and He will give you a new heart (Ezekiel 36:26).  I know, because I, too, have offended God and lived my earlier years in rebellion.  I deserved eternal punishment.  But while I was yet living in sin, Christ died for me (Romans 5:8).  I am not the same person anymore.

Please turn to Jesus Christ and then pray for all members of the Black Lives Matter movement.  That’s the only way true peace (internal and external) will come about.

Yes, black lives matter, and yes, all lives matter – but eternal life matters the most.  The gospel is simple, the gospel is clear.  There are only two places to go.  You have a choice to make.  Where will you be for eternity?