REFLECTIONS ON BLACK LIVES MATTER

 REFLECTIONS ON BLACK LIVES MATTER

[This essay was written in 2020, so the data is dated.]

 

Black lives matter. Absolutely. Nevertheless, there is a difference between the movement and the organization. And both are open to critique.

First, the movement. The BLM movement rests on one issue- police brutality towards blacks, particularly police killings of unarmed Black men. But the issue is more complicated than is revealed by the movement.

 

NUMBERS OF PERSONS SHOT TO DEATH BY POLICE

RACE	2017	2018	2019	2020- partial	TOTAL
White	457	399	370	204	1,430
Black	223	209	235	105	772
Hispanic	179	148	158	66	551
Other	44	36	39	15	134
Unknown	84	204	202	116	606
TOTAL	987	996	1,004	506	3,493

 

Interpreting the data:

·       Police shooting death numbers are stable in yearly total numbers and among Whites, Blacks, and Hispanics.

·       The racial percentages tell a different story using the total numbers from 2017- 2020. Blacks percentage-wise were more likely to be shot to death by police.

Whites- 1,430 (41% of shooting deaths while 62% of population)

Blacks-  772 (22% of shooting deaths while 13% of population)

Hispanics- 551 (16% of shooting deaths white 17% of population)

·       The data does not show the reasons for the shooting deaths. Some victims were armed and some were not, some victims resisted arrest and some did not,

·       In conclusion, the data does not show a surge in police shooting deaths of Blacks but the percentage of Blacks being shot to death by police is very troubling. This data table does not reveal the numbers of Blacks harassed by the police, i.e. stop and frisk and DWB (driving while Black). The data and anecdotes from these police actions are also very troubling.

The movement, while having some grievances, has overstated its case. While the names of Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, Walter Scott, Alton Sterling, Oscar Grant, Philando Castile, Stephon Clark, Breonna Taylor, and Rayshard Brooks as well as Eric Gardner and George Floyd raise emotions and grievances few people outside of Sedalia, Missouri have heard of Hannah Fizer, shot to death at a traffic stop by a deputy sheriff who claimed Fizer had a gun (no gun was found). Why? She is White. Rogue police are colorblind.

The second criticism I have of the BLM movement is that it does not go far enough in at least five areas:

·       The first area is Black-on-Black crime especially in urban areas. John McWhorter, professor at Columbia University and a frequent commentator of the Black situation, states that a Black male has nine times more chance of being shot in his neighborhood by another Black male than being shot by the police. No word from the movement on this. (McWhorter, by the way, is Black and a liberal Democrat.)

·       The second area is education. In 2017, there were 50.7 million students in public elementary and secondary schools, of whom 7.7 million (10.5%) were Black. Considering that most Black students live in urban areas, most of them are likely enrolled in failing or underperforming public schools. Black parents need school choice, either charter schools or school vouchers, if they desire to move their children to higher performing schools. No word from the movement on this.

·       The third area is abortion. Since the Supreme Court ruling in Roe v. Wade in 1973 an estimated 20,000,000 Black babies have been aborted; that’s an estimated 1,165 Black babies aborted daily. Granted, there are often complex reasons for abortions- rape, incest, and health of the prospective mother. Let’s say, for debate sake, that 25% of Black abortions were for purely birth control. That would have us about 5,000,000 additional Black women and men living and contributing to society. No word from the movement on this.

·       The fourth area is jobs. States have enacted laws limiting business start-ups through licensing and excessive training. Minimum wage laws too often prevent Black youth from being employed in entry-level jobs (these jobs were not designed as career aspirations) allowing them to learn basic work skills in order to advance. No word from the movement on this.

·       The fifth area is health care. Physically, Blacks suffer more than Whites in diabetes (50%), asthma (3 times), sarcoidosis (16 times), lung cancer (50%), and high blood pressure (earlier in life with higher levels) with a death rate from cancer for both men and women. Major mental issues among Blacks are major depression, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), suicide among young Black men, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) because Blacks are more likely to be victims of violent crime. No word from the movement on this.

 

It is highly likely that the BLM movement’s focus is on the sensational police shooting deaths is because the movement has been co-opted by the BLM organization which is in league with Antifa and other groups of that ilk. Despite the acceptance of differences rhetoric in its manifesto the BLM organization’s actions say otherwise. It appears to be a Marxist revolutionary movement which espouses the abolishment of police, prisons, and capitalism, and the disruption of the “Western prescribed nuclear family structure.”

Police departments and criminal justice in many jurisdictions do indeed need reforming but their outright abolishment will do serious harm to our society. In addition, the end of capitalism would greatly hinder if not stop altogether wealth creation among Americans in every situation and the disruption of the nuclear family would perhaps eliminate the best way of human security and socialization ever devised.

The BLM organization’s philosophy is best articulated by the poster “White Culture in the United States: Aspects and Assumptions of Whiteness” recently created and displayed by the National Museum of African American History and Culture. The poster showed that “whiteness” is demonstrated through the categories of Rugged Individualism, Family Structure, History, and Protestant Work Ethic. So, the scientific method, nuclear family, personal responsibility, delayed gratification, and recognition of Western Civilization’s contributions to American history, among other things, are valued primarily by Whites and are not to be esteemed by Blacks, according to the museum. (The museum removed the chart after public criticism from Blacks and Whites.)

Perhaps the most egregious actions taken by the BLM organization and its allies are the protests and riots in Portland, Oregon. Portland’s population is 6% Black and has a 5:1 ratio of registered Democrats to registered Republicans, so the city has been governed by liberal Democrats for decades. Yet Portland has endured to date 60 straight nights of protests and riots since the murder of George Floyd. The question then must be asked if the Portland Police Bureau under a progressive city government has become so corrupt and racist that the city has had such demonstrations. Perhaps and perhaps not. An educated guess can be made that these protests and riots are not about Portland but about the United States in general.

[Note: Many of the nightly riots have been directed at the Hatfield Federal Building in downtown Portland with the apparent aim of the BLM organization and allies to occupy and destroy the building as a symbol of a racist and oppressive regime. In response, President Trump as a part of his constitutional responsibility and authority has sent in Federal agents to protect the building. Critics have charged that the agents are unidentified secret police using unmarked vehicles to assist them in arresting or detaining suspected rioters, and being an “occupying” force in Portland. Yet, when the Oregon Attorney General went to Federal District Court to seek an injunction against the Trump Administration its video evidence plainly showed that the Federal agents were identified as such and were only attempting to defend Federal property from destruction. Many local and state police use unmarked vehicles for various reasons so to single out Federal agents for using them is disingenuous.]  

 In conclusion:

1.       Black lives matter.

2.       Black lives must matter in police and criminal justice reforms, Black-on-Black crime, education, aborting Black babies, jobs, and health care.

3.       To have long-term positive effect the BLM movement must enlarge its concern to all aspects of Black lives. Using the terminology of Stanford business professor Robert Sutton the movement must adopt a “ground war” strategy to move forward in all aspects rather than a narrowly focused “air war” strategy dealing with shooting deaths by police (which is a small piece of the pie, however regrettable each death is).

4.       The BLM organization and its ideology to undermine the American system as founded on Western values of laws with liberty and justice for all must be rejected.

5.       All Americans, regardless of race, must work to ensure that our laws are equally applied to everyone and that all of us have equal opportunities for success.

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