BLM Mirrors KKK
Gasps of outrage over that observation will be echoing for days. There will be allegations of racism, ignorance, intolerance, insensitivity, and many other descriptions of such audacity.
Please slow down, take a deep breath, and look at the facts.
The KKK was born out of the mistaken belief that black people were genetically inferior to white people. As such, they had to be “kept in their place.” The way to keep them in their place was by intimidation and assassination by lynchings.
The BLM was born out of the mistaken belief that law enforcement personnel are racists and are too quick on the trigger when confronting a black person. That is a common belief in some segments of the minority community, but it got a major boost into the public sphere when the false claim that police officer Darrin Wilson shot and killed Michael Brown, a young black man, who had his hands up and was trying to surrender in Ferguson, Missouri.
Although it has been proved by an FBI investigation and state grand jury proceedings that Brown had just robbed a store operator, that he was trying to wrestle officer Wilson’s weapon away from him, and that Wilson shot Brown in self-defense, the rumor persists that he was shot in the back with his hands raised in surrender.
Demonstrators marching in BLM protest marches continue to raise their arms and shout, “Hands up! Don’t shoot!.” Printed posters with that logo are also prominent among the banners in those marches.
Compounding that error, BLM activists recently tried to disrupt the Minnesota State Fair by marching and shouting a chant that called for the deaths of police officers: “Pigs in a blanket, fry ’em like bacon!”
The phrase “pigs in a blanket” refers to police officers in body bags and was repeated by the BLM influenced activist who murdered the two police officers in New York City. These two victims of BLM inspired violence were of minority communities--not black.
Then consider this additional fact. Thirty law enforcement personnel have died in the line of duty this year. Eleven of them, or more than one third, have died at the hands of black men tied at least in philosophy to the BLM movement. In addition to the two in New York already mentioned, there was the Harris County Deputy gunned down as he was servicing his patrol vehicle at a gas station in Houston, the five in Dallas last week, and the three in Baton Rouge this week.
Is there any difference in hatred between those BLM assassinations and KKK lynchings?
So come on. Out with it. You must be thinking, “He’s just a white man who cannot understand how it is to be black.”
That is partly true. There is no way that I can experience the feeling of a black man being stopped by a law enforcement officer, but I can understand it. There have been too many prominent blacks describing their feelings. For example, Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina recently observed, “I have felt the anger, the frustration, the sadness, and the humiliation that comes with feeling like you’re being targeted for nothing more than being just yourself, There’s nothing more frustrating, more damaging to your soul than when you know you’re following the rules and being treated like you are not.”
My friend Dr. Robert Wright, Judge of the Municipal Court of Brenham, expressed similar sentiments in a conversation last week.
Both Scott and Wright, however, noted that they had been reared to respect authority. When they responded respectfully and appropriately to the officers’ questions and directives, no unfavorable action happened.
Now compare the actions, reactions, and results of Scott’s and Wright’s encounters with police with those of the men who were killed by the arresting officers.
So here’s the perspective.
The KKK perpetrated hatred of blacks. BLM perpetuates hatred of police. Regardless of the stated purpose of the organization, marching with hands up and chanting “Pigs in a blanket” fosters so much rage in some that they think all white police officers are racists who must be eliminated.
There is just a tiny fringe of the BLM movement who think this way. The same was true of the KKK. Only a small fraction of the thousands or millions who wore the white robes participated in the lynchings. The organization, however, cannot escape blame. The movement under totally false beliefs sparked the killings.
Imagine what would happen if BLM began taking just a minor turn. Imagine the turn of events if BLM began protesting every violent death from any source and chanted, “Obey authority,” instead of, “Fry the pigs.”
A good bet would be that there would be a lot more Scott and Wright experiences than Brown tragedies.
enough
