The Relevance of Race and the Controversy Surrounding “Black Lives Matter”

We Are Change

I originally wrote this post on August 10 of last year for Photography is Not A Crime. I was a staff writer at PINAC, and I wrote this after one of our reporters quit because he perceived an article we published as being “to stoke a growing racial divide.”

This is a criticism seen often around these pages, and it is high time we addressed these charges, especially in light of the recent controversy surrounding “Black Lives Matter” protesters interrupting U.S. presidential candidate Bernie Sanders.

Race matters, but only as a matter of perspective.

It is well-documented that U.S. law enforcement and the justice system have had a unequal record regarding the treatment of white and minority citizens, suspects, and offenders.

In 2013, The Wall Street Journal reported that in recent years, prison sentences of black men were nearly 20% longer than those of white men for similar crimes. The NYCLU found that black and Latino men were targeted by the NYPD’s illegal “stop-and-frisk” campaign. Entire books have been written on this subject alone.

When discussing the potentially unwarranted treatment of a man or woman in regards to law enforcement or the justice system, race has been proven to be a relevant topic of discussion.

However, PINAC is not in the habit of “race-baiting” or making race an issue where no issue exists. To see a real example of people using racial issues out of context, look no further than”Black Lives Matter.”

Disclaimer: the following statements are not intended as an endorsement for Bernie Sanders, merely a critique of clear thinking.

Bernie Sanders is the closest thing to an ally the “Black Lives Matter” protestors have running for President as a Democrat. Sanders supported the civil rights movement in the 60’s when it was dangerous to do so, and he is nobody’s idea of a government insider working for the evil corporate overlords – most of his biggest donations come from worker’s unions.

Yet Sanders is the candidate some “Black Lives Matter” proteseors are interrupting and assaulting.

One “Black Lives Matter” supporter wrote this one Facebook:

The above statement is racist and uses race out of context. Anyone can strive to help humanity, white or black, just as anyone can seek to enslave humanity, white or black. Skin color is irrelevant to discussions of internal characteristics.

Here are a couple examples of revolutionary people:

Here are some example of entrenched dictators:

 

Did you notice that skin color was not the dividing factor?

The facebook user who posted the above quote also wrote to me that: “We have concentrated power that is rooted in white supremacy. Look at the institutions that have been created by racist white landowning, slaves owning men. Now look at their legacy. That’s not the world I envision and we must get rid of those institutions.”

The slaves she spoke of were sold by….black slavers. In the U.S., there were even black slave owners!  Today, we even have a black president….and his policies are the same as George W. Bush!

Identifying the government as rooted in “white supremacy” is wholly irrelevant, and hurts the cause that most people agree with – that our government is corrupt and must be changed dramatically.

The real problems with government are rooted in Wall Street and the military industrial complex.

Racial division is the goal of the people currently in power, which is likely why a top Hilary Clinton supporter is supporting Black Lives Matter.

The U.S. government is corrupt, not because it is white, but because it is controlled by corrupt people.

Black people and Latino people in the U.S. have been unfairly targeted as groups by the government, but that does not make “Black Power” the solution.

The U.S. is supposed to be for “We the People” – white, black, green or purple. To fix the issues of government “We the People” need to unite for common interests – not common skin colors. Remember, We Are Change.

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from We Are Change http://wearechange.org/black-lives-matter/