How #BlackLivesMatter Hurts Black Lives
Did you know that if you support the Black Lives Matter movement — as in the official, BlackLivesMatter.com website — you are not only standing with black Americans but also standing with a radical social agenda including queer and transgender activism along with the disrupting of the nuclear family?
Before I demonstrate this to you, allow me to explain the purpose of this article. I write with the goal of standing with my African American brothers and sisters for true and full equality in America while encouraging them to distance themselves from leaders and movements who do as much harm (if not much more harm) than good.
NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, whom I recently addressed over this very issue, would do well to heed this warning.
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But first, a moment of personal background for those who do not listen to my daily talk radio show, the Line of Fire.
For several years now, God-fearing, law-abiding African Americans have called the broadcast and, with great respect and humility, told me that I have no idea what it's like to be a black American, that I have no idea how much racial prejudice still exists in our country, and that I have no idea how many obstacles black Americans still face.
I for one don't doubt what they're saying, which is why I spoke of the "very real challenges faced by African Americans" in my open letter to Kaepernick, also mentioning the "very real problems that do exist in America, including issues of racial discrimination and injustice."
The perspective of my callers was echoed by Dr. Brian Williams, one of the doctors who tried to save the lives of the Dallas policemen who were assassinated by an African American shooter in July. Speaking as both a doctor and a black American, Dr. Williams said, "This is much more complicated for me personally."
As he explained, "There's this dichotomy where I'm standing with law enforcement, but I also personally feel that angst that comes when you cross the path of an officer in uniform and you're fearing for your safety. I've been there, and I understand that."
And yet there he was in anguish, trying to save the lives of these officers, men whom, in a different setting, he would have unduly feared.
As a white American, I cannot relate to this personally, although I grew up in the most open-minded household you could imagine, with my first organ teacher being openly gay (he and his partner would often stay for dinner with the family) and my second organ teacher being a black man who was married to a white woman, which cost both of them dearly in the 1960s.
The fact is that I have never been racially profiled and I have not faced some of the challenges that many of my black brothers and sisters have faced, all of which brings me to say this: I am glad that we are revisiting the question of racial injustice in America but I believe that movements like Black Lives Matter are hurting the cause more than helping it.
In similar fashion, as stated in my open letter, I have no issue with Kaepernick wanting to take a stand for his beliefs. I simply believe he's using the wrong setting and putting an emphasis on the wrong issue.
Has he himself been negatively influenced by Black Lives Matter?
According to FoxNews.com, "NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick's conversion to social activism coincided with his romancing of a hip hop DJ of Egyptian descent [Nessa Diab] who has frequently spoken about perceived racial injustices and 'Islamaphobia' in the U.S." (There are also reports that he has converted to Islam, but these have been disputed.)
Diab is popular on MTV and is associated with Islamic activism and with the Black Lives Matter movement, which would help to explain the changes to Kaepernick's Instagram account in the four months it has been in existence.
Initially, most of his posts centered on him playing football. "But 31 of his last 42 posts have strong social justice connotations, often featuring quotes from radical Nation of Islam leader Malcolm X, Black Panthers founder Huey Newton and cop killer Assata Shakur. During a Sunday news conference about the flag flap, Kaepernick dressed in a black hat with a large, white 'X' and a T-shirt that featured photos of Cuban despot Fidel Castro and Malcolm X."
What about the Black Lives Matter movement itself? Not only is it allegedly supported by extreme leftists like George Soros, and not only have some of its foundational myths been exposed, but it forthrightly proclaims its radical social agenda on its website for everyone to see. How many have taken notice?
Under its guiding principles page, along with subjects like Loving Engagement (which does not overtly call for non-violent resistance but does make a positive statement), there are also headings like this: Black Villages: "We are committed to disrupting the Western-prescribed nuclear family structure requirement by supporting each other as extended families and 'villages' that collectively care for one another, and especially 'our' children to the degree that mothers, parents and children are comfortable."
So, this movement opposes the very structure which is most under attack in black America today — namely, the nuclear family — also failing to mention "fathers" by name (note the references to mothers, parents, and children, but not fathers). What kind of social madness is this?
Other guiding principles include being Queer Affirming, under which heading it is affirmed that, ". . . When we gather, we do so with the intention of freeing ourselves from the tight grip of heteronormative thinking . . ." There is also the call to be Transgender Affirming, where it is explained that, ". . . We are committed to being self-reflexive and doing the work required to dismantle cisgender privilege and uplift Black trans folk . . . ."
Is this really a movement that can represent African Americans nationwide? I think not.
That's why it's essential for those who really want to address questions of social injustice — be it the effects of the Democrat-led welfare system or apparent disparities in prison sentences or other apparent injustices — to distance themselves from the Black Lives Matter movement and take a reasoned stand for righteousness.
As you do, I'm standing with you, shoulder to shoulder, as best as I can.
