I believe that Black Lives Matter, but I do not support the
Black Lives Matter organized movement. I
have been to their webpage and read their mission statement. Although they say lots of non-specific things
about opposition to violence against blacks and support of black causes, there
are some glaring omissions and some troubling specifics.
One would think this organization was primarily about
supporting black individuals, but when specifics are stated, the support is for
LBGTQ blacks. This is mentioned in four
paragraphs of the mission statement. No
other specific is mentioned that many times.
I believe LBGTQ lives matter, because ALL lives matter, but this overemphasis
changes the thrust of the organization’s intent.
The other troubling specific is that they advocate the
disruption of the nuclear family structure and the promotion of collective care
of children. I thought one of the horrible
wrongs of slavery was disruption of the family unit, and the fact that black
women became nannies to white children to the detriment of their own
children. Promoting collective care over
the family unit as the source of childcare seems to be a step in the wrong direction.
Not mentioned at all in the mission statement:
*decreasing the abortion of black babies
*support of black owned businesses
*support of local law enforcement individuals many of whom are
black
*retraining of law enforcement to promote fair practices
*efforts to decrease black on black violence
*they mention peace but do not specifically promote change
through non-violent means (i.e. without burning and looting) as Martin Luther
King did.
There is a special plea on the webpage for the organization to
be informed about “disinformation” about their cause. I am not here spreading disinformation. I am relating information from their own webpage.
I am also not buying into the argument I have seen promoted by
some Christians, that we should say “Black lives matter” rather than “All lives
matter.” The rationale is that Jesus
himself told the story of the shepherd leaving the 99 to seek out the one who
had gone astray. Blacks are 12 out of
100, not 1 out of 100. Blacks have been the focus of many social programs for
decades attempting to bring “the lost” home to equality. They have been given
advantages through Affirmative Action programs.
At one point, it was almost impossible for a white male to get into
medical school, because people of color and women were being given priority.
At some point, everyone needs to be treated equally…not
discriminated against, but also not given unfair advantage based on the same
factors that might be used to discriminate against. Many blacks are themselves saying that programs
which have tried to help blacks have, in fact, crippled them and made them
dependent.
If we can hold the world together long enough, it may be that
one day it won’t matter, because intermarriage will make all of our descendants
a mixture of “red and yellow, black and white….all our precious in His sight.” That might solve the issue, but it might also
make the world a less interesting place.
We need to be celebrating our unique differences not fighting over who
is superior.
Meantime…the BLM Movement may not be what you think it is, and…
ALL LIVES MATTER!