If Black Lives Matter, #BlackLivesMatter Has To Grow Up

[romanic]

The Clock Is Ticking

Changes like those I’ve described need to happen, the sooner the better. #BlackLivesMatter has approached critical mass, but risks deflating itself much like Occupy Wall Street and other temporarily buzzing movements did (I’d argue that this has happened to the Tea Party, which has been co-opted by the GOP mainstream and the hucksters who made a lot of money using it as a fundraising tool).

It isn’t enough to have Hillary Clinton and others say “black lives matter.” They’re aware of it, we’re aware of it. But now you need to pummel them into doing something that truly shows black lives matter and have them in fear of the consequences if they don’t enact what is being asked of them.

These social movements are important. They change the fabric of the American experience. This idea is more important than others, and it cannot be allowed to simply whither on the vine.

http://oliverwillis.com/2015/07/23/if-black-lives-matter-blacklivesmatter-has-to-grow-up/

Please read the whole article, it's possibly one of the best articles I've read about BLM in a while.

[appalachiablue]

1. K & R. Excellent. Concrete tangible demands and change derived from organized action

and agenda, nothing less.

[Hydra]

2. This is a good point made:

If the point of the movement is to raise awareness, screw awareness. “Raising awareness” is the sign of a movement or idea that is unworthy of attention. We are aware of systemic racism, racial wealth disparities, race-based policing, and all the other issues. Americans in general are aware, and particularly black Americans. Everybody is aware. Similarly, this also cannot be about the validation of feelings. On an individual level personal validation of blackness is importance, but for the purposes of widespread social change – who gives a crap?

The problem is clear. Some of us have been talking about goals, while the BLM organization tried to increase their power and it backfired.

Without the goals and meeting them, the movement stalls and the politicians talk the issue away.

[CTyankee]

3. In a larger vein, we have seen what the Occupy movement eventually caused to

come to pass. They talked about income inequality when no one else was and now everyone talks about it. So these movements often set the stage and set off the debate. I think the BLM movement will do the same. It may fall by the wayside like Occupy but it will probably produce a larger debate on the issue of racial inequality.

[Hydra]

4. Occupy's great achievement was framing the issue better

But not just that- Occupy grew out of the same force that is continuing to sit at the top of gov't that is saying that there is no other answer than to let Wall St and the 1% run wild.

One of Occupy's goals was to get power back on the ground to move things. We're doing that- Minimum wage increase, LBGT rights, Racism- the people at the top are standing in the way of all of these issues, but somehow we're getting it done.

Ironically, BLM has contributed to the movement by highlighting what is NOT needed, and by letting Bernie know that there is a larger interest in this, and it's not as "dry" as getting people to a better economic place.

[CTyankee]

5. You said it very well.

Violence against black citizens is a daily occurrence. It seems like every day there is a shooting of an unarmed black person by the police and this is all over the country. Black lives are indeed at stake. That could not be more urgent.