By Sarah Max
Spoiler Alert: Racism isn’t tolerated in America. Racist groups are a fractional minority opposed by the majority and racist behavior is strictly illegal and punishable by law.
It would seem obvious that this is the case, but the term ‘racism’ has been hijacked. Racism today more often than not refers to discrimination or prejudice towards Black people only, particularly at the hands of caucasions. Racism is now an assumed character trait in every white person and is indoctrinated into governmental, societal, and social systems. The hypocrisy of deeming a person inherently racist solely on the basis of their skin color is overwhelmingly apparent, yet wholly ignored. The “Black Lives Matter” (BLM) is regressing western society back from crucial strides America has taken throughout recent history.
The BLM movement began in 2012 with the death of Trayvon Martin at the hands of a police officer. It later picked up traction following the deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner, both of whom were killed by white police officers. Today, the movement holds strong and gains infamy as it devolves into riots, assault, theft, and murder — all of which is proclaimed to be in the name of justice.
The list of allegedly ‘racist’ cases put forth by Black Lives Matter is often cited as evidence or racism simply because the victims were Black and the officers were white. That doesn’t constitute racism. Most of these situations share a common denominator of the victim committing a crime, violently resisting arrest, and being killed in the ensuing struggle. It doesn’t matter what color skin someone has, resisting arrest is never a good idea. The fact is, it’s risky, illegal behavior, and yes, it puts one at high risk of being shot.
This is, however, not always the case. Some of the cases may involve levels of cruelty or injustice. However there is no evidence of racism as the cause. These cases are such a minority that they can’t be used to make general statements; they don’t support the premise that the system is racist or that police brutality is widespread and institutionalized.
This claim of racist intent is consistently seen throughout the movement. The movement insists that governmental court systems won’t serve the correct justice in these instances. This is simply untrue, something which is easily verifiable by a quick online search. It’s another malicious attempt to polarize and weaken our country, one which is among the freest, fairest, and most just in the world.
In legal proceedings, there is a concept of “reasonable doubt.” If such a doubt is present, the person can’t be convicted. The term “guilty beyond reasonable doubt” means there’s no other logical explanation to be derived from the facts of the case, thereby overcoming the presumption of innocence until proven guilty. This is why many times the officers are acquitted of some, or even all charges from the incident. Justice is important, but the possibility that a mistake will be made (due to lack of absolute proof) isn’t a chance we’re willing to take. This is in accordance with the standards of freedom and right to trial granted to every American citizen under the Sixth Amendment. This doesn’t mean that our justice system is faulty or racist — quite the opposite. Some of these cases may contain cruelty or injustice, but the policemen aren’t penalized unless they are found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt and this is not exclusive to cases with Black victims.
Evidence is important. It’s absolutely necessary for the pursuit of justice. Not only is there an absence of evidence for racist motives in these particular cases, which are set forth by BLM as the most blatant examples of ‘racism,’ there’s no indication whatsoever that skin color played a part in the events at all. To assume that the white person did something simply because he or she is racist towards Black people is blatant racism.
While the police officers involved are condemned as barbaric racists, the Black victims are transformed into the purest of angels. Their misdeeds are ignored and buried instantly so that the victims become martyrs. Many of the victims not only had criminal backgrounds, but at the time of arrest were partaking in something either suspicious or blatantly illegal. This isn’t an argument in favor of justifying their deaths, it’s a reality check. This strategy is taken full advantage of by BLM; all the articles about the victims start describing the victims as loving, gentle people when many times they were far from it. This is meant to induce sympathy, of course, but it’s a gross manipulation of the facts. If you’re going to protest something on moral grounds — like racism — it’s best not to skirt over the other moral issues involved. It’s hypocritical and invalidates the cause. One cannot pick and choose which of our societal morals — in the very least those which are considered crimes by law — are to be upheld and by whom.
None of this is to say that deaths listed by BLM weren’t terrible. It’s a horrible thing for people to die, whatever their race — and no one denies that. BLM partakes in a nasty habit called “virtue signalling”— claiming moral correctness and superiority through political and ethical views. They use this to accuse anyone who disagrees with them inhumane, cruel, ignorant, and racist. This is exactly what happens when you say you don’t support Black Lives Matter: you are accused of condoning the deaths of innocent Black people because “you hate Black people.” To this I say: find me the person who is actually willing to say this. I dare you.