Monday 18 July 2016

BLM must condemn acts of violence against police


Or they need to take responsibility 

There is no middle ground. You can be a political group, social movement etc but when members who associate with you group commit acts of terror and violence that cut deeply into the fabric of civli society, you need to either condemn them, or assume some of the responsibility. 

I don’t blame Muslims when an extremist commits an attack like then one in Nice. A religion that has some 1.6 billion members, or about a quarter of the worlds population is bound to have some extremist members. However whenever these attacks of occur, regardless of how connected or not a muslim group may be most groups will express their condemnation of the attack. I’ve seen condemnation from international muslim groups, local mosques in North America, and individuals world over. None of them claim to be associated with extremists, most aren’t even geographically close. Why do they feel the need to do this?

Because regardless of the poor logic behind stereotypes, this action helps show the differences between the vast majority of muslims who would not commit an extremist attack - and the small minority of radicalized individuals who tolerate violence. This is an important move as non muslims often hold stereotypes about the religion and often associate it with extremist violence though there are no ties. 

I have written strongly about my dislike for BLM in the past, however I do it because I do not believe the movement is without merit, I simply disagree with how it conducts itself. I’ve used strong words and comparisons to make a point. Never have I said that Canada should ban BLM, or should condemn them carte blanche. With that being said, after the most recent murders of police in Baton Rouge by an individual who has claimed association with BLM and associated groups I searched out a response from BLM condemning the despicable action. 

I could find no such statement. Not on their official twitter, and not visibly enough I could find it on other platforms.
Image result for blm baton rouge response
(The disturbing top response from google for "BLM baton rouge response"
Image result for blm baton rouge response
(Another top response indicative of an organization
that refuses to separate itself from violent extremists) 

This is troubling because both of the recent police shooters have self associated themselves with the group in some way. This is where my Muslim analogy comes into play. I’m not saying in any way that BLM is behind these murders. What I am saying is those who committed these attacks claim they are in some way connected to BLM, or at the very least BLM’s fight. I firmly resect the right for groups to protest, and whether I agree or not is irrelevant. The caveat to this is as a protest group or movement, you have some social responsibly to control your organizations discourse around an event. When people who have committed atrocities claim they are part of the same movement or social issue your group is, you need to be clear about your separation, or you need to accept that by not condemning truly violent despicable actions, you take some of the responsibility for them. 


So this is a call to Black Lives Matter. Please start condemning the actions of violent criminals who associate themselves with your cause. There’s really no excuse for not doing so, unless you agree with their actions. 

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