Quote Originally Posted by TitoFan View Post
You leave precious little wiggle room for debate, Lyle. So it's "let's not even talk about it, 'cause it's not a worthy cause or a real problem?" I'd hate to think that's how you really feel. No it's not 1960's Alabama all over again, and your mention of it unfortunately trashes whatever argument one may have that things are not well and could definitely improve. Why the perceived backlash, Lyle? It's an issue that isn't going to go away by itself. No... all cops aren't white. No... all citizens impacted by wrongful use of force aren't all black.

The thing about is, you know how I think about this. You know I know about the victim card played by a lot of blacks looking to ride the coattails of these incidents and cry "racism" to just about anything. Yet you agree when I talk like that... but you immediately disagree when I touch on some of the worthy points on the OTHER side. Why? We can't only agree when I'm totally on your side. Or maybe that's how these topics should be handled. I see both sides, and you know it. But I'm not going to excuse or sweep under the rug the many incidents where racist white cops have shot black men (and even women) in a blatant abuse of power because of their racist views. I don't care if the media covers this more than the "other" incidents, where I guess black racist cops shoot and kill white guys. If any of those came up, I'd be just as critical of those also.

It's not either/or for me. It's whatever is right and wrong. Racist cops shooting black guys is a bad thing (using Trump's vernacular). Why can't we just leave it at that?

Riots? I don't care about riots. Riots don't bring back young black men who have been executed by trigger-happy, unfit-for-the-job white cops. It's a problem whether anyone else sees it as a problem or not.
I'm not saying "let's not even talk about it" I'm 100% FOR talking about it...what I'm NOT for is a deliberate malicious skewing of the FACTS be it by law enforcement or by protesters and BLM activists. If we can't have an HONEST discussion then yeah no discussion at all suits me fine because what are we actually achieving? When Freddie Gray dies in police custody in Baltimore an investigation is definitely warranted but you know what isn't? RIOTS! And what really isn't warranted are local politicians saying they need to give "protesters" "room to destroy" words I use because they are the direct quotes of Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake. Now when a police shooting happens, justified or unjustified and it's reported on I guess we all had best just batten down the hatches and let folks loot and riot and burn the city down because lord help us all if we just discuss what actually happened and why.

Why the backlash? Well let's start with what Black Lives Matter actually wants, what they themselves have as their agenda:

Demands
End the war on black people - seeks to resolve:

"the criminalization and dehumanization of Black youth across all areas of society";
capital punishment;
money bail and court surcharges in court proceedings;
"use of past criminal history to determine eligibility for housing, education, licenses, voting, loans, employment, and other services";
"the war on Black immigrants including the repeal of the 1996 crime and immigration bills";
"the war on Black trans, queer and gender nonconforming people";
"the mass surveillance of Black communities";
"the militarization of law enforcement";
"the privatization of police, prisons, jails, probation, parole, food, phone and all other criminal justice related services"; and
"public jails, detention centers, youth facilities and prisons" in their present conditions.

Reparations for the:
"systemic denial of access to high quality educational opportunities in the form of full and free access for all Black people";
"continued divestment from, discrimination toward and exploitation of our communities in the form of a guaranteed minimum livable income for all Black people";
"wealth extracted from" the black communities "through environmental racism, slavery, food apartheid, housing discrimination and racialized capitalism in the form of corporate and government reparations";
"cultural and educational exploitation, erasure, and extraction" in the form of, among other things, "public school curriculums that critically examine the political, economic, and social impacts of colonialism and slavery"; and
the demand the state and federal levels require "the United States to acknowledge the lasting impacts of slavery, establish and execute a plan to address those impacts".

Invest-Divest:
Reallocation of federal, state, and local government funds from "policing and incarceration to long-term strategies for education, restorative justice services, and employment programs."
The decriminalization, immediate release, record expungement, and reparations for the disparaging effects of both the "war on drugs" and "the criminalization of prostitution" on black communities.
"Real, meaningful, and equitable universal healthcare"
A constitutionally protected right to a "fully-funded education"
Divestment from the "use of fossil fuels and investment in community-based sustainable energy solutions."
Cuts to military expenditures and a reallocation of those funds to "infrastructure and community well-being"

Economic Justice:
Redistribution of wealth through a "progressive restructuring of tax codes at the local, state, and federal levels."
Employment programs that specifically target the "most marginalized Black people" in order to promote economic equality.
"A right to restored land, clean air, clean water and housing and an end to the exploitative privatizaiton of natural resources."
Right for workers to organize in both the public and private sector.
Restoration of the Glass-Steagall Act.
"An end to the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and a renegotiation of all trade agreements" with an increased focus on the interests of workers and communities.
Increased support for "the development of cooperative or social economy networks."
"Financial support of Black alternative institutions."
Increased protection for workers in poorly regulated industries.

Community Control:
Implementation of "democratic community control of local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies."
"End to the privatization of education."
Communal participation in "budgeting at the local state and federal level."

Political Power:
"End to the criminalization of Black political activity."
Termination of super PACs and the implementation of "public financing of elections."
Establishment of "full-access guarantees, and protections of the right to vote for all people."
"Full-access to technology" through the implementation of "net-neutrality and universal access to internet."
"Protection and increased funding for Black institutions."