The media has been focusing attention on a very small area of the casualties surrounding us every day. Just last month eight police officers have been killed; six of whom were targeted for being law enforcement. 26 law enforcement officers have been on the fatal side of that gun just this year. The #BlackLivesMatter movement would have you believe that the only flaw in the system is that African American lives are being lost. No banners are being waved for the deaths of these officers.
There is no argument that loss of life is a tragedy. Certainly no officer of the law delights in having to make the decision to end a life to save others. Why then, does this group continue to villainize police? They are instilling fear into their own people and heightening the dangers on both sides.
Black Lives Matter has been gaining momentum over the course of the last year. With not just thousands of supporters nationwide tweeting #BlackLivesMatter, but groups forming to protest the current state of race relations in the U.S. Presidential hopeful, Bernie Sanders, has two separate events interrupted, because of Black Lives Matter protestors. Ironically, they shut down events meant for a man arrested in 1962 while protesting segregation in Chicago.
Yet, there are those who wonder if the intentions behind this group are not something more divisive than claiming some lives matter more than others. There is room to suggest that Black Lives Matter is less of a movement and more of an angry mob. Are individuals in the mob taking things into their own hands?
The actions of the group are deviating substantially from their own mission statement. The gross dissimilarity between words and actions can be viewed by looking at the group’s Facebook page:
#BlackLivesMatter is an online forum intended to build connections between Black people and our allies… to facilitate the types of connections necessary to encourage social action and engagement.
It would seem that “allies” are under a very finite criteria considering the attacks against Sanders’ campaign. If the definition of ally is getting thinner then the definition of enemy must be eclipsing it.
Still, to speak out against the actions of Black Lives Matter leaves one open to the regular insults of being racist and a bigot. Conservative television personality, Elisabeth Hasselbeck, was heavily criticized for doing just that. She is being berated for asking why the organization has not been labelled a “hate group”. Hasselbeck was referring to a particular protest at which they were chanting, “Fry ‘em like bacon! Pigs in a blanket!”, about the police doing the routine job of supervising the protest. Just the day before a Texas deputy was shot while pumping gas. The group contends that it was not meant to be violent, but to draw attention to their cause. Keep in mind that Hate Speech is defined as any communication that presents a clear and present danger. Does chanting to “fry” police officers while organized into a mob not suggest danger? A real question remains about whether or not the #BlackLivesMatter movement is fueling senseless violence against those in law enforcement.
Four police officers have been slain in the last two weeks just while going about regular duties. Not just the Texas deputy, Darren Goforth, who was shot 15 times. On August 26th, in Los Angeles, officer Harry Nelson was murdered. Two days before that a Louisiana state trooper was shot in the head after stopping to help someone stuck in a ditch. As recently as Tuesday of this week, a manhunt is being conducted to find the killers of a veteran police officer in northern Chicago.
It doesn’t seem like #BlackLivesMatter will be slowing down anytime soon and has a dwindling comprehension of who is on their side. The very real threat to law enforcement will most likely grow in tandem as tension between those who have sworn to protect and serve and those whom they have sworn to protect and serve is exacerbated.
