Activism Probably Always Brings Extremist Positions And Abuse

There’s a fine line between activism and extremism. In fact, many activists who we revere today were viewed as extremists when they were alive.

Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, Emmeline Pankhurst, Rosa Parks, anybody who sets out to change society will be seen as a troublemaker. What matters is whether their activism was effective in creating positive change.

In my article, Black Lives Matter Has Been A Disaster For Black People, I wrote about how spectacularly ineffective BLM’s activism has been. I pointed out that despite the narrative they’ve spent the last eight years pushing, police brutality and racism are largely separate issues. And while I’d love it if police stopped racially profiling black people, I’d settle, at least in the short term, for them not beating the people they racially profile to death.

Jacques thought I had my priorities wrong.

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Jacques:

This event of police brutality perpetrated by black policemen does not necessarily invalidate that police brutality, in general, find its roots in racism. Legally and often socially acceptable brutality towards black people has a such a deep and long history that it may have become systematic. In such a context, it is not surprising that some black policemen, following training and procedures rooted in a culture of, if not racism, at least strong bias against colored people, end up committing such brutal crimes. It is, in fact, inevitable.

Using this event as evidence police brutality has little to do with racism is mistaking statistical bias with anecdotal evidence. It’s like saying there’s no bias in putting black people in jail because there are white peoples in jail too, or no bias keeping more black people in poverty because there are poor white people too, or no bias against black people in their career because there’s been a black president. It’s like saying I’m not racist because I have a black friend.

Several black people owned slaves, is that evidence slavery was not racist?

Police brutality (as well as mass shootings) are a real problem that may or may not be bigger than racism. You have every right to make that argument and, having followed you for some time, I expected a thoroughly educated demonstration. I am disappointed it rests essentially on a single recent case, a dubious tactic to make a general claim.

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“Several black people owned slaves, is that evidence slavery was not racist?”

I’ve been doing this long enough that it’s not easy to annoy me. But the endless capacity of a certain type of white liberal to condescendingly explain racism to black people never ceases to amaze me.

Well, that and this desperate need to cling to the belief that the murder of a black man by five black men could still be blamed on white supremacy.

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Steve QJ:

“does not necessarily invalidate that police brutality, in general, find its roots in racism.”

Why is there such a desperate need to cling to this narrative? If you're determined to convince yourself that the issue here is "white supremacy" (whatever that even means at this point), you'll always be able to do it. But the philosophical arguments you'll construct to justify the position will do precisely nothing to end police brutality.

And no, of course I'm not resting my argument on a single case.