If Black Lives Matter Then Why All The Distractions?
The primary issue is Justice For George Floyd. The secondary issue is systemic reform. Everything else is a distraction.
Since the globally publicised murder of George Floyd, the world has risen in unity against police brutality.
Justice for George Floyd, systemic racism reform, and educating the world (not just white people) about the racism and oppression suffered by black people throughout history until today.
It fills my heart with joy to see parts of the world come together. If I’m to be completely honest, especially in countries where I would be researching whether it would be safe for me to travel as a black man.
To paraphrase Michael Jackson; All I’d ever thought to say is, they don’t really care about us.
London is a diverse city and to see so many people protesting peacefully and standing in solidarity doesn’t surprise me. As much as it doesn’t surprise me when a peaceful protest goes “West” and the rhetoric then becomes “Protests in Central London Turn Violent”.
If I can share a simple message with everybody who is protesting the system and the way it is set up, it would be this:
Do not become distracted by subcategories of argument and debate, those issues aren’t the most important at this very moment in time
The last part of that statement is what needs to be taken on board. Not that these things aren’t important. But right now stay on task and avoid distraction from the higher priority topics of discussion.
As a community it’s my personal belief that there need to be two core focus points:
The primary focus is continuously lobbying that George Floyd’s killers are brought to justice and that they are tried as civilians and not protected by the badge that they were supposed to represent. They lost that honour and don’t deserve to be associated with it any longer.
The secondary focus is on how the black community makes a change for ourselves. To give us an economy that we can be proud of, build, and sustain generational wealth and create opportunities for growth and prosperity for our lineage. I may not live long enough to see the fruits of the second point but I can act to be a contributor.
Distractions
The distractions that I’ve started to see online and in the media do bother me though. Some things I believe are well placed to act as a distraction and some because thoughts and views are expressed online around subjects that only come up because an Instagram account has found a topic that can garner more engagement for themselves. The recent detractions that I’ve noticed include caring about unnecessary things such as:
What Other People Do or Don’t Do
This point is poignant if you pay attention. Not everybody has to follow the current trend of what social media is asking of them. If people wanted to post on Black Out Tuesday then that is their choice. I unfollowed one fitness account as there was no recognition of the current mood or situation in the world. I don’t have to get mad, and I don’t expect everyone to post a “black square” but complete silence is ignorance, and rather than get mad, I remove them from my consciousness.
Passive-aggressive statements of “Delete Me if….” don’t serve you and ultimately, nobody cares enough to delete you unless you’re taking action or standing for your values, if they don’t agree, they will leave of their own accord, you don’t need to tell them to do so.
Understand that people have different personality types and ways of dealing with things, I’ve yet to go to a protest myself because I need to be close to my mother and grandmother when they need me due to ill health and old age. I also choose to educate my children at home and not potentially put them in harm’s way of a runaway horse.
Your energy is wasted judging people for not following the same actions that you have, it doesn’t mean that they don’t care or that everyone who isn’t black is a racist.
This is also important for those who wait for or judge celebrity or influencer voices. If your favourite rapper isn’t saying anything then it’s your choice whether you continue to support them or not.
Why waste time calling them out on Twitter or Instagram, use your voice. You may not have a million followers but the compound effect of your inner circle building the message from ten people to one hundred people and beyond creating a wider and broader circle of voices has EVEN MORE power than that one voice with a blue tick and Instagram adoration.
George Floyd Was A Porn Star
So what if he was?
He was murdered. I don’t care if he had a tattoo on his chest that signified that he was a Free Mason. He was a black man who was murdered in broad daylight by a person whose job it is to protect the public. It is as simple as that, there was no valid justification for George to have lost his life that day.
Whatever the media or online conspiracy theorists want to spout to detract from the facts or create a smear campaign to support the Defence when the case moves to trial, it won’t work.
His character and life choices aren’t the focus or what needs to be brought into question, despite whatever Candace Owens wants to bring up about a previous criminal conviction and jail sentence. Nobody is making him a martyr, we’re outraged, upset, and tired. George Floyd was not the first black man killed by the police on the street.
I’d make the bold statement to suggest that anything contrary to; he was murdered by a policeman message is another detraction measure to add nuance and uncertainty in a system that clamours to protect police officers when they do wrong and in this case, take a life.
These tabloid stories are a waste of everyone’s time. Stick to the key matter at hand and getting justice for him and every other life stolen.
The Black Man Fetishism
As a black man who has dated white women and had children with a white woman, I wouldn’t have been able to tell if I was a fetish, a curiosity, or a preference for a white woman at the time. Only time, reflection, and experience lead me to question that.
I had a short period with an Irish girl who may have “dabbled with a few black guys” but would she have taken a black guy home to meet mum, dad, and the family? Who knows?
Same goes for the English girl who’d never been with a black guy before me, her motives we’re her own but I couldn’t have cared less at the time.
I am older now and the point is valid, black men have been called out by black women for dating white women and preferring women of lighter skin tones and that’s mainly down to false stigma that gets attached to black women. They are right to be upset and their points are very valid but I’ll address that another time.
As for the fetishising of the black man and his body, the stereotypes and jokes associated, I feel that the issue isn’t of the highest importance to be waffling about on the Internet.
If a white girl writes on a piece of cardboard that she likes Black D*** so she’s going to speak up then waves that in the air at a protest, I’m not bothered or offended. There is a bigger picture that needs to seen and addressed.
Madeleine McCann
The British press has been periodically writing about Madeleine McCann for Thirteen Years! The poor girl went missing in May 2007. I’m not a heartless monster, I’m a father myself so I wouldn’t stop searching but if my child went missing I’m sure the tabloids wouldn’t be coming up with stories for thirteen long years still reporting her disappearance or possible death.
At the height of the Black Lives Matters protests, this may have been a piece to speak about something else, but it’s not something that people concerned with #BLM need to debate or concern themselves with. It’s an unnecessary distraction.
All Lives Matter
Probably the biggest piece of ignorance that can be seen today is for someone to say that “All Lives Matter”.
To scream this in response to people saying Black Lives Matter is probably the most infuriating, insensitive, and disrespectful words that can be uttered. It smacks of entitlement, disregard, and petulance. To have to even explain that Black Lives Matter is not to say that other people don’t matter is enough to give anyone a headache.
Memes, pictures, and videos having to explain this to ignorant people is a waste of energy. Shouting online that they are part of the problem is a waste of energy and calling them out and accusing them of being racists is also wasted energy. The goal isn’t to uncover and accuse the racists in our society, we know that they hide in plain sight masked by smiles and platitudes. Dealing with those people can come later, but right now, they’re not the highest priority or deserve excess time and attention.
To those people, we know who you are and we see you. But you’re not important right now, you’re time will come.
Karen’s & Kevin’s
Instagram accounts have gone wild about the Karen’s and Kevin’s in our society. This is in no small part to Amy Cooper and her Oscar-worthy performance in “When Afro American Bird Watchers”. An epic depiction of prime “Karen” behaviour, feigned terror, and the gross mistreatment of an innocent animal.
In the words of DJ Khaled; “Congratulations, you played yourself”.
Amy’s actions needed to be dealt with and so do the actions of the disgusting attitudes and behaviours of those who take pictures and do videos kneeling on a friend’s neck and have the audacity to laugh, distribute and call it a “challenge” online. This disgraceful disrespect cannot be ignored, this comes under the need to get justice for George Floyd.
I’m actually on the fence about the people who are ripping down posters or attacking “children” who are carrying posters and banners that say Black Lives Matter and Justice For George Floyd as a matter of outrage urgency, and social justice.
These people have an issue that they are not readily capable of discussing so no time or energy should be wasted on them, but assaulting children is unacceptable, especially children who are not your own, this is punishable by law I’m sure. I’d rather not write about my initial instinct to any man or woman who strikes my child. Even their mother knows not to hit them, no matter what they may have done wrong.
What isn’t overly important are the sad, ignorant fools who create a scene in the supermarkets, local parks where Puerto Rican’s are speaking Spanish to each other and even the idiotic tweets from past “celebrities” like Dane Bowers asking what is all the fuss about. Ignorance and racial profiling from the public is still another fight for another day.
Black on Black Murder
“I’ll care about Black lives when they stop killing each other”. Those were the words of Hayley Clark’s mother during a heated debate where Hayley called out her parents for their racist views and prejudice towards black people. I’m not going to go into the other things that were said by her father but that young girl is my new hero.
I encourage my children to challenge the view of adults (including myself and their mother) if they feel that an adult holds views that they disagree with and not to accept anything and everything that people say.
Black people killing other black is a societal issue, the same way white people killing other white people is an issue and the same with the Italians, Latinos, Koreans, people in the Middle East. Everywhere on earth, murder and murdering your brethren is an issue. You will not see anywhere else on earth these crimes described as white on white or any other race in the same way though, we are aware of this use of language and keep this in mind. The fact the term black on black is even a thing is a systemic racial construct within itself and it’s a small part of the larger fight.
The use of these violence statistics as a justification tool in arguments against supporting #BLM is further ignorance that needs to be met with a temporary air of derision. The media outlets, police, Karen’s, and governments can keep their statistics. Surface level statistics hide the underlying issue in the same way an overweight person with ill health will say that eating pizza and drinking beer is the reason for their weight.
That may be the appearance on the surface but the real issue is deeper than that and it’s always uncomfortable to dig deep and uncover the real and hidden reasons for the state they are in. The same applies to this violence, the stats can highlight whatever you want people to hear and pay attention too. Looking beneath the surface to uncover the truth you will learn about Red Lining, Implicit Bias, Banks Lending Practices and Policies, etc..
Those issues are of importance for the black community to overcome by building itself and our economy with trust and unity. The gaslighting and stats aren’t enough to get mad about and argue about online. If you can see what’s going on, I’d encourage you to address the key issues first and foremost.
Stay Focused On The Vision
Martin Luther King had a dream and Malcolm X had a philosophy of “By Any Means Necessary” and many of his quotes are what I believe to be in line with my mindset.
Protest and demand justice for George Floyd. Protest and demand for systemic racism to be brought to an end but remember these words.
Nobody can give you freedom. Nobody can give you equality or justice or anything. If you’re a man, you take it. — Malcolm X
I’ve always said that we cannot keep asking to be treated fairly, the world isn’t fair and you don’t get anything for free. It will take community, trust, and love to build for ourselves to be in a position to protect ourselves and our fellow man.
Education is key and there is no point asking a white person to educate themselves unless black people are educated too.
Malcolm also said:
Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today.
Two things to take away from those quotes is this: It will require Education and Action to make a positive change for the black community, in the US, the UK, in Africa and anywhere else in the world where black people reside in a predominantly white country.
Yes, they may tell us to go back to where we come from but many of us no longer know where that even is anymore. Our future is ours no matter where we live. We cannot be in the same place in 50 years from where we are today, it cannot be allowed to happen.
Don’t lose focus on the vision, avoid being pulled by shiny objects and manifestations of deception dressed up as news and current events.
We are on a mission and that mission continues
