BLM Poisons A Young Athlete's Mind

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I tend to avoid arguments about psychological costs and benefits. BLM has been a disaster for the USA mainly because it's a terrible organization with terrible goals and it's been wildly successful. It's central claim is, roughly, that racist cops are committing mass murder against black Americans--basically mowing them down in the streets. This claim is wildly, ridiculously, absurdly false. It's provably false. It's proven false. This seems to have done nothing at all to slow the momentum of BLM. The contemporary progressive left is a rolling train wreck of insanity. In terms of rational criticism, it's such a target-rich environment that it can overwhelm our argumentative defenses. But, were I asked to pick out a few instructive cases to represent the overall tendency of progressivism, this is one I'd pick out: a view built on an empirical claim that was easily refuted, but such that the refutation has had pretty much exactly no effect at all on its political and rhetorical success.

   Now all that leaves out some practical consequences--which I tend not to focus on. First, BLM has advanced the long-standing leftist project of de-policing, decarceration, and, basically, the normalization of criminality. This has led to skyrocketing violent crime rates, including murder rates. And, if you care about such things: mostly affecting blacks. Black lives do not matter to Black Lives Matter. This couldn't be clearer.

   Furthermore: BLM falsely aims to convince black Americans that their country hates them--and is killing them because of it. And it's mainly their white fellow citizens. The point is to increase conflict, create crisis, benefit activists groups like BLM by increasing their power, status, and fundraising ability, and bring about progressive cultural change. The cost--instilling hurtful/harmful false beliefs in black Americans--they judge to be acceptable. Which is despicable.