Beau of the Fifth Column has a bit of insight that might help clarify things for those who’re confused about why non-white Americans are upset about the status of policing in this country:
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Is he comparing BLM to police violence against Black people?
No. He’s comparing the social distance that certain white people feel from BLM to the social distance that many black people feel from most police.
It surprises me that people don’t know, because whenever I hear BLM, my mind autofills to Bureau of Land Management, which is the BLM he’s referring to here. But I guess if you’ve never done any camping out west, it’s natural to assume Black Lives Matter. 🙂
This equation may help some conservatives to see black people’s beef with law enforcement, but it’s sort of troubling to me since I’ve never seen the government’s BLM to necessarily be the bad guys. Bundy and his gang were criminals, not put-upon victims of government overreach.
Or if you don’t live in the U.S. and didn’t even know that there exists such a thing as the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.
Listening again, it’s clear you’re right that’s what he’s talking about.
I think the point is missed a bit here.
This is the start of a conversation not someone trying to end one or present their one true way to look at different events.
I hadn’t heard about the Bureau of Land Management or Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms being thugs myself but then I stopped and asked myself “Would I? Would I really hear about this? Where would I hear about it from? Who would I hear about it from that I’d believe over poorly done reporting that misses the point?” If I’m being honest I have to say: I wouldn’t hear about it.
In the same way, I never heard about people with darker skin being shot more often as I was growing up either. Hardly anyone I knew did, I grew up in a small town. It wasn’t until the videos of blatant police homicide started showing up on the nightly news that it began to come to my attention. Before then, statistics about the high rate of incarceration among african americans was as likely to be viewed as evidence of racism as it was to be viewed as a justification for racist views. Then people started talking about being bullied and being victims. And having been a victim myself in other ways it struck a chord and I listened. I heard.
That’s what this video is about. It’s getting to the point where you’ve heard each other. Because then you’re ready to take the next step together and that’s when you win.
I like this guy. It’s a really nifty presentation and description that might reach some people, and an interesting analysis of the problem and different people’s perspectives.
As soon as I saw the title, I immediately thought “he’ll probably cite FBI”, and then I put on my white rural crazy Republican hat, and before I opened the video, I knew “ATF”, aka alcohol, tobacco, and firearms. PS: BLM, bureau of land management, is also a good example for his target audience.