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BLM started as a response to police brutality driven by an institution that is quite literally the furthest you could get from progressive ideals. In the last h

BLM started as a response to police brutality driven by an institution that is quite literally the furthest you could get from progressive ideals. In the last hundred years, these police departments: violently broke up strikes at the behest of corporations, tried to put down the Civil Rights movement, and have been by far the biggest proponent of the destructive war on drugs. Institutions that to this day have nearly impenetrable qualified immunity - a level of power no one else has. #MeToo started as a response to a flood of accusations against Harvey Weinstein, quite literally one of the most powerful and influential people in Hollywood at the time. It was followed up by a flood of accusations against Les Moonves, CEO of CBS, one of the most powerful and influential people in television broadcasting at the time. These men were at the top for decades Your analysis makes no logical sense. The nature of these institutions hasn't changed, some figureheads were sacrificed and shuffled around (literally, in the case of police departments).

Joker_vD 6y ago
Interesting that BLM seems believe that the largest cause of violent deaths of black persons is police brutality, not the gang violence. Or does the US police actually manage to kill more African-Americans than the ghetto gangs? That'd actually be impressive.
- akiselev 6y ago
  It's interesting that you believe that they believe that. I was not aware that an organization like BLM proper or a "social movement" like BLM in general could have a unified set of beliefs. It's a physical impossibility. What's the difference between a gang and a "ghetto gang"?
- pjc50 6y ago
  The difference is that murders by gangs are prosecuted, whereas murders by police tend not to be.
  - throwaway201103 6y ago
    Gang violence is prosecuted, if the perpetrator can be identified. Gangs and people in gang-plagued neighborhoods are very reticent to name names, in fear of retaliation. Every police shooting is investigated. They are often found to be justified, sometimes not. There's room for argument about the impartiality of these investigations, especially historically. The fact remains that dozens of blacks are murdered every week in the USA, while black deaths in the hands of the police are comparatively very rare. I completely agree that police should be held to a higher standard. But I don't understand the complete silence and active suppression of debate over the bigger problem.
    - c22 6y ago
      I haven't heard anyone claiming that "gangs are good" or suppressing debate about the pros and cons of gang violence. In fact, I've heard and seen a lot of good work by many parties concerned about the negative influence of gang activity in the US. However, such discussions are definitely a red herring when advanced in the context of police violence--an entirely different and largely unrelated problem. Heart disease is the leading cause of death among African Americans in the US and I hope someone's working on that, but if you argue that racially-skewed police killings aren't a problem because of heart disease then it's entirely expected and reasonable to be met with complete silence or active suppression.
    - dTal 6y ago
      1) Saying that police don't kill blacks as often as blacks kill each other misleadingly overlooks the frequency of interactions, and sheer outnumbering of police by regular folk. 2) Police are in a profound position of power and responsibility which makes crime committed by them a much more serious problem. By analogy - if children are having punch-ups in the schoolyard, that's a problem. If the principal stops by occasionally and swings a punch or two, that's a real problem, and probably the one that should be fixed first.
    - jjk166 6y ago
      What bigger problem exactly are you referring to? Systemic problems with various police institutions like poor training, overly powerful public unions, and minimal oversight have nothing to do with gang violence.
- klyrs 6y ago
  The difference between lateral violence and state violence is that one is a result of generations of oppression, and the other is oppression by the state

Joker_vD 6y ago

Interesting that BLM seems believe that the largest cause of violent deaths of black persons is police brutality, not the gang violence. Or does the US police actually manage to kill more African-Americans than the ghetto gangs? That'd actually be impressive.

akiselev 6y ago
It's interesting that you believe that they believe that. I was not aware that an organization like BLM proper or a "social movement" like BLM in general could have a unified set of beliefs. It's a physical impossibility. What's the difference between a gang and a "ghetto gang"?
pjc50 6y ago
The difference is that murders by gangs are prosecuted, whereas murders by police tend not to be.
- throwaway201103 6y ago
  Gang violence is prosecuted, if the perpetrator can be identified. Gangs and people in gang-plagued neighborhoods are very reticent to name names, in fear of retaliation. Every police shooting is investigated. They are often found to be justified, sometimes not. There's room for argument about the impartiality of these investigations, especially historically. The fact remains that dozens of blacks are murdered every week in the USA, while black deaths in the hands of the police are comparatively very rare. I completely agree that police should be held to a higher standard. But I don't understand the complete silence and active suppression of debate over the bigger problem.
  - c22 6y ago
    I haven't heard anyone claiming that "gangs are good" or suppressing debate about the pros and cons of gang violence. In fact, I've heard and seen a lot of good work by many parties concerned about the negative influence of gang activity in the US. However, such discussions are definitely a red herring when advanced in the context of police violence--an entirely different and largely unrelated problem. Heart disease is the leading cause of death among African Americans in the US and I hope someone's working on that, but if you argue that racially-skewed police killings aren't a problem because of heart disease then it's entirely expected and reasonable to be met with complete silence or active suppression.
  - dTal 6y ago
    1) Saying that police don't kill blacks as often as blacks kill each other misleadingly overlooks the frequency of interactions, and sheer outnumbering of police by regular folk. 2) Police are in a profound position of power and responsibility which makes crime committed by them a much more serious problem. By analogy - if children are having punch-ups in the schoolyard, that's a problem. If the principal stops by occasionally and swings a punch or two, that's a real problem, and probably the one that should be fixed first.
  - jjk166 6y ago
    What bigger problem exactly are you referring to? Systemic problems with various police institutions like poor training, overly powerful public unions, and minimal oversight have nothing to do with gang violence.
klyrs 6y ago
The difference between lateral violence and state violence is that one is a result of generations of oppression, and the other is oppression by the state