I’ll be honest, I don’t watch Don Lemon (not many people do) yet it is amazing how often he manages to get his name mentioned due to his actions and statement on a show that hardly anyone watches. His latest public battle came from his interview with Terry Crews on Monday.
(Video Link)
Actor Terry Crews addresses backlash over Black Lives Matter tweet
In this clip, Crews is asked to defend his previous statement on Twitter that “#Black Lives Matter needs to avoid becoming #Black Lives Better”. Crews’ main point seemed to be that as an organization BLM is attempting to place its agenda as unquestionable and then attacking anyone who does question any aspect of the stated agenda, something that in his opinion is counter-productive to positive progress. Forcing people to choose sides and hold the partisan line without question is a dangerous path to lay before the country. Don Lemon does not agree with this assessment and after listening to Lemons’ thoughts on the matter, its hard to actually discern what Lemon believes since he spends most of the time trying to catch Crews in “gotcha” statements and then shifts his arguments into contradiction when it suits the current narrative.
Yet the most notable statement was when Lemon argued that the “Black Lives Matter” movement is only about black people killed who are by the police. Any other black lives that are lost to violent events are not covered by the statement. Lemon pursues this theme, claiming that BLM only relates to the criminal justice system and the police. Gun violence and lawlessness in black communities should be dealt with in a separate movement, calling them “Apples and Oranges.”
If only it were that simple, because the issues are linked at their very core. The likelihood of black people encountering the police are drastically increased because of the commonness of criminal activity occurring in the black community. How can the claims that the police are the source of all the problems in the black community be taken seriously when so much pain is brought on by members of that community? The statistics are plentiful and easy to find that show that crime is worse in black neighborhoods. This then leads to more policing which leads to more confrontations with the police.
The police are not the source of the danger in these neighborhoods, the danger brings in the police which leads to more danger.
However, people like Lemon turn a blind eye to the collateral damage of these criminal elements, because it does not fit their preconceived notions of victimhood. When someone like Crews dares raise his head and make factual, common-sense statements, he must be shouted down. The basic concept of the Black Lives Matter movement holding corrupt, dangerous cops accountable is an admirable one, however that is not on the agenda.
Instead they focus on promoting a dangerously violent idea that all people who disagree with them are racist at best and slave-holding murderers at worst, while preaching to their followers that they are all helpless victims of an oppressive system from which only BLM can set them free.
That is not the mantra of a movement that is focused on inclusion and peaceful conclusion; if it was they would be open to listening to people like Terry Crews. It is instead a manifesto from an organization promoting radical revolution and demanding blind obedience.
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