Im putting my two cents in the #blacklivesmatter movement in light of the recent demonstration at the mall of america. Its not often that I do this kind of thing publicly, but Im bothered by the amount of ignorant and uninformed comments Ive been seeing. The argument that these demonstrators broke the law is a moot point. Yes, they knowingly broke the law and risked being arrested, but that does not change the impact and importance of the demonstration and movement as a whole. Lets not forget historical figures of social change that knowingly broke the law. Rosa Parks is regarded as a hero precisely because she BROKE THE LAW. The list goes on, and I neednt elaborate. Too often laws are regarded as absolute. Breaking the law to force social change represents a higher stage of moral development (see Kohlberg) than simply abiding laws because theyre laws. Yesterday we saw a community faced with a problem so great that they felt the need to illegaly gather in a highly populated area and make their voices heard. Yes, they could gather in the parking lot, yes they couldve gone elsewhere, but I venture to say that the parking lot would not have gotten nearly as much coverage and been nearly as effective as the rotundra of the mall. The problem is the profiling by and overreach of police forces. Many like to bring up the point that more are killed because of x, y and z, but that clouds the issue. That point only tries to divert attention away from the issue at hand, and yes, it is an issue. Its an issue when someone is choked to death for illegally selling cigarettes. Its an issue when someone has their teeth bashed in by a flashlight for being accused of pulling handles in a club parking lot. Most of all, its an issue when police lack accountability for these actions. Cold assassinations of officers is not the answer. Im not saying all cops are pigs, but we need to be aware of the uniform effect, and how being in a uniform and position of authority can lead a person to excessive violence. There needs to be more police accountability for these actions. Im not saying I have the answers, Im just attempting to persuade those that arent sold on the legitimacy and importance of the movement and open some dialogue. Please, feel free to chime in if you disagree, like or share if you agree.
Posted on: Sun, 21 Dec 2014 18:41:29 +0000
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