Inherent in the Black Lives Matter movement is the vilification of law enforcement, of the police, which they claim are the oppressors, and who, in their opinion, spend their time oppressing the black people. They single them out. They pick on them. There is systemic racism by the police towards black people – at least that’s the mindset of BLM’s proponents.
To many of us, this thinking is incorrect and presents a problem. To many of us, the division between the police, who in BLM’s mind are the oppressors, and the black community, who are the oppressed, is a grossly incorrect way of dividing things. To many of us, the oppressors and the oppressed, in this situation, is much different. To us, the division between oppressors and oppressed goes something like this:
The oppressors – those in the black community who are violently-minded and criminally-minded, and who aggressively attack the peaceful, contributing members of the black community.
The oppressed – these are the peaceful, contributing members of the black community who, like you and me, are just trying to live out their lives peacefully and safely. These are people that get up in the morning, work at their jobs like you and me, come home after a long day at work, hang out with family and friends, try to manage their finances properly, and want to be rewarded by their own hard work and financial discipline with their own prosperity.
From this standpoint, the oppressed are the peaceful members of the black community that are busy living out their lives, and not trying to cause trouble and mischief, when their oppressors, the violently-minded and criminally-minded members of their community come along and cause harm to them.
What happens to the oppressed? Maybe they got robbed at gunpoint. Maybe they were hit by a stray bullet and got killed. Maybe their child was asleep in bed when a stray bullet flew out of nowhere and sucked the life out of that poor child. Maybe they ran a local business, and some thieves came in, robbed the cash register and then shot and killed the cashier. There are so many different ways that we can say is proof that the oppressed are victims of their oppressors.
Now, this begs a question:
From this vantage point, if we want to stand in solidarity with the oppressed, and fight against the oppressors, how do we do that? How do we stop the oppressors from oppressing the oppressed?
From this vantage point, there is one group of people that put themselves in harm’s way, at great risk to their own lives and safety, to try to stop the oppressors from oppressing. By doing so, the oppressors end up oppressing less. The oppressed become less oppressed – they end up getting more of their safety and freedom back that was lost due to having to keep an eye out and protect themselves from their oppressors. The oppressed become victims of their oppressors less and less. The oppressed, in this case, no longer have to live in abject fear.
Who is this group of people who put themselves in harm’s way, at great risk to their own lives and safety? Who are these selfless individuals who try to stop the oppressors so that the rest of the black community, the oppressed, can get on with our lives and not live in fear of these oppressors? They are our law enforcement, our police. They are the ones that stop the bad guys, the oppressors.
When you vilify law enforcement, when you put “ACAB” – All Cops Are Bad – on signs and in graffiti – on the walls of buildings, when you seek to “defund the police” like they’re trying to do in Minneapolis and other cities, what you’re really doing is attacking the very people who are trying to stand up to those oppressors, and reduce the amount of oppression that happens to the oppressed. What you’re really doing is standing in solidarity with the oppressors in this situation – you’re saying “Hey there oppressors! We’re going to take away your barriers to oppressing so that you can oppress the black people as much as you want! Have at it!“
Because you’re going this route, and standing in solidarity with the wrong side, the oppressors, violent crimes skyrocket, homicide rates skyrocket, and theft skyrockets in the black community – and this is just the tip of the iceberg. You’re allowing the oppressors to have a field day – no holds barred – and victimize the oppressed, the black people, at an unprecedented level.
In other words, who you believe to be the oppressors is all wrong. It’s not law enforcement. It’s not the police. It’s the bad guys in the black community who wreak havoc on everyone else, the peaceful members of their community who become victimized in ever-greater numbers because of your anti-police rhetoric and mentality. You think that by vilifying law enforcement that you’re standing in solidarity with the oppressed when in reality, you’re doing precisely the opposite. What you’re really doing, is standing in solidarity with the oppressors. By doing so, you’re really hurting the black community. You’re not actually helping the black community.
It is my belief that you are incorrect on who the real oppressors are. You have it all wrong. You’re actually perpetrating racism on the black community by being anti-police. Please make sure you know who the real oppressors are; if you don’t, you may very well be standing with the oppressors, and I don’t think you want that.
Now it’s time to move on to our next question concerning Critical Theory:
What If the Oppressed and the Oppressors are the Same People?
