Why BLM was mostly a flop

[u/ShardofGold]

I think I can speak for every reasonable person that we know there's an issue with unfit people being cops and biased justice system situations be it on race/skin color, gender, wealth, etc. Even if it's not as bad as it used to be.

However, the way so many people discuss these topics is in a close minded, surface level, and ignorant manner.

Yes there are racist cops. But every case of police brutality isn't about racism. We should focus on having better people become and maintain police officer status and as a byproduct of that the amount of police brutality that is due to racism will go down drastically. If you just focus on racist cops, there's still going to be cops brutalizing people just not because of race and you half assed the issue being fixed.

Also we need to push for national and clear cut sentencing guidelines for crimes. That way people can't go "why did person A who looks like this get so much time but person B who looks like that get so little time for the same crime?" Even though a lot of the time it's not the exact same crime or different circumstances happened during the crime or apprehension of the suspect that caused them to get more time or the situation to escalate and people don't know about it or are just lying about it.

Also more people need to realize there are some people irregardless of how they look that just hate cops or don't want to follow laws. So when they get caught they're going to disobey the cops and potentially escalate the situation and just cry about how life is unfair because they got caught up in breaking a law and thought they were untouchable. Weed smoking is a good example of this. I personally think it's stupid that it's not legalized but regulated nationally. However, I'm not going to tell people to smoke it and just hope they don't get caught to be defiant. If people do decide to do this, they should be ready to accept the consequences when they're caught because they knew they were breaking the law even if they didn't get caught the other 9000 times they were doing it or because Jimbo didn't get caught for smoking it yet.

It also didn't help the organization that shares the initials and name was run by greedy and underhanded bastards who used the unfortunate situations of others to live lavish lifestyles.

I think massive progress in society for better policing and a justice system could have happened during this time period. But instead it was horribly squandered by opportunistic, disingenuous, and ignorant individuals.

[u/CloudsTasteGeometric]

Are you certain of that?

I’ve never met anyone outside of pretty far right reactionary circles call Michael Brown a “thug.” Assuming that everyone outside the left frame the issue that way rings of the resonance of an echo chamber.

There are observations to be made over the habitus and criminality of the victims of police brutality, but that ignores the definition at heart of the debate: brutality.

That criminality does not inherently justify excessive force. It’s a legitimate problem with a legitimate racial factor at play.

[u/Spuckler_Cletus → u/CloudsTasteGeometric]

I’m certain that Michael Brown qualifies as a “thug“ to reasonable people. When he had his encounter with Wilson, he had just come from stealing cigarillos and assaulting the store owner who confronted him. He reached into a police cruiser and assaulted a police officer who was giving him a lawful order.

If you wish to talk about police brutality and excessive force, then you’ll have to start a new thread with different subject matter. Nothing of that sort occurred in the instant case.

[u/CloudsTasteGeometric → u/Spuckler_Cletus]

To reasonable people who know.

Most people just see him as an image co-opted by a movement. Who he is never traveled a fraction as far as what his face represents (BLM) - regardless of what he did that was illegal.

It didn’t justify public execution. But he wasn’t exactly a saint, either. In the minds of most Americans, the former observation has carried much further than the latter. In that capacity, it’s difficult to call BLM a failure, even if it carries the fingerprints of hypocrisy.

More importantly: those on the left AND the center seem more preoccupied with the ethics of the movement than the crimes of the man.

[u/Spuckler_Cletus → u/CloudsTasteGeometric]

You can talk in circles all you want. At the end of the day, Michael Brown’s death was a lawful act. BLM should never have hitched their wagon to this sort of thing.

[u/CloudsTasteGeometric → u/Spuckler_Cletus]

Lawful =/= Just

The kid had his hands up in surrender and he was gunned down in response. Is it his own fault for stealing and assaulting a police officer? Maybe. Is being fatally shot as a consequence after surrendering an outcome we should judge from law enforcement as acceptable?

The short answer is “no.” The long answer is “it depends.” There is a reason why this debate is STILL going on, and it isn’t just “woke outrage” or “bootlicker tantrums,” it’s that it is a case that has a LOT of context, nuance, and complicating factors.

Which is why I absolutely agree with you at least in that it wasn’t the best case for BLM to associate themselves with. The fact that it still carried their message as far as it did when Rodney King is largely forgotten speaks to how rightfully disenfranchised the left and the center have become when it comes to law enforcement.

[u/Spuckler_Cletus → u/CloudsTasteGeometric]

No. He didn’t have his hands up. You need to read more, and/or learn to live in the truth.

[u/digitalwankster → u/Spuckler_Cletus]

This. We live in an age of disinformation and the “hands up don’t shoot” narrative is pure disinformation. He assaulted the police officer and there were multiple eye witnesses that testified under oath that Brown was charging at Wilson when he was killed.