Posted on 10/15/2016 10:42:07 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Black Lives Matter isn’t anti-police.
Blue Lives Matter, a group of active and retired law enforcement officials, issued a statement on Monday demanding all Americans boycott Ben & Jerry’s after the ice cream maker announced its public support of Black Lives Matter last week.
“Ben & Jerry’s went beyond making a statement in support of civil rights when they actively accused law enforcement of widespread racism,” Blue Lives Matter wrote. “By spreading these false and misleading statements, Ben & Jerry’s lends an appearance of legitimacy to the baseless claims that police officers are killing men based on the color of their skin. This message has inspired the assassination and attempted assassination of police officers, and it costs officers their lives.”
In its announcement in support of Black Lives Matter, Ben & Jerry’s provided a seven-point list on how systemic racism is real, from housing segregation and the racial wealth gap to the criminal justice system. It said the announcement was inspired by the footage of police killings of African Americans, most recently in Charlotte, North Carolina. While the creators said they “respect and value the commitment to our communities that those in law enforcement make” and “do not place the blame for this on individual officers,” they note that the criminal justice system isn’t fair to all.
Meanwhile, threats of a Blue Lives Matter–led boycott perpetuates the idea that critiquing police brutality is anti-police, and that the movement for black lives is to blame for attacks on police.
Black Lives Matter does not revolve around police officers
One of the most common critiques of the movement for black lives is that it is “anti-cop” — even though the movement was never defined in opposition to police.
It’s true that Black Lives Matter became a national rallying cry following the extrajudicial killing of 18-year-old Mike Brown by former Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson in August 2014. It’s also true that a parallel Blue Lives Matter movement was sparked at the same time by critics who felt that the focus on disproportionate police brutality against black people denied that "blue lives," or police lives, matter too.
But the movement actually began a year earlier, on July 13, 2013, when George Zimmerman was acquitted of all charges for killing 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in Florida in 2012. Activist Alicia Garza mourned with a simple Facebook post at 7:14 pm: #BlackLivesMatter. She would go on to be one of the co-founders of the Black Lives Matter organization.
The term Black Lives Matter was in response to a moment in which not even the criminal justice system seemed to value a black child’s life. Yet the movement and phrase were created to address the broader spectrum of issues that systemically fail to affirm black people’s lives and dignity in society. Brown’s death, and the momentum generated around it, highlighted that police brutality is an aspect that can’t be ignored.
The movement for black lives wants law enforcement held accountable for killing people
Though some label them “anti-cop,” most activists in the movement for black lives are demanding one thing from police officers: accountability.
Law enforcement is tasked with serving and protecting communities equally. Like activists in the movement for black lives, Ben & Jerry’s noted that the extrajudicial killings of black people shows how many black communities are simultaneously underpoliced and overpoliced.
“We respect and value the commitment to our communities that those in law enforcement make, and we respect the value of every one of their lives,” Ben & Jerry’s wrote. “But we do believe that — whether Black, brown, white, or blue — our nation and our very way of life is dependent on the principle of all people being served equal justice under the law. And it’s clear, the effects of the criminal justice system are not color blind.”
At least 2,195 people have been killed by police since Brown’s death two years ago. A disproportionately high percentage of those killed were black — and some were doing absolutely nothing wrong. Despite the high frequency with which officer-involved killings take place, police are rarely indicted for killing civilians, even as more video evidence of those killings becomes available.
And while Blue Lives Matter may be alluding to high-profile shootings of police officers in Dallas and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, at the tail end of a protest against a string of extrajudicial police killings of black people, these kinds of shootings are rare. The respective shooters acted alone. And leaders in the movement for black lives condemned the shootings explicitly as counter to the goals of the movement.
Indeed, law enforcement and activists in the movement for black lives agree that it is wrong to kill police officers. By contrast, police officers spend more time closing ranks when extrajudicial shootings of African Americans take place than condemning them and the officers responsible accordingly.
“All lives do matter,” Ben & Jerry’s wrote. “But all lives will not matter until Black lives matter.”
Black Lives Matter isn’t anti-police.Oh, absolutely not. One can never say anything like that about chants like “What do we want?—dead cops; when do we want it—now” or “Pigs in a blanket; fry ’em like bacon” or whatever other friendly chants the media may have missed.
I already see a little container of poison whenever I spot Ben & Jerry’s.
I never buy the stuff.
Some years ago I listened to an interview with B&J on a Seattle radio station. They were complaining about the Cuban embargo because they wanted to by sugar from them. I swore it off then.
Half Baked
In order to boycott something, it means I must patronize them first. Since I’ve not bought any Ben & Jerry’s in many years, nor do I have plans in the future to change, this seems an exercise in futility, from my side at least.
However, since they are a subsidiary of Unilever, maybe I can find another product that I do use for boycotting.
Neither do I. Ben and Jerry owners have had liberal worldview for many years - so I just don’t buy their product. Wish millions more would do the same.
It seems everyone is miserable in VT.
“Black Lives Matter isn’t anti-police.”—first line of the article. These brain dead writers at Vox, or any website, always state their false premise and expect everyone to believe it. Reading is an art.
https://www.amazon.ca/How-Read-Slowly-Comprehension-Literary-ebook/dp/B004BLK7J8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1476597120&sr=8-1&keywords=james+sire%2C+how+to+read+slowly
One could argue that Ben & Jerry’s ice cream has killed many more people than the police. :o)
I’ve been boycotting their communist ice cream for ages.
I wish there was one nearby that I could boycott...
I’ve never purchased any of those two Commies’ crap and never will!
I’ve been boycotting them for 25 years. I tend to buy either Turkey Hill or Wawa ice cream.
Don’t frequent businesses that don’t support those who serve to protect us, would deny Americans their Second Amendment rights, won’t support or defend the Constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic, or support policies that undermine the strength of the nation and our freedoms and the domestic tranquility.
“Hippies smoke pot and they smell bad” E. Cartman
They’ve disappointed me with their communist/liberal ideology years ago. Haven’t missed the stuff. Good for Blue Lives Matter and all our good police officers.
Unilever brands:
Axe
Ben & Jerry’s
Breyers
Caress
Clear
Country Crock
Degree
Dove
Fruttare
Good Humor
Hellmann’s
I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter
Klondike
Knorr
Lever 2000
Lipton
Magnum
Nexxus
Noxzema
PG Tips
Pond’s
Popsicle
Promise
Q-Tips
Simple
St.Ives
Suave
TIGI
TRESemmé
Talenti
Vaseline
I watched them make Ben & Jerry’s on “How It’s Made”.
Oh, hell no.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.