Something that came to my attention last summer, during the toxic 2020 Black Lives Matter riots. I was going to say ‘protests’… but let’s face it, they were a little more than that weren’t they?
Well either way, the thing that came to my attention… this is just plain awkward. Make of it what you will. In the video below, posted in 2016, BLM founders Opal Tometi and Patrisse Cullors publicly pay high respect to Assata Olugbala Shakur, stating that she is their ‘beloved’ and ‘inspiration’.
Oh and they refer to her as being number one on the FBI’s most wanted Terrorist list too (I almost forgot that part). I’m not sure if she’s number one… but she’s definitely been on there, i.e. as Joanne Deborah Chesimard.
Followed by a creepy/cringey/sinister chant which they often ‘reverberate’ when engaging in acts of disruption. Oooookaaaay. Well here’s the video:
Not that before I saw this that I was in any way ignorant to the truth that Black Lives Matter is (as both an organisation and a movement) deeply rooted in far-left ideology, Cultural Marxism and Critical Theory. In this truth, I was very well educated already.
But this little moment (which was by no means an isolated display) to me, really crystallised things and exposed the true nature of the beast. Similar to seeing Patrisse Cullors, in an unearthed 2015 video, boasting proudly that she and her fellow organisers are “trained Marxists”, this video shows that this movement really is much of what I and its critics have been saying.
This is not about name calling or mud slinging. There is no ‘spin’ here. There is no ‘spin’ needed here. It is what it is.
In many ways, this is part of why I so often will disagree with ‘de-platforming’ or ‘cancel culture’ as it is also known. When we give these people a platform to speak their truth, the court of public opinion stands a much greater chance of standing up against the sinister forces of darkness that would otherwise deceive them, when attempts are made to do so. So long as you allow their opponents the same freedom, the light of day can really do damage to these vampires.
We saw an example of this in 2009 when the BBC offered a platform to the almost equally odious Nick Griffin, leader of the far-right political party the British National Party (BNP), by allowing him to appear on their discussion show Newsnight, broadcast nationally. The British public got to watch the open discussion and were able to see what he was all about and what he represented. And in doing so they could make their own minds up. Not because the BBC did some exposé hit piece (though that might have been well deserved). No, just let the bastards talk and show their true colours.
Hear as much from/of Nick Griffin or the BNP as much these days, compared to the early 2000s?
Links below for further reference.
Opal Tometi is a Nigerian-American human rights activist, writer, strategist, and community organizer. She is a co-founder of Black Lives Matter. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opal_Tometi
Patrisse Cullors (born June 20, 1983) is an American artist and activist. Cullors is an advocate for prison abolition in Los Angeles and a co-founder of the Black Lives Matter movement. She also identifies as a queer activist.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrisse_Cullors
Assata Olugbala Shakur is a former member of the Black Liberation Army (BLA), who was convicted as accomplice of the first-degree murder of State Trooper Werner Foerster during a shootout on the New Jersey Turnpike in 1973.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assata_Shakur
Joseph