by Barry Berman
Don’t be fooled. This is code.
Once again, the world is divided into two sides.
Side A: There are those who believe that people of color have been cruelly, criminally, and systemically held down for centuries. These protests, to them, are triggered by a boiling point, horrifically represented by a tortuous murder captured on video. The protests are not only a statement of frustration, anger and a call to action, but they are rooted in a belief that with enough traffic-stopping attention, they could jump-start action that will change the status quo and maybe accelerate the long arc to justice.
If a minority of looters act up — and they are a minority — that’s bad and shouldn’t be condoned, but it could be understood. It is not the moral equivalent of the murder of black men and women and injustices going back many generations. The protests can have the impact of righting historic and systemic wrongs. However, protests are messy and there are no membership requirements. Some participants are simply looters and not protestors, and some are conspiratorially trying to delegitimize the cause. The protesters focus is on critical change, stopping bloodshed and correcting extreme past injustices that go back to slavery. They don’t get into the argument over whether bad cops are the minority or majority, but they know that the system and practice of policing must change.
It’s the greater good.
Side B: But wait. These protests are all well-and-good but many, if not most, of these folks are up to no good and are in it to cause mischief, steal stuff, burn other people’s property and manipulate the naïve protestors. That’s a crime that needs to be punished. No excuses. These protestors, and rioters (often used synonymously) are troublemakers and need to be stopped by whatever means necessary. It doesn’t matter if there are a lot or few people engaged in illegal activity.
Some on Side B may acknowledge that the killing of George Floyd is bad BUT looting, rioting and disturbing order are a lot worse and must be stopped at all costs. Most cops are good. They are needed to keep peace and we can’t live in a society where people break laws no matter what color. Though they acknowledge there are a few bad cops. They believe that their “white lives matter” as much and resent the exclusiveness of Black Lives Matter, and say so.
It’s the greater good.
I clearly and unabashedly side with Side A, the protesters. I believe Side B is bigoted or worse. Some know it, some don’t. I struggle to understand and articulate the other side to engage in a dialogue, but it may be fruitless. I believe only a few on the B side can be moved as the captain of the slave ship who turned the boat around and wrote “Amazing Grace” was.
When I posted a blog about the promise of Millennials and Gen Z, I was shocked by the vitriol that I encountered on social media. Here’s a sampling:
· Protest is fine. However any burners, looters, and people assaulting the police and others should be shot on sight.
· Change the world? How ‘progressive’ sounding BS.
· My sons and daughters aren’t animals burning, looting, and assaulting people at will in the streets. I don’t care if they are Antifa, BLM, or just common criminals (the category of most of the rioters). You loot we shoot.
· Peaceful protesters Yes. Looters and rioters No!
· White Lives Matter
Let’s just put the phrase “All Lives Matter” to bed once and for all. This is without a doubt racist. Any argument to the contrary is false and deceiving. Giving a tiny bit of a concession to a small subset of people who use that expression, they may have subconscious bias. But, it is bias, nonetheless.
Black Live Matter is an acknowledgment of centuries of inhumane torture, killing, lynching, subjugation, marginalization, persecution, meanness, hate, suppression. I could go on and on.
The police killings and the disproportionate deaths of the black population are results of the history of this long trail of mistreatment of our fellow citizens.
Saying, All Lives Matter, negates all that and attempts to minimalize the historic and intentional impact of abuse and subjugation. Certainly, life is precious, but using All Lives Matter as a counter to Black Lives Matter, creating a fictitious counter narrative, is an affront, dismissive of a horrid history and flat out racist. White lives have always mattered. Life is always on the line if you are black.
So what does all this have to do with Love in the Time of Corona, the original purpose of this blog?
Everything.
Black Americans are dying at a rate 250% higher than white Americans. There is no genetic linkage. It once again is systemic and goes back to the founding of America.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases since 1984, stated, “Health disparities have always existed for the African American community… [coronavirus is] shining a bright light on how unacceptable that is because, yet again, when you have a situation like the coronavirus, they are suffering disproportionately. We will get over coronavirus, but there will still be health disparities which we really do need to address in the African American community.”
The Brookings Institute published Why are Blacks Dying at Higher Rates From Covid-19. I urge you to read it. Here’s a snippet from the piece:
Blacks, relative to Whites, are more likely to live in neighborhoods with a lack of healthy food options, green spaces, recreational facilities, lighting, and safety. These subpar neighborhoods are rooted in the historical legacy of redlining. Additionally, Blacks are more likely to live in densely populated areas, further heightening their potential contact with other people. They represent about one-quarter of all public transit users. Blacks are also less likely to have equitable healthcare access — meaning hospitals are farther away and pharmacies are subpar, leading to more days waiting for urgent prescriptions.
In the last post, I wrote about Millennials and Gen Z being the force behind the protests. There is a palpable, poignant (and scary) case to be made that because they are risking their lives for the greater good, the world is noticing and dynamic change will occur. A historic shift may be in the offing. Even NASCAR and the NFL are getting behind the movement. Who wudda thunk?
An additional reason is that as a result of Covid 19 people are out of work and have the time to be on the streets fighting for a cause. The sheer scale — numbers of people and the frequency of protests — multiplies the effectiveness.
My posts are meeting some resistance from social media sites — particularly on Facebook groups. They don’t want “politics” to invade that space, understandable in normal times. I will write about that tomorrow. But I believe that what is happening now is not politics and affects every aspect of life. It has the potential for positive and revolutionary change. That discussion and energy needs to be as ubiquitous as possible. And no one is being forced to read it. In my view…
It’s the greater good.
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What’s Going On by Marvin Gaye
Barry Berman was founder of CRN International and Connecticut Radio Network. He is an entrepreneur, writer and broadcaster and is starting, Sounds Great! Media a boutique digital audio (podcasting) agency and consultancy with an emphasis on health and wellness. This is republished from his blog on Medium.