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Ask HN: How one can disagree with BLM organisation?

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Re: Ask HN: How one can disagree with BLM organisation?

#3
post #2

Controversial opinion here: you can't. If you do, you'll just lose. The movement is based on being offended, on feelings and identity politics, not reason. I event doubt to write this because I'll probably be called names instead of being reasoned with.

But it is unacceptable. I don't accept "you can't" as an answer, it is too important.

Reading through https://blacklivesmatter.com/ pages, I am truly shocked. I don't think any of my colleagues who support this organisation agree even with a quater of BLM stances. How did this happen?

The name they chose is so strategically well chosen, but it can't be bullet proof, what can we do?

Re: Ask HN: How one can disagree with BLM organisation?

#4
Why not just go with the flow? Who knows, maybe you might enjoy a racialist society where everything is decided on the whim of the trending minority group. I'm not white, so it's kind of funny seeing white people kiss or clean the feet of black people because they're guilty of another person's injustice done onto someone else other than the ones having their feet worshipped.

Re: Ask HN: How one can disagree with BLM organisation?

#5
post #2

Controversial opinion here: you can't. If you do, you'll just lose. The movement is based on being offended, on feelings and identity politics, not reason. I event doubt to write this because I'll probably be called names instead of being reasoned with.

Can you give us some concrete examples of this movement being based on “being offended, on feelings and identity politics?” What about this movement, specifically, seems wrong to you?

Throwing negative labels like “identity politics“ around kind of denies that the whole problem is that we as a nation are treating one set of people unfairly because of their identity. So yes, it’s “identity politics.”

I hope I come across as reasoning. I’m not going to throw names your way. As respectfully as I can be toward you and your ideas, I am not seeing a lot of substance to your argument. The argument seems “controversial opinion here, I don’t like this, and I won’t explain why.”

Re: Ask HN: How one can disagree with BLM organisation?

#6
post #4

Why not just go with the flow? Who knows, maybe you might enjoy a racialist society where everything is decided on the whim of the trending minority group. I'm not white, so it's kind of funny seeing white people kiss or clean the feet of black people because they're guilty of another person's injustice done onto someone else other than the ones having their feet worshipped.

Because it's simply counterproductive and one can make a good case it's actually racist :|

Re: Ask HN: How one can disagree with BLM organisation?

#7
Why do you need to disagree with BLM? The defunding the police stuff is impossible and stupid (though reform is necessary ASAP) but it’s clear to me, as a white guy, that 1. Black lives are worth protecting and 2. My life as a white guy will be better if black people were treated with dignity and respect at an institutional level. 3. BLM is the movement going forward from here so why not support it?

If you think that your life will be worse if the demands or whatever of BLM are met then you really need to be honest with yourself and others about who you are.

Re: Ask HN: How one can disagree with BLM organisation?

#8

Why do you need to disagree with BLM? The defunding the police stuff is impossible and stupid (though reform is necessary ASAP) but it’s clear to me, as a white guy, that 1. Black lives are worth protecting and 2. My life as a white guy will be better if black people were treated with dignity and respect at an institutional level. 3. BLM is the movement going forward from here so why not support it? If you think that…

> The defunding the police stuff is impossible and stupid

> If you think that your life will be worse if the demands or whatever of BLM are met then you really need to be honest with yourself and others about who you are.

I mean, I'm anxious about all _impossible_ things making incursions on to this reality, but boy, you seem very favorable towards ideas you describe as stupid (I'm less convinced defunding is stupid, but abolishing police, that's not for me).

Re: Ask HN: How one can disagree with BLM organisation?

#9
Why are you looking to “overcome” an organization you don’t agree with?

I can’t stop the Federalist Society from existing just because I disagree with their views.

From what I can tell, BLM is doing nothing illegal: it’s not encouraging or hate or violence.

Personally, I don’t see anything extreme about the “what we believe” page. I would agree with most if not all of it. If you don’t like that, and if you don’t like that, legitimately, a lot of people actually do agree with those beliefs, there’s nothing you can do about it.

Pieces of advice from me:

1. If you are going to point out that the BLM organization is unfavorable to you, you should clearly separate the organization from the phrase. Black lives do indeed matter and many people who use the phrase aren’t necessarily part of the organization. I hope that idea is rather obvious. You can’t change the fact that this organization’s name and branding is extremely effective like that.

2. Have well-informed reasons on why the organization itself is problematic. This post in particular doesn’t have any information besides a link and a statement that you don’t like it. So what exactly has the organization done wrong in your view? Are they corrupt or shady in some way or do you just disagree with their ideals? If you are well reasoned and empathetic you won’t be accused of being racist. If you’re being contrarian just because something makes you uncomfortable that’s a sign that maybe your own argument is mostly based on bias.

3. Evaluate if it’s even worth your time and energy just to disagree with someone else. What does that get you? Meeting on common ground is how people communicate successfully, nobody got anywhere by telling the other person they’re wrong.

4. I would encourage you to re-evaluate what freedom and liberty mean to you if your aim is to defeat other people’s ideologies for the sake of dislike or disagreement alone. People have the right to believe in the ideology of the BLM organization.

Re: Ask HN: How one can disagree with BLM organisation?

#10
post #8

Why do you need to disagree with BLM? The defunding the police stuff is impossible and stupid (though reform is necessary ASAP) but it’s clear to me, as a white guy, that 1. Black lives are worth protecting and 2. My life as a white guy will be better if black people were treated with dignity and respect at an institutional level. 3. BLM is the movement going forward from here so why not support it? If you think that…

> The defunding the police stuff is impossible and stupid > If you think that your life will be worse if the demands or whatever of BLM are met then you really need to be honest with yourself and others about who you are. I mean, I'm anxious about all _impossible_ things making incursions on to this reality, but boy, you seem very favorable towards ideas you describe as stupid (I'm less convinced defunding is stupid,…

Defunding the police would create a power vacuum which could only be taken over by something worse. Yet the police are literally corrupt. Reform was already needed before the protests. Gradual, yes, but immediate action nonetheless. I’m not even American but it really seems like you guys are suffering under mismanagement. The police are a symptom of this. America needs to change.
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