Black Lives and the USA

BLACK LIVES MATTER-B.S.

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There is a popular joke that says, "Always be sincere, even if you don't mean it."

There is a popular persuasive technique known as "bandwagon."  Bandwagon is the theory that a communicator can convince people to accept a certain idea, not because one necessarily believes in that idea, but instead because it's a trendy or popular thing to think or do.

For example, with Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests occurring throughout the world, and with many athletes leading the charge against racial injustice, America is now looking back fondly on other athletes who conducted such protests in the past-like John Carlos and Tommie Smith, who protested during the playing of the national anthem at the 1968 Olympics; Muhammad Ali, the late heavyweight boxing champion, who protested the Vietnam War; and Colin Kaepernick, the NFL quarterback, who also protested during the national anthem by kneeling as it was playing.

Often forgotten in this "reverence" is that during their times, these athletes were some of the most hated men in America.  Smith and Carlos were expelled from the Olympic games and sportscaster Brent Musburger called them "Black-skinned stormtroopers"; Ali was stripped of his heavyweight title in 1967 and did not box again until 1970; and Kaepernick was "whitelisted" from the NFL, a ban that, as of this writing, is still in effect.

So, it is understandable when people, like me, are looking askance at many of the corporations and sports teams who are suddenly embracing the BLM cause.

And, when one looks at the antics of organizations like the National Football League (NFL), and its teams, it is clear this cynicism is not misguided.

For example, one of the NFL teams that expressed support for BLM has a nickname that is a racist term of opprobrium against Native Americans.  Its coach, Ron Rivera, has even stated he will support kneeling during the playing of the anthem.

But when Rivera was asked if he also supports calls to change the team's racist nickname, he replied that is "a discussion for another time."

Granted, it is correct, as some have argued, that Rivera is just the coach and couldn't change the nickname even if he expressed the desire to.  But what is lost in this defense is the devious "another time" argument, because it is almost always expressed with the goal of ensuring that this other "time" never arrives.

So, Americans are left with the hypocrisy of seeing sportscasters and commentators of all races-who would face ostracism, hatred, firings, and all forms of threats if they used a term that demeaned other racial minorities in the United States-nonchalantly use the nickname of this team as if they were talking about Sunday dinner.

While African Americans clearly have cause to protest the systemic racism that has plagued the United States since its inception, they do also have the numbers that can compel politicians and businesses to listen to them.  In addition, African Americans are a part of cities and communities throughout America, so injustices committed against them are often caught under the watchful eye of cellphone, traffic, or business cameras.

Native Americans

Native Americans, on the other hand, only make up roughly 2 percent of the population, and they are often isolated on desolate reservations and more removed from the watchful eye of cameras; therefore, it is little wonder that their requests for dignity and respect are incessantly greeted with deaf ears.

Fortunately, after I completed the first draft of this article, it was reported that, thanks to demands from advertisers, the federal government, and the NFL hierarchy, the team Rivera coaches is now "reviewing" and considering changing its racist nickname.

Still, when it comes to corporate America, one must wonder how long its "support" for BLM and Native-Americans will endure once the protests have faded.  Currently, for example, more than 500 companies are refusing to advertise on Facebook due to its publication of hate speech.  Yet, Facebook's Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg remains certain that, according to The Guardian, "these advertisers will be back on the platform soon enough."

And for those who want to chant "All Lives Matter," here's a bulletin for you: They don't.  At least not according to the autocratic government led by Donald Trump.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), for example, was created to protect America from acts of terrorism that invariably take human lives.  But now its mandate has been expanded.

Coronavirus

Logic would seem to dictate that the frightening spread of the Coronavirus-a spread exacerbated thanks to Trump's, and Trumpian governors', ineptness, ignorance, political motivations, and denials-would be fertile ground for the DHS expansion, given that this virus's ruinous impact on the economy, and the number of lives being lost, can have a devastating effect on national security.

And it was also recently revealed that Trump, who so opportunistically and repeatedly sought to condemn Kaepernick's protests as being "disrespectful to the military" (despite the fact that not one American soldier was killed because of these protests), actually ignored intelligence information alleging that "bounties" had been placed on the lives of American soldiers in Afghanistan.

In Trump's perverse worldview, it's not human life that matters under DHS's new mandate: It is stone and metal. 

You read that correctly.  The DHS's new "mission" is to protect monuments and statues honoring long dead racists, slaveholders, and those who committed genocide against Native Americans.

So when you are grieving the loss of a loved one due to the Coronavirus, or you read about an ambush on American soldiers in Afghanistan, you can at least take comfort in the fact that the statues and monuments of traitors who took up arms against the United States to defend the enslavement of human beings, and of those who raped, tortured, and murdered America's indigenous people, are safe and secure, thanks to the watchful eye of "Homeland Security."

David R. Hoffman, Legal Editor of Pravda.Report