The Corruption of Black Lives Matter
Black Lives Matter supporters need to be careful because America’s elite is turning their slogan into a meaningless catchphrase.
For instance, large corporations and institutions as diverse as Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) and the National Football League (NFL) are using the words Black Lives Matter (BLM). However, there is evidence neither business is changing policies or practices that hurt black people.
For example, Amazon retains commercial partnerships with law enforcement and practices union busting, The Guardian alleges. Yet Amazon posts the words “Black Lives Matter” on its website and CEO Jeff Bezos defends the statement.
NFL Hypocrisy
Hypocritically, the NFL could turn its games into a BLM pep rally.
In fact, the NFL plans to perform the African-American anthem Lift Ev’ry Voice And Sing before The Star-Spangled Banner, ESPN claims. Conversely, there is no evidence the NFL plans to add black-owned teams or lower ticket prices so ordinary black people can attend its games.
Instead, I think the NFL hopes to avoid protests that disrupt its games with symbolic gestures. The NFL’s actual goal is to keep the players playing, the games going, and advertising revenues rolling in not to protect Black Lives.
If the NFL cared about Black Lives, it could take greater steps to protect its African-American players from PTSD. Instead, the NFL wants to convince younger Americans that it is “woke” to protect its business.
Black Lives Matter becomes Support Our Troops
The American Conservative’s Rod Dreher correctly observes that “Black Lives Matter” has become the new “Support Our Troops.”
The Peace Movement began using “Support Our Troops” during the Afghan and Iraq wars of the 2000s. Support Our Troops was an effort to distance the peace movement from the vicious antiwar movement of the 1960s. The 1960s antiwar movement drove ordinary people away by demonizing the military.
The peace movement was hoping to win popular support by emphasizing its sympathy for the troops. However, neoconservatives, imperialists, and other warmongers hijacked the slogan Support Our Troops.
By 2010, Support Our Troops became a code phrase for Support the War. The warmongers; however, did not not care about the troops. Remember, the imperialists had no qualms about shipping the troops off to die or get injured on the battlefield.
Instead, the neocons were trying to suppress opposition to their imperialism by promoting knee-jerk patriotism. The hope was to silence critics, not support the troops.
To elaborate if necons chant support the war, they have to explain why you need to support the war. On the other hand, “support the troops” requires no explanation. Moreover, warmongers can denounce any critic as somebody who hates the troops.
The Corruption of Black Lives Matter
Likewise, corporations and the NFL hope to silence critics by chanting “Black Lives Matter.”
For instance, Amazon can brand anybody who criticizes its operations a racist. Likewise, the NFL can now attack anybody who complains about PTSD, or high ticket prices as a racist.
Thus, I predict we will soon see union activists, cultural conservatives, environmentalists, and other critics branded racists by the corporate elite. The corporate elite and their hirelings will call both progressives and conservatives racists.
In fact, “moderate” Democrats were calling U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) as early as 2016. The hope was to discredit Sanders, a corporate critic, and his followers as racists.
Corporations will Use Black Lives Matter as a Weapon Against Progressives
Today, the corporations will use Black Lives Matter to discredit, destroy, and marginalize progressives and traditionalists. Corporate apologists will call union leaders, labor activists, environmentalists, cultural conservative, and other critics racist.
Moreover, I predict we will see a group of self-proclaimed BLM activists who will attack any politician or activist as racist for a price. The fake BLM activists will do nothing for black people, but they will make enormous amounts of money by doing the corporations’ bidding.
Black Lives Matter supporters need to beware because corporations are trying to corrupt and take over their movement. The BLM supporters need to act now if they do not want their cause to become a meaningless catchphrase.