Accepting BlackLivesMatter

I'm an old white guy that has seen the incredible progress made by minorities over the past 50 years. When I was 10 years old, segregation was firmly in place in the Johnson County "colored hollers", and minorities were not represented in the Shawnee Mission Public Schools district.  Now minorities live in virtually all neighborhoods and work at nearly every business.  It all culminated in the election of a black president in 2008, and his nomination of minorities to cabinet and justice positions.  Eight years ago it seemed that America has moved past color and race.

That is why I am having so much trouble accepting the BlackLivesMatter movement for what they claim to be. I have listened hard to BLM movement leaders explain why they are not a racist or terrorist organization. I hear them say that BlackLivesMatter doesn't mean that white or blue lives don't matter. I understand their position that BlackLivesMatter means they need the attention in areas that other races don't.

 BLM exists to bring attention to police hunting of black men for execution.  I hear my BS detector going bonkers.  All studies that normalize data to a logical anchor, tell a far different story. Whites are more likely to be shot by police than blacks.  The police are 18 times more likely to be shot by a black man, than is an unarmed black man being shot by a cop. These statistics normalize the data to the number of white and black police contacts (opportunities), not the percentage of whites and black in the population base.  Normalizing to population is not a statistically valid comparison, but is the basis of many of the mainstream media delivered "facts'.

Adding to the confusion, minorities have been told for years by politicians, media and leadership that they are profiled. They say minorities are singled out for traffic stops.  Minority loan applications are rejected.  They can't get into good colleges or hired into well-paying jobs. Minorities don't get a fair shake at good housing in quality neighborhoods. Rightly or wrongly, minorities have had a constant stream of this message for years.  I, as a white man, have not been told that.  Even though I have been pulled over by the police, I have been rejected for loans (it's been a while), and I have not been selected for certain jobs.  It never crossed my mind that my misfortune was because I'm white.  I can't relate to the minority experience, so I do acknowledge their perception is their reality, even if it is not accurate in every instance.

So maybe BLM is exposing valid concerns and/or perceptions of minorities.  And maybe that's okay and I should accept it for what it is. I could easier accept BLM if they would only coordinate their message with their following.  They must acknowledge that "hands up, don't shoot" was completely false and cannot be the basis for their movement.  They must control their demonstrations to avoid chants of "Pigs in a blanket, fry them like bacon" or "What do we want? Dead cops.  When do we want it? Now!".  If they don't, BLM will never be accepted with old white folk like me.