Scott Tibbs
What is the true end goal of Black Lives Matter?
By Scott Tibbs, July 17, 2020
Most people agree with the basic premise of "black lives matter." Police brutality and excessive force are bad and must be stopped. Many conservatives remember Waco and worry about police militarization. This is why BLM supporters should not attack people who are publicly supporting your cause. You are alienating supporters. This brings me to the comments for my letter to the editor and the lies told about me.
His preamble, in which he pretends to oppose the excessive use of force against black people, is a shallow ruse to gain acceptance of his advocacy of "overwhelming force," rather than the legal standard of measured response.
"The "shallow ruse" accusation is a lie. Over the last ten years, there is not one single person in Monroe County who has been more outspoken about police brutality and criminal justice reform than I have. Well before Black Lives Matter existed, I was writing against paramilitary SWAT raids and police militarization. You can see where I have written about this topic
here and
here and
here and
here and
here and
here and
here and
here and
here and
here and
here and
here and
here and
here.
I also posted these letters on my blog, which you can see
here and
here and
here and
here and
here and
here and
here and
here and
here and
here and
here and
here and
here and
here.
Furthermore, I was
the only candidate for city council in 2015 to oppose the city's attempt to acquire a mine resistant, ambush protected (MRAP) military vehicle for the Bloomington Police Department. Not one single Democrat was willing to oppose the Kruzan administration's efforts to get a MRAP, and Mayor Hamilton doubled down on it by purchasing a BearCat in 2018. Democrats only opposed police militarization when they got blowback from Black Lives Matter. Even then, a BearCat is not as severe an example of militarization as a MRAP. You can
see the newspaper's coverage here and
see my press release here.
But despite my long and well-documented history of opposing overreach by police - long before Black Lives Matter was doing anything locally - I was called a "racist" in the comments for my letter because I called for a strong response to riots while also condemning systemic police brutality. You see, according to the "woke" cult, you must be 100% all in with their agenda. You cannot mention rioting is bad while opposing police brutality. You are only allowed to oppose police brutality, and if you stray from this doctrine you are a blasphemer, a heretic and a witch. I accept these labels proudly.
But believe it or not, it is possible to be against both police brutality and rioting! Shocking!
So what is the goal of the "black lives matter" movement? Is it to actually change policy, reform the use of force, protect civil liberties and protect the human rights of prisoners? If that is the goal, then we are going to need a coalition that includes both Republicans and Democrats. We will need conservatives, libertarians, liberals, progressives and moderates. Attacking those on your Enemies List even when they agree with you makes passing that policy agenda much more difficult. If the goal is to vent your anger and not actually accomplish anything, keep doing what you are doing.
I have spent the last decade writing about police brutality, police militarization and criminal justice reform. I am going to continue doing that
because it is the right thing to do and because my conservative principles mean limited government applies to law enforcement as well as traditionally liberal policies. But I am doing so with my eyes wide open. I know some radical Leftists will always see me as an enemy and will attack anything I say, even when we are on the same side. The tribal mentality is too strong for anything else.
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