Yeah. no. Without apologies to Terrence, BLM is more than police brutality issues. It is insulting what Brown tries to do here, via this fan of his. So according to Terrence, it is only white people that think of the "far left" organization when we hear BLM but blacks? They don't? They only think about unjust murder? Really. They do not think about how in African American voting districts last week in Georgia the average wait time to vote was six hours while there was no wait in predominantly white neighborhoods? They don't care about the funding of law enforcement? They do not care about their kids getting a fair shot at education? Please. stop embarrassing yourself Dr. Brown. Terrence would continue:
"#2. We've heard the analogies. Cancer awareness supporters don't need to hear 'all diseases matter' and save the whales groups don't need to hear 'all sea life matters' ..." "We know it was 100% legal from 1619-1964 to legal discriminate against people of color in every way possible. That was accepted in society. Though some laws have changed NOT ALL HEARTS HAVE. The spirit of racism is still in every industry in this country and lawsuits and statistics and social media prove it. So don't rebut with 'all lives matter' when we're focusing on the lives effected by the residuals of 350 yrs of legalized systemic racism." Again, when some of us hear the words "black lives matter," we say, "But don't all lives matter? And what about blacks killing blacks? Or what about black babies being aborted? What about those lives?" The analogies Terrence offers are useful, with the bottom line being this: for centuries, black Americans felt that their lives did not matter to white Americans. We must shout out, "Yes, your lives do matter to us! Black lives do matter."
And rather than dispute some of the specifics of this comment, take in the overall point that is being made.
No Dr. Brown, the truth is within the smaller points being made because I hear them all the time from people on social media. I have heard the ridiculous argument about black on black crime being made by people who never mentioned it before. Suddenly white people everywhere are so concerned about black on black violence or the crime rate in Chicago? No, they just want to change the subject. I actually had someone recently state that it was a fact that police shot more white people than black people last year. They literally felt like they had made a salient point that about 100 more white people were in fact killed than black people in 2019. Neve mind that there are 240 million white people (72%) in the population and only 40 million black Americans (13%). Shouting out that their lives matter is simply not enough. Systemic change must happen. Terrance concludes:
"#3. If you eat bad & don't work out for 20 yrs then decide to get in shape it won't happen overnight. It'll take time. America has eaten bad for 350 yrs then decided to get some areas healthy. Race is one area. We see signs of things getting better but there's still work to do. STOP acting like racism magically went away with the civil rights movement. Doesn't help." So, even if many laws have changed and steps have been taken to bring about positive change, hearts do not change overnight -- or even over the course of decades. Changing hearts is what matters the most.
Finally, Terrence wrote, "As Christians, start programs for these kids in disadvantaged neighborhoods many of whom have parents who have been generationally victims of the biased systems in this country. BE CHRISTIANS. See the need, meet the need in minority areas. REMEMBER white men who weren't racist STILL got economic advantages for generations when black men couldn't so that privilege existed and their families generationally benefited even if they weren't racist themselves. Now use your heart, time, funds to help those who were victims (instead of beneficiaries)...
Terrence's point is not to lay a guilt trip on someone who has not been guilty of sin. Instead, he is saying, "Hey, if your life has been blessed and prosperous, and if you have good Christian foundations, reach out to others in need and be a blessing to them."
That sounds like the gospel to me." -- Dr. Michael Brown
No. It sounds like minimizing the problem to me. Look, of course it would be great for Christians as well as others to just be a blessing. It is however purposefully vague. Just change hearts! It may take another 350 years but as long as you are saying the right things you can pretend you are not part of the problem. God don't like ugly. All who fear Him and do what is right are acceptable to God. Only the depraved heart of man can hate as we have seen in this world. Christians need to leave the politics of this world behind and only be caught fearing the Lord and doing what is right.
