I’ve never been sympathetic to the grievances of modern Black people. They have the same access to the same opportunities as any other American segment. They’re not barred from buying specific products based on race. No one stops them from applying for jobs because of their skin color. They have the same opportunity to attend the same schools as everyone else. And if they don’t do well in school, then that is a personal failing, not a racial one. I never believed that, as a group, Black people somehow learned differently than the rest of society. All of the Black kids I was friends with in high school I had met in honors and AP classes. They took standardized tests just fine.

So when Black Lives Matter washed ashore in the wake of the deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner as a public rebuke of White police brutality against innocent Blacks, I thought the “movement” would shrivel in the sun and die quickly. As a society, I thought we could all realize that bad outcomes are a result from bad actions, which stem from bad decisions. Bad outcomes didn’t happen because of “The Man”.

But BLM didn’t die. Instead, it was fueled by misplaced sympathy or opportunistic support from the political Left. And now we have to live with this obnoxious nuisance, at best, and domestic terrorism, at worst. And while I would never emotionally support BLM, I could intellectually understand why Blacks would be angry at police. It’s human nature to not accept the consequences of bad behavior and instead place the blame on an external force. But I never believed that Black people who support or partake in BLM actually believe – in their hearts – that the problem is White cops.

The intelligent few in BLM are probably using the group for its political influence. The non-intelligent many in BLM are probably using the group either to promote lawlessness so that they can break the law and not be punished or they’re using the group as a fig leaf excuse to riot at the next event that can be spun into a perceived racial slight. The White allies of BLM live such comfortable lives that they have to take up causes that don’t affect them in order to experience strife. But I don’t think any of the members actually believe that White cops are just hunting down Blacks.

And then we had Milwaukee.

An armed Black man with a gun fled police and was ultimately shot and killed. The shooting police officer was also Black. And yet, Milwaukee still burned. So what gives? Is BLM really not about White police brutality? Do its followers just use BLM as an excuse to riot and pillage? As of now, I don’t think any BLM leaders have stepped forward to condemn the violence and destruction.

So how does BLM square this? Can they? And if not, then can the rest of society finally turn its back on this “movement” and recognize it for it is?