BLM is Right!

Black Lives Matter has observed that their preferred candidate, Joe Biden, who won the nomination in a democratic process throughout the states, has now been replaced by Kamala Harris only 24 hours after Biden withdrew.  Where is the democratic process in that?  If a Democratic stalwart such as BLM openly points at the clearly undemocratic transition from Biden to Harris, it must be a valid argument.

Of course, BLM needn't worry.  The odds are that Kamala's poll numbers will sink as low, if not lower, than Joe Biden's.  Those delegates that she has 'secured' will suddenly become free to vote for other contenders.  Unless Kamala is polling strongly against Trump, the real nominee will be chosen at the convention.  The amount of democracy involved in the choice of the true nominee may not be much more than the level that was used to select Kamala, but the spin will be much better.

Perception vs. Reality

In this YouTube video, the professor asks the class how many people were killed by police in 2016.  Their estimates are surprisingly good.  Then he asks how many were black?  Here, their estimates are more the twice as high as the actual number.  How many were unarmed?  Again, the estimates are wildly high.  Why does everyone have the same overinflated misconception?  Several offer the media as the cause.  The media will focus on the relatively few cases of unarmed victims and never account for the vastly larger number of armed ones.  In the end, the professor notes that the odds of an unarmed black man being killed by police are 0.6 in a million.  Sure, that's more than it should be, but it is not what is portrayed in the media.

Who Picks What is News?

There is a scene in A Beautiful Mind where John Nash (Russell Crowe) asks Alicia (Jennifer Connelly) to pick a shape.  She chooses an umbrella.  Looking at the stars, he then picks out a number of stars that form an umbrella.  She is impressed and asks him to find an octopus.  This reminds me of the news.  There are countless events that happen around the country and the world every day, but there is only so much room on the front page or the evening news.  Someone has to choose which of those countless events are newsworthy.  Let's just consider murders.  If the media gave every homicide equal weight, the picture that would be painted is thus (FBI Crime Statistics 2020):

Consider that the African American population is 14% of the nation but accounts for 50% of the offenders and 56% of the victims.  Black Lives Matter would have us believe that white cops are gunning down unarmed blacks.  In fact, gang members are killing other gang members.  Given the option between stopping all the cop shootings or all the gang shootings, which would result in a better outcome for the African American community?  What does the news imply?

Of course, the editors must pick and choose among the stories of the day, but it is incumbent upon the news consumer to realize that someone made this particular selection.  The selection inevitably reflects the views of the selector.  If one does not sample news from multiple sources with different points of view, the 'news' is, in fact, propaganda.  That may not be intentional, but that would be the effect.

Steering the Story

When I was a eleven or twelve, my brother and I spent a summer at our grandparents' house in Iowa.  Grandma was a skilled card player and we played many card games while there.  Grandma also had a magic trick.  You would select a card and place it in the deck and she would then ask you to select suits until you had only your suit left.  Then she would ask you to select card ranges until it finally narrowed down to YOUR CARD!  However, after a couple of times through, it became clear that she was really the one selecting.

Grandma: "Pick two suits."

Me: "Spades and diamonds."

Grandma: "That leaves you with Hearts and Clubs.  Pick one of those."

Me: "Clubs."

Grandma: "Among the clubs, pick face cards or numbers."

Me: "Face cards."

Grandma: "That leaves you with numbers.  Pick high or low numbers."

As you can see, Grandma either eliminated my selection or stuck with it, depending on what my card was.  She always steered me to my card.  The mainstream media does something similar.

BLM firebombs a police station in Minneapolis.

Media: Mostly peaceful protest

Tea Party protests tax and spend policies

Media: Intolerant racists hate black president

BLM blocks off part of Seattle and declares it the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ)

Media: Mostly peaceful protest.  Look! Someone has started farming!

Truckers protest mask & vaccine mandates in Canada by driving to Ottawa and honking horns

Media: Nazis!  Fascists!  Danger to democracy!

Antifa tosses firebombs in both Berkley and Portland, deface buildings, break windows

Media: Antifa are activists and protesters who oppose Trump's fascist agenda

Parents attending school board meetings demand removal of Critical Race Theory curriculum

Media: Domestic terrorists threaten teachers

After a while, it becomes clear that the media describes violent rioters who lean left as mostly peaceful and generally justified in their actions, though perhaps a bit overenthusiastic.  However, non-violent protesters who lean right are domestic terrorists and insurrectionists.  These wrongheaded radicals need to feel the full force of the law and be denounced at every opportunity.  The media selects the adjectives and positive or negative coverage based more on the politics of the 'protesters' rather than the actions.

GoFundMe Double Standard

When BLM set up a GoFundMe account, all was well with the world.  Sure, there were riots and some of the money was used to bail rioters out of jail.  No big deal.  That's fine.  However, when a GoFundMe was setup for Kyle Rittenhouse, that was too much.  Denied.  They didn't want to associate with a man who shot three people, killing two of them.  Okay, I suppose.  It thus came as a bit of a surprise when a GoFundMe for Darrell Brooks was allowed.  He's the guy who ran over all the people at a Kenosha parade, killing 6 and injuring 62.  Huh.  Now GoFundMe has shut down the Freedom Truckers account because they....  didn't kill anyone.  Aren't burning down cities and needing bail money.  What exactly is the problem with them?  Not just a 'mostly' peaceful protest, but an entirely peaceful one.

GoFundMe is obviously political.  If you are black and killed a bunch of people, funding approved.  If you are white and killed people, funding denied.  If you burn down cities and ransack stores to protest the police and/or Trump, funding approved.  If you drive your trucks across Canada to protest vaccine mandates, funding denied.

I am reminded of how Patreon became political, booting various right or libertarian leaning people from its service.  What of all those platforms that almost simultaneously banned Alex Jones.  He broke the rules on all of them at the same time?  Unlikely.  There was coordination there.  The continued efforts to silence people is getting more extreme all the time.  First, it was just protesting and shouting down.  Then it was banning from platforms.  Now it is starving them of funds.  This trend will lead to tyranny or revolution, neither a desired outcome.  We value freedom of speech for a reason and efforts to quash it are playing with fire.

BLM Narrative Meets Data

Heather Mac Donald counters the current narrative with data.  Long but rewarding.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=437&v=qbMkYZGFVw0&feature=emb_logo