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New Harvard Poll says 57% of Americans view Black Lives Matter negatively

Order

Member
Sure, and I'm sure people were mad when it was first used as well.

Say someone is trying to get to the hospital because they have a child having a severe asthma attack in their backseat. They just got on the interstate, panicking because their child is wheezing, and all of a sudden, they have to come to a complete stop. No cars are moving whatsoever. The child's wheezing gets worse, and the parent gets even more freaked out. Finally, after what feels like an eternity, they get to move again. Why the sudden stop? A bad wreck perhaps? Nope, some protestors holding signs. The parent doesn't care what the signs say, or what the protestors stand for, they are just pissed that they got stopped from getting to the hospital to help their kid out.

Perhaps that's an extreme example, I'm just trying to get my point across that blocking traffic, I think, does more harm than good for trying to get people to support your cause.
You just non ironically pulled a Nana Ruth

godamn
 

Aizo

Banned
The name doesn't matter, they would have found away no matter what they called it. Cause they want to be racist fucks

"I want to care about black lives, but the branding sucks"

It's the same argument I hear against feminism all the time.
"Do you consider yourself a feminist?"
"I don't think so."
"All it means literally is that you support female equality."
"But I don't like the label. I consider myself an equalist."

Also, what the fuck is wrong with the name? It's super fair, not preachy... it's like the smallest push.
I liked Michael Che's special when he talked about it.
 

Sunster

Member
sffx7J_S1i_C8BsnfDqeV3OKhoR_yM1x1ktxaT_-51Doa9FHEO0m1ZGSZtcTlBmQYY7oGmIOrmzqWSR8XKBMeqijTvmFpvg89MTZ0kwCzVFjZ6BaI4wAJyxk2oCLwUZFAqiS7dXwuS-yvJQRNISLlShdStxSKjOh98Yg-Kjwe4oEHXKh6u02ahHoLTxwOLtXXlVtMbSNPvg7BwuB9uILfimchPJOR21v1NMvBw-D2HBLcpXnFjihnIjOuBHWWXRgKbu11XqL24diIDbCQkuHuoy_H9bcZIOhDp6QfD2YYzJXoN42xPD-zheuabhCobmNxjycJk1wJXk_sfdH1dID1w2aXjuVxL5PNuX3BEiCDDYRx-rmc7yhDr7J4W32MHe7uYuZUW7VVDxKLvLnuxqWvkVi_PlIHmD8O0EQXQTQ-8a7mFV4aEDAPW9OjedgWjECaIYpQxMgUloypwVWbyGGb4t2t_P61iOwwJRBPcDiauPXM9HfmyzHiregURWGELEGPLfBMIUdL9xK7B0a6UVQ0umi4XbNWiBGfmQKKD_hz6qzJDwoZXDqJunB59AwdstQJ5nIOG9CNsWJCemXzkW-gMAiediqPeGh3PMxfsG6mYAejgsVfsRMRIg9=w1030-h616-no

yea this is basically it, no matter what BLM was called or how they acted they would still have majority disapproval from whites. white people are just uncomfortable with minorities getting together in protest. more rights for them feels like an attack on white people.
 
My beef with BLM is that they made the entire focus about racist cops instead of bad laws and bad government policy and sucked all the air away from organizations that actually had a chance of making a change like Campaign Zero. 3 years ago conservative republicans were working on criminal justice reform as a priority, now we got trump and Sessions as AG, and no likely reform in the foreseeable future.

Can't blame the entirety of the reactionary response on BLM, but they have made plenty of tactical mistakes that have basically destroyed any chance for it to be an effective organization.


That seems like a legitimate thing to focus on to me. The FBI put out a report in 2006 that claimed that white supremacists were infiltrating law enforcement, and sweet fuck all was ever done to address it. Cops executing black people in the streets seems like a reasonable thing to shine a spotlight on.
 

norm9

Member
Black people are fucked in this country for the foreseeable future. People thinking that way in pollls like this will only change once America is a minority group compared to the collective other. A Boston Globe article said 2055 is when white is no longer a majority (they would drop to *gasp* 48% of the population) in America. However, just having Blacks, Hispanics, and Asians as a collective majority does nothing because their priorities may differ in issues. So you would then have to move the date forward another 60 years for more generations to take over before low intelligence thinking is snuffed out through lack of suitors. All in all, I think in 100 years, the outlook MAY be better.
 
It's the same argument I hear against feminism all the time.
"Do you consider yourself a feminist?"
"I don't think so."
"All it means literally is that you support female equality."
"But I don't like the label. I consider myself an equalist."
People who want to be called equalists and not feminist probably got radicalized by shit sites like Reddit or whatever where misogyny/sexism and extreme examples are posted as the norm.
 
My beef with BLM is that they made the entire focus about racist cops instead of bad laws and bad government policy and sucked all the air away from organizations that actually had a chance of making a change like Campaign Zero. 3 years ago conservative republicans were working on criminal justice reform as a priority, now we got trump and Sessions as AG, and no likely reform in the foreseeable future.

Can't blame the entirety of the reactionary response on BLM, but they have made plenty of tactical mistakes that have basically destroyed any chance for it to be an effective organization.

BLM was born because racist cops were going around killing black people. BLM was a bunch of hurt parents, hurt communities, standing up and saying "Hey maybe stop shooting us for just being black."
 
Here's a real story detailing pretty much exactly what I just described:

http://www.fox13memphis.com/news/pa...t-call-paramedics-to-help-young-son/396934340


Also who the hell is Nana Ruth lol

Nana Ruth was BLM's hypothetical first victim when they blocked traffic several years ago.

It's a GAF meme for posts like yours that imagine every traffic protest means people are gonna die.


Your example had the paramedics getting to the family with zero issue and no death.

Like I said blocking traffic is not new and not BLM exclusive.
 

Bad_Boy

time to take my meds
This is a huge reason I am out on the NFL.

BLM was basically a response to innocent young black men getting killed and no one giving two fucks about it.

Anyone who is against that can go fuck themselves and I hope bad things happen to them. How you can't empathize with the families when their sons, fathers and husbands are murdered when walking home from a convenience store is beyond me.

That they needed a movement is a disgrace. That the movement is treated like a terrorist organization says what this country is in 2017 (a shithole).
I was actually going to post something similar until you said it better than I could.

No NFL for me this year as well.
 
While this is certainly true for some people, the ones I know are genuinely not like that. Perhaps I'm just lucky, but anecdotal evidence is just that lol.

None of the possibilities I proposed apply to them at all?

So they aren't racist, they care about equality, and they think black people are justified in protesting... but they also think BLM goes too far by protesting? There's a logical inconsistency somewhere in there that seems like it would be really hard to justify.
 
Nana Ruth was BLM's hypothetical first victim when they blocked traffic several years ago.

It's a GAF meme for posts like yours that imagine every traffic protest means people are gonna die.


Your example had the paramedics getting to the family with zero issue and no death.

Like I said blocking traffic is not new and not BLM exclusive.
I never said that people were gonna die. But as that story shows, it can cause real problems. Those parents of that child are probably pretty ticked off at BLM. Meaning they are less likely to support them. That's all I'm trying to say.
None of the possibilities I proposed apply to them at all?

So they aren't racist, they care about equality, and they think black people are justified in protesting... but they also think BLM goes too far by protesting? There's a logical inconsistency somewhere in there that seems like it would be really hard to justify.
Maybe there is an inconsistency there. I think they just don't like some of what BLM does, like the blocking traffic example that I'm getting butchered for lol.
 

Slayven

Member
I just feel like some people view BLM as a radicalized, maybe that's not the right word, an extreme group that takes things too far. Perhaps that's because people don't realize how bad things can be for minorities. Which I think is a real possibility, because we all live in our own personal bubbles. But for people who aren't aware of the real problems, they view BLM as an unnecessarily in-your-face activist group.

Whats that got to do with what you said?

I feel like the BLM movement is somewhat separated from the overarching racial issue in America

How is the BLM "separated" from the racial issues of america?
 
I never said that people were gonna die. But as that story shows, it can cause real problems. Those parents of that child are probably pretty ticked off at BLM. Meaning they are less likely to support them. That's all I'm trying to say.

Maybe there is an inconsistency there. I think they just don't like some of what BLM does, like the blocking traffic example that I'm getting butchered for lol.

Some protestsing is literally about disruption of the everyday

Again if they didn't traffic protest these numbers wouldn't change a lick.

Focusing on how they protest (especially when it's a bog standard manner of protesting) is a distraction
 

FStubbs

Member
Whats that got to do with what you said?



How is the BLM "separated" from the racial issues of america?

Black. Lives. Matter.

It's such a simple concept and yet the very fact people have a problem with this is the ironic whole point of the name of the group.
 
Probably should have worded it better, meant that some people view BLM as separate from the overarching racial issues.

Not to dog pile, but it may help if you explain what you mean by the "overarching racial issues" you think are so people here get a better understand of what you mean.
 

Slayven

Member
Probably should have worded it better, meant that some people view BLM as separate from the overarching racial issues.

In what way? Racial issues is in the name, if you are saying people like being willfully argonant, then yeah i can agree with that
 
Some protestsing is literally about disruption of the everyday

Again if they didn't traffic protest these numbers wouldn't change a lick.

Focusing on how they protest (especially when it's a bog standard manner of protesting) is a distraction
Do you not think there is a threshold to too much disruption though? And I know I'm not wording this right, but like, when do protesting actions cross the line from acceptable disruptions to public nuisance? Granted, that's a very slippery slope, because of course some racist could simply say that the very act of protesting goes too far, but I think it's an interesting question.
That's an excuse.

It's like saying you don't hate gay people just their lifestyle.
Well, Black Lives Matter is a tangible activism group though. It's one of many racial activism groups. Not liking one doesn't mean you don't like all of them. Hating on the gay lifestyle is way broader than not liking a specific activism group.
 

The Kree

Banned
Sure, and I'm sure people were mad when it was first used as well.

Say someone is trying to get to the hospital because they have a child having a severe asthma attack in their backseat. They just got on the interstate, panicking because their child is wheezing, and all of a sudden, they have to come to a complete stop. No cars are moving whatsoever. The child's wheezing gets worse, and the parent gets even more freaked out. Finally, after what feels like an eternity, they get to move again. Why the sudden stop? A bad wreck perhaps? Nope, some protestors holding signs. The parent doesn't care what the signs say, or what the protestors stand for, they are just pissed that they got stopped from getting to the hospital to help their kid out.

Perhaps that's an extreme example, I'm just trying to get my point across that blocking traffic, I think, does more harm than good for trying to get people to support your cause.

blocking traffic, I think, does more harm than good

more harm than good

One hypothetical asthmatic child is more important than standing up for the lives and civil liberties of 12% of the American public.

Man, shut the fuck up.
 
In what way? Racial issues is in the name, if you are saying people like being willfully argonant, then yeah i can agree with that

Not to dog pile, but it may help if you explain what you mean by the "overarching racial issues" you think are so people here get a better understand of what you mean.
I know I'm not really doing a great job of making myself clear lol. I'm trying :p

So, I think at least, there are people who are aware that there is a racial problem in America, but they do not see BLM as completely representative of those problems. To use a Star Wars analogy, because I can honestly think of no better example lmao, I think some people view BLM and racial issues as operating in the same way as the Rebel Alliance and Saw Gerrera. They are both fighting for the same thing, freedom from the Empire, but the Rebel Alliance thinks Saw goes too far. I think some people view BLM in this same way.
 
One hypothetical asthmatic child is more important than standing up for the lives and civil liberties of 12% of the American public.

Man, shut the fuck up.

Well, if you read the rest of the conversation, I linked to an actual story where an actual child had to have the paramedics called because they were stopped by BLM. Now, the child was stable, and nothing went wrong, but do you honestly think those parents are gonna be supportive of BLM after that incident? Probably not, because they are ticked that BLM stopped them from getting to the hospital.

That's all I'm trying to say. Never once did I say that we shouldn't stand up for racial equality. And I don't appreciate you assuming that I think that.
 
I don't get what people are saying with this chart. It looks positive, am I reading it wrong?

In 1966, only 33% of respondents had a positive view of MLK Jr. That number only shot up after his death and over the years. In his time, he was not viewed favorably. Look at the dates. He was assassinated in 1968.
 
I don't get what people are saying with this chart. It looks positive, am I reading it wrong?

Look at the dates. During the time MLK was alive, white people had an overwhelmingly negative view of him and his activism, the same way they do today with BLM.
 
Well... yeah. I'm not surprised.

I was actually going to post something similar until you said it better than I could.

No NFL for me this year as well.

Ayy. I'm starting to fell this way too. Looking at the Kap situation made it clear NFL owners, as well as fans alike who don't like Kap's protest are all just showing their collective ass. They don't care. It doesn't matter how he goes about it, they just want him to shut up and keep his activism silent.

The more this garbage goes on, the more I am starting realize as much as I like watching the games... I can't support this shit.
 
Well... yeah. I'm not surprised.



Ayy. I'm starting to fell this way too. Looking at the Kap situation made it clear NFL owners, as well as fans alike who don't like Kap's protest are all just showing their collective ass. They don't care. It doesn't matter how he goes about it, they just want him to shut up and keep his activism silent.

The more this garbage goes on, the more I am starting realize as much as I like watching the games... I can't support this shit.
College football is better anyway ;)
 

Cipherr

Member
I don't get what people are saying with this chart. It looks positive, am I reading it wrong?

It shows that the polled white americans had a completely negative view of MLK when he still had a pulse. But once he was dead, strangely his approval ratings rocketed in the other direction. Its relevant because they always pull out Civil Rights movements and MLK when disagreeing with every type of modern day protest from POC today.

When the truth is, they hated it then too. Truth is, there is no form of protest, be it silent or "blocking traffic" that this demographic won't find a way to hate. And they always claim the protests and activist HURT the issues rather than help it; even though things like Civil Rights proves that hot take wrong.
 

Korey

Member
In 1966, only 33% of respondents had a positive view of MLK Jr. That number only shot up after his death and over the years. In his time, he was not viewed favorably. Look at the dates. He was assassinated in 1968.

Look at the dates. During the time MLK was alive, white people had an overwhelmingly negative view of him and his activism, the same way they do today with BLM.

Oh I get it now, thanks.
 
Do you not think there is a threshold to too much disruption though? And I know I'm not wording this right, but like, when do protesting actions cross the line from acceptable disruptions to public nuisance? Granted, that's a very slippery slope, because of course some racist could simply say that the very act of protesting goes too far, but I think it's an interesting question.

Well, Black Lives Matter is a tangible activism group though. It's one of many racial activism groups. Not liking one doesn't mean you don't like all of them. Hating on the gay lifestyle is way broader than not liking a specific activism group.


BLM has blocked traffic in exactly the same way any previous activists have done.

And hating on BLM is an excuse anyway you parse it.

Dudes shat on Colin's taking knee and that was as non threatening as possible

Black people doing anything gets the reaction so stop putting the blame on BLM.
 

The Kree

Banned
Well, if you read the rest of the conversation, I linked to an actual story where an actual child had to have the paramedics called because they were stopped by BLM. Now, the child was stable, and nothing went wrong, but do you honestly think those parents are gonna be supportive of BLM after that incident? Probably not, because they are ticked that BLM stopped them from getting to the hospital.

That's all I'm trying to say. Never once did I say that we shouldn't stand up for racial equality. And I don't appreciate you assuming that I think that.

I read the rest of the conversation. It's a non issue. Protesters aren't systemically trapping ill children in traffic. Saying it does more harm than good is really stupid. There are many streets open for travel in towns and cities as well as warning systems in place for abnormal traffic conditions.
 
I know I'm not really doing a great job of making myself clear lol. I'm trying :p

So, I think at least, there are people who are aware that there is a racial problem in America, but they do not see BLM as completely representative of those problems. To use a Star Wars analogy, because I can honestly think of no better example lmao, I think some people view BLM and racial issues as operating in the same way as the Rebel Alliance and Saw Gerrera. They are both fighting for the same thing, freedom from the Empire, but the Rebel Alliance thinks Saw goes too far. I think some people view BLM in this same way.

This is bloody nonsense.

People thought MLK went too far when he was alive.

Stop trying to shift folks' racism on to those fighting it.
 
Well, if you read the rest of the conversation, I linked to an actual story where an actual child had to have the paramedics called because they were stopped by BLM. Now, the child was stable, and nothing went wrong, but do you honestly think those parents are gonna be supportive of BLM after that incident? Probably not, because they are ticked that BLM stopped them from getting to the hospital.

That's all I'm trying to say. Never once did I say that we shouldn't stand up for racial equality. And I don't appreciate you assuming that I think that.

If I may make an analogy (since you made one to Star Wars, who would Jar Jar Binks and Dexter Jettster be in your analogy?), I'll do one of my own.

The Black Panthers were viewed as a hate group. Still are. "White Hope" Megyn Kelly and her buddy Mark Fuhrerman (totally a typo) loved to bag on some small rinky-dinky group called "The New Black Panthers" all the time, not because that specific group was big and threatening, but because of the old Black Panthers. A lot of stuff we get fed is digested through the media, and you can guess who comprises that and what narrative they are usually willing to push. When you hear Black Panthers, you think cop killers. You don't think of community outreach. You don't think of the ten-point plan. You don't think of their children neighborhood food program. You don't think of anything other than scary Black men with guns. Same can be said of Malcolm X today (still viewed as a crazy radical) and MLK Jr in his lifetime.

So, optics play into things, yes, but optics aren't always truth, and I think, and I don't mean much disrespect, I think your view of BLM is clouded by the optics you see on TV or some news sites. And, that goes for a lot of white Americans.

Edit: And one last thing about optics. A lot of minorities are always being told how they should react and what they should care about. They should dress a certain way to not get shot or raped, they should have their hair a certain way to not get kicked out of school or be hired for a job. And, they should only protest in certain ways. So, with respect to optics, it's hard to know who is a friend and who is an ally when both seemingly do the same thing which is telling them what to or not to do.
 
This is bloody nonsense.

People thought MLK went too far when he was alive.

Stop trying to shift folks' racism on to those fighting it.
I'm not blaming anyone, I'm just giving an opinion on how I think some people view BLM.
I read the rest of the conversation. It's a non issue. Protesters aren't systemically trapping ill children in traffic. Saying it does more harm than good is really stupid. There are many streets open for travel in towns and cities as well as warning systems in place for abnormal traffic conditions.
I just think people are less likely to support a group if that group does something to make them mad. Having to divert and take a longer route to work is a trivial thing, completely insignificant in the course of life, yet it will annoy people. All I'm saying is, I think those people will be less likely to support BLM because of that annoyance. Perhaps that's the fault of the annoyed person, but it is what it is.
 

Measley

Junior Member
These clowns think that BLM is the black equivalent of the KKK. I mean WTF? Are people really THAT stupid?

yes
 
If I may make an analogy (since you made one to Star Wars, who would Jar Jar Binks and Dexter Jettster be in your analogy?), I'll do one of my own.

The Black Panthers were viewed as a hate group. Still are. "White Hope" Megyn Kelly and her buddy Mark Fuhrerman (spelling intended) loved to bag on some small rinky-dinky group called "The New Black Panthers" all the time, not because that specific group was big and threatening, but because of the old Black Panthers. A lot of stuff we get fed is digested through the media, and you can guess who comprises that and what narrative they are usually willing to push. When you hear Black Panthers, you think cop killers. You don't think of community outreach. You don't think of the ten-point plan. You don't think of their children neighborhood food program. You don't think of anything other than scary Black men with guns. Same can be said of Malcolm X today (still viewed as a crazy radical) and MLK Jr in his lifetime.

So, optics play into things, yes, but optics aren't always truth, and I think, and I don't mean much disrespect, I think your view of BLM is clouded by the optics you see on TV or some news sites. And, that goes for a lot of white Americans.

Edit: And one last thing about optics. A lot of minorities are always being told how they should react and what they should care about. They should dress a certain way to not get shot or raped, they should have their hair a certain way to not get kicked out of school or be hired for a job. And, they should only protest in certain ways. So, with respect to optics, it's hard to know who is a friend and who is an ally when both seemingly do the same thing which is telling them what to or not to do.
Jar Jar would be a protestor that nobody listens to, because he's protesting for something useless like why MLA format should be banned lol. Dexter is pals with Obi Wan so he's cool in my book :p

And you make a good point. I am at a disadvantage when it comes to optics on the situation because I'm white. I don't know what it's like to live as a black person hearing all these negative things. How they are doing this thing and that thing wrong. Although to be clear, I don't dislike BLM. I realize I sound like that, but my first post in this thread was me saying that I sympathize with their message. I just don't like some of their methods. But you may be right, maybe I just lack the optics to fully understand their reasoning for operating the way they do.
 

Not

Banned
Of course they do. White people's lives are the only ones that matter, and if anyone else's lives start to matter too, for some inexplicable reason white people's lives start to matter less.
 
http://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/344985-poll-57-percent-have-negative-view-of-black-lives-matter-movement#.WYOC9LIxKBo.twitter

No surprises here.
But pay attention to the data. The polling data about the perceived fairness or bias of the justice system and law enforcement gives us even more indication that the dominant society isnt simply opposed to BLM the organisation and its modus operandi, theyre opposed to the statement "Black Lives Matter" because they reject the set of facts that motivate that statement. 50% of poll respondents believe the justice system is inherently fair,65% of Whites polled believe the criminal justice system has no bias against minorities, and 55% of Whites polled think cops arent too quick to shoot Blacks.
(lock if old)

This just confirms what most of us knew, I guess.

You'd think whites would at least look at statistics before making such judgements, but Trump won.... So.

Funny enough though, if you look at it another way, more Americans approve of BLM than Trump, or Congress.
 
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