There's An Awful Lot Of Cowards Out There

You have been silenced, haven't you? The narrative is all one way, and the mob have spoken. If you do not step in line then trouble's coming your way. I'm really glad I do not live in America, because I think I'd be in trouble due to my outspoken condemnation of Black Lives Matter. A week or so back, during a casual lunch time conversation, somebody mentioned that I was brave for speaking so plainly. I let it pass at the time, but when I thought about it I wondered why? I mean why is it brave to speak honestly about facts? To condemn mob rule? wide spread disorder? Looting, violence, bullying? This isn't bravery, it's neccessity. So why aren't you speaking up? What are you afraid of? I'm going to speculate. In some cases I think there is some fear, perhaps legitimately held, that employers will take a dim view. That the person with an opinion will somehow be bringing an organisation into disrepute. Whilst I understand this, might I argue that the more people who condemn this insanity, the harder it becomes for employers to take such an approach. You don't have to be rude, or racist, or inflammatory. You just have to say that in the face of these insane social justice bully boy tactics you will stay true to your values. You won't be cowed by a mob of ill informed fools who aren't willing to actually accrue the facts before embarking upon their ludicrous crusade. We must NEVER give in to the mob. We must NEVER be silenced by fear. This is how fascism rises to power, on the shoulders of complicit silence. So you'd rather play it safe, stay mute despite having some agreement with me? I get it. I don't particularly respect it, though. I'd argue that it is, in the long term, a kind of self harm. You have a voice. You are allowed to use it. And I do think we are reaching a tipping point when we have to take a peaceful stand. Concerning racism, Martin Luther King's monumental words 18 steps from the top of the Lincoln Memorial are the definitive words on racism. He implored us to judge a person by the content of their charachter rather than by the colour of their skin. Yet what are we doing today? Everything is seen through the lens of identity politics. We're segregating ourselves into tribes. And newsflash people; tribes end up in conflict. We should be going in the opposite direction, seeking to bring people under a common umbrella of humanity. A place where skin colour is as meaningless as hair colour, where we seek to embrace rather than reject. Nothing good comes from seperating into disparate groups, as it leads to distrust, misunderstanding, lack of empathy. And as always, and I cannot believe I need to be saying this, but take the time to check the facts, or if uncertain be sure you make clear that you continue to await more information. With this latest killing of a black man that is precisely what the mob failed to do. And what is worse is how the media embarks on a feeding frenzy and fans the flames of discord. Sometimes I wonder where all the honest journalism has gone. The BBC are a disgrace, whilst the likes of CNN and Vox are so agenda driven they have long since cast truth into a shallow grave. One remarkable example was caught yesterday. CNN were running a peice on the shooting and there was a banner running along the bottom of the screen describing how "Violent protests" were taking place. About 20 seconds into the segment the banner was removed, and then returned with the word "Violent" removed. So it seems they tried honest journalism for a few moments before somebody pointed out the mistake. So taking everything I've said into account, can I gently encourage you to stand up for what you believe? Can I plead with you to live out your values? I reject BLM because I think they are capricous bullies, and that their agenda is violent and disruptive. And I can say all of this and not be a racist. I hate racism. It's stupidity squared. We should expunge it from society as soon as we can. But if you think destroying communities, bullying innocent members of the public, and outright refusing to ackowledge brute facts is the way to go about this then you and I have no common ground.