Caribbean Times 52nd Issue - Friday 15th July 2016

Friday 15th July 2016 c a r i b b e a n t i m e s . a g 13
Black Lives Matter – Do they really?
“If the machine of government
is of such a nature that
it requires you to be the agent
of injustice to another, then, I
say, break the law” – Henry
David Thoreau, Civil Disobedience
and Other Essays
Thoreau in his famous
opus Civil Disobedience and
Other Essays argued that
whenever the law failed to
protect the rights of every
citizen, allowing injustice to
prevail, a categorical imperative
was established which
empowered citizens to openly
disregard such laws in defiant
protest. Here, civil disobedience
becomes the tool with
which the masses gain a sense
of justice and fairness, in such
cases as they think the law
has failed to provide them.
Consequently, for those of
us who followed closely the
events unfolding in the United
States of America recently,
there should be little surprise
at the reactions to the shooting
deaths of two black men
– Philando Castille and Alton
Sterling.
For many, the frustration,
anger and deep distress which
has resulted in the riots that
have subsequently ensued,
are well understood. Where a
people feel so marginalized,
so unheard, so ignored, so
forgotten, by the very systems
that have been put in place to
ensure their protection, open
insurrection perhaps is the
only vehicle through which
their collective voices can be
heard. And indeed, I dare say,
not just the United States, but
the entire world is now listening
and watching, with its
eyes fixated firmly on the super
power.
The bitterness of racially
divided society is often
difficult to understand.
Palpably, the events in the
United States aren’t predicated
on the simplicity of whether
the police officers, in this
case, acted justly or not. To
view the acts of those who’ve
taken to the streets with such
a perfunctory understanding,
is to ignore the larger social
forces at play. Quite frankly,
the Black Lives Matter riots
are demonstrative of a system
that many feel is broken – and
has been broken for quite
some time.
America, for the superpower
it portrays itself to be, is
bedevilled with many contradictions.
Chief among them, is
resolving its long standing issues
with race and inequality.
A history of slavery, bitter racial
hostility and tremendous
widening of the income gap
has created the right milieu
for what is being witnessed
currently. As these contradictions
deepen, and as the system
continues to demonstrate
callous and wont disregard
for those that find themselves
on the margins of the Capitalist
system it has created,
such protest and insurrection
will only grow fiercer and
stronger. Demonstrably then,
By Carlon Knight
Black Lives Matter becomes
the standard-bearer for the
larger socio-political struggle
that manifests itself now under,
ironically, the presidency
of its first minority President.
The response to these
protests must be met with
the seriousness with which
they deserve. Tacitly trying
to sweep this open rebellion
against a system, which
many feel is unjust and
unfair, will do more harm
than good. These wounds
can only deepen and fester
as time passes. Indeed, this
is the President’s moment to
demonstrate leadership. This
may be perhaps the defining
characteristic of his legacy as
the United States President.
For indeed, he will never be
the president that ended the
Great Depression, or ushered
in Civil Rights legislation, or
ended conflict in the Middle
East, but he can be, perhaps,
one that confronts glaring
social contradictions that
tarnishes America’s sociopolitical
landscape.
Editor’s Note: The opinions
expressed in this Op-ed
are those of the author and
do not necessarily reflect the
views of Caribbean Times.