Letter: Clarification to opposition to the Black Lives Matter organization

Posted 10/22/20

In the Oct. 15 Phoenix, Stephan Brigidi penned a letter entitled, “ Each Bristol citizen has rights and a voice. ” I agree with Mr. Brigidi’s thought here, a standard he should …

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Letter: Clarification to opposition to the Black Lives Matter organization

Posted

In the Oct. 15 Phoenix, Stephan Brigidi penned a letter entitled, “Each Bristol citizen has rights and a voice.” I agree with Mr. Brigidi’s thought here, a standard he should apply to both sides of any argument.

In his letter, Mr. Brigidi quotes me out of context, noting that I said: “I will never support Black Lives Matter!” What I said was: “I support a number of black organizations, but I don’t support Black Lives Matter (BLM), nor I ever will.”

My opposition is not to black people but to the BLM organization and its goals. I believe that black lives do matter, and I also believe that all lives matter — of course, one could be labeled racist for so saying.

I am sure there are many well-meaning and good people affiliated with BLM.  The problem with BLM is that it seeks to tear down and destroy and not build or raise up.

BLM is, sadly, a negation of everything that Martin Luther King (and before him Frederick Douglass and Booker T. Washington) stood for. 

Martin Luther King believed in America, he promoted peaceful methods, he had a colorblind outlook, and he focused on the content of character not the color of one's skin. Unfortunately, by today’s standards, Dr. King would be labeled a racist or a traitor to his race.

BLM‘s position is divisive and contrary to the values Dr. King and his followers held so dear.

The BLM organization is led by Marxists and is Marxist in its methods. BLM is built on the lie of police-on-black brutality. It takes unfortunate but exceptional actions by some police and shapes general narratives that are not supported by facts.

BLM seeks to tear down and transform. Unlike the Bob Woodson Center https://woodsoncenter.org/ and many other black organizations, BLM does very little to help black people bridge the racial gap.

I will admit that some BLM-promoted police reform may be warranted, but much more important is the reform needed by people who interact with the police. That would save many more lives. Police-citizen interaction is not a one-way street. 

Mike Byrnes
Bristol

Mr. Byrnes is a candidate for Bristol Town Council. The Phoenix is not accepting letters from candidates during the campaign season, will allow candidates to respond to direct attacks in this paper, which is the case here.

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