WSJ to BLM: Rather than scapegoat police, why not focus on bad schools and job-killing regulations?

[Arkain2K]

A Better Direction for Black Lives Matter
Rather than scapegoat police, why not focus on bad schools and job-killing regulations?
By Jason L. Riley | June 27, 2017​

Will Black Lives Matter soon suffer the fate of other separatist “black power” movements in the 1920s and 1960s, which captured America’s attention for a period but ultimately did little to help advance the black underclass?

The Black Lives Matter movement got its start after George Zimmerman’s 2013 acquittal for fatally shooting Trayvon Martin and found its footing a year later when Michael Brown was shot dead after attacking a police officer in Ferguson, Mo. By 2016, BLM activists were being hosted by President Obama and disrupting campaign events for Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. Today, major news organizations such at National Public Radio and the Washington Post turn to BLM representatives for comment on race-related stories.

An obituary for a movement that has become so prominent so fast seems premature, but a recent BuzzFeed article that included interviews with dozens of BLM-linked activists was pessimistic about the group’s future. Factions have formed, infighting is common and objectives are unclear. “Black Lives Matter is still here. Its groups are still organizing. But Black Lives Matter is on the verge of losing the traction and momentum that sparked a national shift on criminal justice policy,” wrote reporter Darren Sands. And “activists largely agreed that the identity of the movement, its existential purpose and aim, remains unresolved.”

Some BLM leaders want to integrate political institutions further. Others want the organization to expand its focus to immigrants’ rights. Still others want to create a society “free from pain being inflicted on it by police, racist structures, and capitalism.” Apparently, there are places in the world where blacks living in noncapitalist societies are thriving in comparison with their U.S. brethren.

On a certain level, the decision by BLM activists to single out policing as a major obstacle to black advancement has always defied comprehension. Police shootings have fallen dramatically in recent decades. In New York City, for example, cops shot 314 people in 1971, 93 of them fatally. In 2015, New York police shot 23 people, killing eight. Which means that police shootings and fatalities in the nation’s most populous city have declined by more than 90% over the past 4½ decades. A 2016 paper released by Harvard economist Roland Fryer examined the use of force by police since 2000 in some of the country’s largest urban areas and found that “blacks are 23.8 percent less likely to be shot at by police relative to whites.”

In theory, there is no reason these activists couldn’t play a more useful role in helping blacks overcome obstacles and take advantage of opportunities that were unavailable to previous generations. But that would mean abandoning nonsensical narratives that scapegoat law enforcement for high black crime rates and instead picking more substantive fights with fellow progressives.

Why not side with the hundreds of thousands of black children nationwide who linger on waiting lists for charter schools that have a proven record of narrowing the achievement gap? Why side with progressive politicians who stunt the growth of charters out of deference to powerful teachers unions that oppose school choice?

A University of Illinois at Chicago paper released earlier this month reports that 85% of black teenagers in Chicago are out of work, versus 73.4% of whites. Among 20- to 24-year-olds, the black jobless rate is 60%, or more than double the rate for comparable whites. In 2014, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel approved legislation that raises the minimum wage in increments by more than 57% by 2018. Studies have long shown that younger and less experienced workers are particularly sensitive to rises in the wage floor. And even minimum-wage hikes that don’t put people out of work can leave them worse off.

A new National Bureau of Economic Research report looked at the consequences of Seattle’s decision to raise its minimum wage to $13 last year from $9.47 in 2015. The researchers concluded that the increase “reduced hours worked in low-wage jobs by around 9 percent, while hourly wages in such jobs increased by around 3 percent. Consequently, total payroll fell for such jobs, implying that the minimum wage ordinance lowered low-wage employees’ earnings by an average of $125 per month in 2016.” When are BLM activists going to take the Democrats to task for promoting policies that harm minority workers disproportionately? When the unemployment rate for black teens reaches 100%?

Of course, improving educational and employment prospects for the black underclass would lower black crime rates and thus go a long way toward reducing encounters with police, the goal that is so near and dear to the Black Lives Matter movement. It’s a win-win, but first the activists have to decide whether the real goal is to help black people or to help themselves.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-better-direction-for-black-lives-matter-1498604674?nan_pid=1861112654

 

[RIPWarrior]

Nah white people and more importantly white cops need to be the main focus.

 

[Der Eisbär]

Excellent. Will be sure to remember this info and besmirch some blm losers next time I get into it with one.

 

[ReAnimator Reagan]

BLM is not to uplift black people. It is to tear down our system so criminals can have their way. It is ran by racists and criminals.

 

[Michaelangelo]

Because people don't want to take responsibility for themselves and rather play the victim

 

[Social Distance Warrior]

WsJ is obviously ran by the KKK.

Lol...imagine, just imagine if BLM concentrated their efforts on inner city murder rates, rather than any police shooting...

 

[Cubo de Sangre]

Lol at that leading to reparations. Silly WSJ. But otherwise it might be worth considering how lessened crime could decrease police interactions. God knows nobody wants to have to deal with those pricks law enforcement.

 

[Ayin]

Fairly brave article in this age, though unfortunate it has to concentrate so much on the minimum wage issue. I can't think of any publication here that would put this in print right now.

 

[elfeliz]

Because anytime there is a black leader that promotes change in a positive way they are assassinated i.e. Malcom X, Dr. King

 

[Pwent]

Would love a rational answer to this

Terrible inner city schools
Fatherlessness
Job killing regulations
Drug trade

Hurt the black community way more than poor policing. I could probably come up with more things too, but those are like the 4 horsemen

 

[Jorge Luis Borges]

Would love a rational answer to this

Terrible inner city schools
Fatherlessness
Job killing regulations
Drug trade

Hurt the black community way more than poor policing. I could probably come up with more things too, but those are like the 4 horsemen

And those four things are all due to intentional policies by the party that controls almost every major urban center of black population in the US. That's right, the Republicans. Racist bastards.

 

[FIMN]

A Better Direction for Black Lives Matter
Rather than scapegoat police, why not focus on bad schools and job-killing regulations?
By Jason L. Riley | June 27, 2017​

Will Black Lives Matter soon suffer the fate of other separatist “black power” movements in the 1920s and 1960s, which captured America’s attention for a period but ultimately did little to help advance the black underclass?

The Black Lives Matter movement got its start after George Zimmerman’s 2013 acquittal for fatally shooting Trayvon Martin and found its footing a year later when Michael Brown was shot dead after attacking a police officer in Ferguson, Mo. By 2016, BLM activists were being hosted by President Obama and disrupting campaign events for Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. Today, major news organizations such at National Public Radio and the Washington Post turn to BLM representatives for comment on race-related stories.

An obituary for a movement that has become so prominent so fast seems premature, but a recent BuzzFeed article that included interviews with dozens of BLM-linked activists was pessimistic about the group’s future. Factions have formed, infighting is common and objectives are unclear. “Black Lives Matter is still here. Its groups are still organizing. But Black Lives Matter is on the verge of losing the traction and momentum that sparked a national shift on criminal justice policy,” wrote reporter Darren Sands. And “activists largely agreed that the identity of the movement, its existential purpose and aim, remains unresolved.”

Some BLM leaders want to integrate political institutions further. Others want the organization to expand its focus to immigrants’ rights. Still others want to create a society “free from pain being inflicted on it by police, racist structures, and capitalism.” Apparently, there are places in the world where blacks living in noncapitalist societies are thriving in comparison with their U.S. brethren.

On a certain level, the decision by BLM activists to single out policing as a major obstacle to black advancement has always defied comprehension. Police shootings have fallen dramatically in recent decades. In New York City, for example, cops shot 314 people in 1971, 93 of them fatally. In 2015, New York police shot 23 people, killing eight. Which means that police shootings and fatalities in the nation’s most populous city have declined by more than 90% over the past 4½ decades. A 2016 paper released by Harvard economist Roland Fryer examined the use of force by police since 2000 in some of the country’s largest urban areas and found that “blacks are 23.8 percent less likely to be shot at by police relative to whites.”

In theory, there is no reason these activists couldn’t play a more useful role in helping blacks overcome obstacles and take advantage of opportunities that were unavailable to previous generations. But that would mean abandoning nonsensical narratives that scapegoat law enforcement for high black crime rates and instead picking more substantive fights with fellow progressives.

Why not side with the hundreds of thousands of black children nationwide who linger on waiting lists for charter schools that have a proven record of narrowing the achievement gap? Why side with progressive politicians who stunt the growth of charters out of deference to powerful teachers unions that oppose school choice?

A University of Illinois at Chicago paper released earlier this month reports that 85% of black teenagers in Chicago are out of work, versus 73.4% of whites. Among 20- to 24-year-olds, the black jobless rate is 60%, or more than double the rate for comparable whites. In 2014, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel approved legislation that raises the minimum wage in increments by more than 57% by 2018. Studies have long shown that younger and less experienced workers are particularly sensitive to rises in the wage floor. And even minimum-wage hikes that don’t put people out of work can leave them worse off.

A new National Bureau of Economic Research report looked at the consequences of Seattle’s decision to raise its minimum wage to $13 last year from $9.47 in 2015. The researchers concluded that the increase “reduced hours worked in low-wage jobs by around 9 percent, while hourly wages in such jobs increased by around 3 percent. Consequently, total payroll fell for such jobs, implying that the minimum wage ordinance lowered low-wage employees’ earnings by an average of $125 per month in 2016.” When are BLM activists going to take the Democrats to task for promoting policies that harm minority workers disproportionately? When the unemployment rate for black teens reaches 100%?

Of course, improving educational and employment prospects for the black underclass would lower black crime rates and thus go a long way toward reducing encounters with police, the goal that is so near and dear to the Black Lives Matter movement. It’s a win-win, but first the activists have to decide whether the real goal is to help black people or to help themselves.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-better-direction-for-black-lives-matter-1498604674?nan_pid=1861112654

Seems a non sequitur to say concentrate on factor X or Y.

I don't think there is much dispute that BLM would tend to be liberal leaning on economic matters, but the idea that decades of over-policing of black communities and the mass incarceration of minorities doesn't have an impact on the ability of said communities to function within the economic system seems naive.

Charter schools and keeping minimum wage low isn't going to magically fix black poverty rates.

In short, BLM and associated groups do those things the articles suggests/proposes, but it's natural fpr there to be more publicity and outrage over police shootings than economic policy, but the latter is BAU for the government and the former is the police shooting people with relative impunity.

 

[Deleted member 491001]

Excellent. Will be sure to remember this info and besmirch some blm losers next time I get it into with one.

I love the way this translated, but just fyi it should be "get into it".

Otherwise it sounds like you're talking about penis in vagina.

PS-My android phone has vagina in its dictionary but underlined penis.

 

[Deleted member 491001]

Would love a rational answer to this

Terrible inner city schools
Fatherlessness
Job killing regulations
Drug trade

Hurt the black community way more than poor policing. I could probably come up with more things too, but those are like the 4 horsemen

I would like a rational answer to why they oppose police bodycams.

Also was gonna say Larry Elder would certainly add fatherhood first.

 

[FIMN]

Would love a rational answer to this

Terrible inner city schools
Fatherlessness
Job killing regulations
Drug trade

Hurt the black community way more than poor policing. I could probably come up with more things too, but those are like the 4 horsemen

You're asking for an answer but haven't got a question.

 

[Pwent]

I would like a rational answer to why they oppose police bodycams.

Also was gonna say Larry Elder would certainly add fatherhood first.

Larry elder is a great thinker

I agree fatherlessness is probably first, I've said that a lot on here. The biggest indicator of success in many areas in someone's life is whether they had a mom and dad in the house. If we could at least get that going, not just in the black community, but nationwide. We would see a lot of improvements in lots of areas, crime rates, drug abuse, mental illness, unemployment etc

The schools thing popped in my head first because of the thread title

 

[Pwent]

You're asking for an answer but haven't got a question.

The question was the one from the WSJ, I was elaborating on it

 

[panamaican]

THis line of reasoning never made sense to me. The organization came into existence centered around the sense that the killing of young black people wasn't being taken seriously by the law. Why would their scope of interest be broader than that just because of their name?

The National Rifle Association doesn't defend all of the Bill of Rights, it has a specific focus and that's where it directs its efforts.

But that disregards the general disingenuousness behind the op ed. There are plenty of black organizations, large and small, that focus on those issues. Why is it that no one ever writes about their efforts? Why is there such an obsession with attacking this specific black organization but no support for those others who are supposedly doing the right thing?

 

[Pale Man In Black]

Because BLM is about grievance mongering.

Something like 93% of black homicide victims die at the hands of other blacks, but let's pretend that cops (when white) shooting blacks (overwhelmingly, it turns out to be a justified shooting. There are rare exceptions, but they are far from the rule) is the real problem.

Some serious reflection on this sorry state of affairs is apparently too much to expect from these infantile rejects.

 

[FIMN]

THis line of reasoning never made sense to me. The organization came into existence centered around the sense that the killing of young black people wasn't being taken seriously by the law. Why would their scope of interest be broader than that just because of their name?

The National Rifle Association doesn't defend all of the Bill of Rights, it has a specific focus and that's where it directs its efforts.

But that disregards the general disingenuousness behind the op ed. There are plenty of black organizations, large and small, that focus on those issues. Why is it that no one ever writes about their efforts? Why is there such an obsession with attacking this specific black organization but no support for those others who are supposedly doing the right thing?

I wouldn't hold your breath for a response.