Racism hits deep for us. We are a multi-ethnic family. Our children have already experienced racism. I am concerned by the misinformation and outright lies going around, so I've taken a few days of prayer and preparation to write this post, which will include links to other resources and videos. There are numerous lists that you can find using Google, to find great reading lists, movies, and articles to read to educate yourself on the issue. My purpose for this post is not to do that. I can compile some lists of resources for another post. My purpose is to address the hurtful, outright lies and videos circulating on social media. These are extremely hurtful and continue to fan the fires of racism. They add insult to centuries old injury. Enough is enough! I pray as you read and research that you will ask God to search your heart and your thoughts. We are all prejudiced. It is an ongoing process that requires humility and tearing down defences. Layer by layer, we can strip away our prejudices and become allies to our brothers and sisters of color.
PragerU is a big sponsor of Turning Point USA. Both organisations deny that White privilege exists or that there is systemic racism. They believe that it is all theory and nonsense. Daily Wire is owned by the Wilks brothers who also fund PragerU. PragerU has affiliated itself with White nationalists and is funded by people who have intentionally connected themselves to white supremacists. After this post, I will include some helpful links for you to do your own research and fact-checking on things you hear/read. (Credit to my Facebook friend, Chelsea for doing some of this research.)
The only good point Mr. Tatum makes is his last one: Look in the mirror and ask how to make the world better, put action behind your words. May we all do that!
Today I am only going to address one video. There are several popular videos circulating by Candace Owen and Brandon Tatumm and a few others. Both of these individuals have videos on Prager U and both have a history of working for and/or with Turning Point USA.
Turning Point USA claims to be a non-partisan organization, however one of their chapters is Students for Trump. The organization has a very long list of questionable activities and incidents of racism, including anti-Semitism. Like, a very long list which you can read for yourself.
As an aside, Candace Owen has her own very concerning history of racist statements towards Black Americans. When questioned on Trump’s history of racism and sexual assault/rape, she was uninformed and ignorant of the facts. The following article highlights this and some of the troubling information above: https://www.phillymag.com/news/2019/09/04/candace-owens-blexit/
Others have disputed Candace Owens’ videos, but I have yet to see anyone commenting on Brandon Tatum’s concerning (and dangerous) videos circulating. I have only watched one, so I will comment on that one. I find it concerning that both of these individuals are spreading a similar false narrative and are both connected to Turning Point USA and PragerU. Here is a link for the video I am debunking today: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=4&v=-2N2w4d0N0w&feature=emb_logo. I will put my fact-finding information and thoughts in a different color font, and the video narrative will be in white.
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The video opens with Brandon asking what all of the protesting, rioting, and looting have accomplished. He mistakenly and wrongly lumps social media protesters, peaceful protesters—really all protesters—in with the rioters and looters. He also puts the blame on protesters for destruction of property and killing.
He repeatedly asks, “What have you accomplished?”
Eyewitnesses that I personally know have stated that people were bussed in to the protests and that is when things turned violent. It is not fair to lump everyone into the same category. Also, a lot has been accomplished and will be accomplished by the protesting.
To name a few:
1. Minneapolis has banned the choke-hold and strangle-hold,
2. The four officers involved in George Floyd’s murder have been arrested and charged,
3. Wisconsin is passing legislation to update it's use-of-force guidelines
4. Maryland lawmakers have announced a police reform work group
5. Seattle Police Chief is banning the use of tear gas on crowds and calling for a review of crowd control tactics.
6. In Denver, a federal judge has limited police use of rubber bullets and tear gas
7. Louisville, KY is banning no-knock warrants after Breonna Taylor was killed.
8. San Fransisco has announced that they will have trained unarmed professionals who will handle non-criminal calls (think homelessness, mental health calls, school issues, etc)
8. San Fransisco has announced that they will have trained unarmed professionals who will handle non-criminal calls (think homelessness, mental health calls, school issues, etc)
Our country still has a long, long way to go, but the protests have certainly gone a long way to move things along and I read about new changes and reforms each day.
As the video continues, he launches into some falsehoods regarding police interaction:
· There are no negative interactions with police and all interactions are justified (i.e. if you got pulled over you deserved it and you know it).
· There are 44 million African-Americans in America and in 2019 there were only 9 negative interactions with police resulting in 9 unarmed Black people being shot. In 2020 there have been 3 so far: Breonna Taylor, who was involved in drugs and two others who were doing things they had no business doing.
o This is false. In 2019, 30 unarmed Black people were killed. https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/protests-spread-over-police-shootings-police-promised-reforms-every-year-they-still-shoot-nearly-1000-people/2020/06/08/5c204f0c-a67c-11ea-b473-04905b1af82b_story.html
o There are about 40 million Black people in America, and they make up 12% of the population. There is no possible way to determine how many negative interactions that Black people have with police.
o Many incidents are only brought to our attention because they are caught on cell phone or dash cams and posted to social media. One has to wonder how many hundreds (thousands, even?) of cases have gone undocumented in the past or continue to because a person did not have a cell phone to record the negative interaction.
· If the justice system determines that use of force, including deadly force, was justified, then it was justified. We need to trust the justice system.
o Police should not be conducting their own internal investigations. And his point would be okay in a perfect world with no corruption, but we know that is not the case. I feel this is a circular argument, where we really could not ever know the total scope of fairness and integrity, or lack thereof in the justice system. Ideally, an outside, objective entity investigating incidents would be best.
· His next point is unrelated to police brutality or racial profiling, but he brings up Black on Black crime and says that it is ruining the reputation of Black people and is animalistic.
o We have to beware when others use words like “animalistic.” This dehumanizes people and can easily lead to justifying brutality and murder. From my Facebook friend, Chelsea: “claiming systemic racism doesn’t exist and black people are disproportionately arrested/incarcerated because they ‘commit more crime’ not only ignores the facts behind police and institutional biases, along with bias in education and the workplace, but it also leads to the conclusion that black people are inherently criminal/violent. That is obviously not true, especially given that God created every person with love and care and we are all equal children of God, each of us prone to sin, worthy of forgiveness, and able to love exactly the same. “
o FBI.gov gives staistics regarding crime and breaks it down by race, as well as the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). According to prisonpolicy.org, backed up by BJS studies, Black on Black crime occurs at about the same rates as white on white crime. From https://www.prisonpolicy.org/blog/2018/05/03/homicide_overtime
: “Unfortunately, conversations about this problem often fall back on the assumption that violence in the Black communities has cultural—or even biological—roots. But these assumptions aren’t supported by data. …Economic disadvantage, not race, is the strongest predictor of violence in a particular neighborhood.”
· Mr. Tatum now turns the conversation to his white listeners. He says to stop virtue signaling. He says white privilege is a myth and it is not reality nor common sense. He believes that acknowledging it perpetuates racism and is saying that you are better than everyone else. He claims that virtue signaling is fanning the fire of racism. Whites should not be kneeling and confessing white privilege, claims Tatum, and he goes on to say that there is no good in taking responsibility, confessing, or repenting of the past wrongs of white racists.
o I do not believe that standing in solidarity or condemning injustices is virtue signaling. If you are doing it for the praise of men rather than for moral issues, that is really your business. White people should not feel shamed for speaking out, taking a stand against, or standing in solidarity with the oppressed. There are numerous Scriptures to back this up, one is Proverbs 31:8-9. Also according to every speaker I've listened to, book I've read, and news articles I've read, the Black community wants us to be their allies and fight this good fight with them. Together, united, we are stronger!
o There certainly is Biblical merit to confessing and repenting of past wrongs committed by our country and government. In Nehemiah 1:6, Nehemiah prayed for the sins of his father’s house. Joshua 9:3-6, 11-20; 2 Samuel 21:1-6, 13, 14: These verses (in very short summary) tell us that King David was held accountable for a covenant that King Saul broke. This covenant that was made about 400 years prior to their reigns. King David had to repent on behalf of wrongs that were not committed by him.
He ridicules standing in solidarity and disrespects George Floyd (saying his arrest and death were justified by him lying and resisting arrest, using counterfeit money, and drugs).
He ridicules standing in solidarity and disrespects George Floyd (saying his arrest and death were justified by him lying and resisting arrest, using counterfeit money, and drugs).
o Regardless of someone’s past offenses, they do not deserve to be murdered, period. Also, not all of these things are true about George Floyd. I watch ALL of the video footage, even the street cams, leading up to his death and he did not resist arrest.
He says that oppression in the Black community is unsubstantiated; it does not exist. He claims that Blacks oppress themselves and that “the system will make you rich if you do the right things” and “the system ain’t against you, you are against you.”
He says that oppression in the Black community is unsubstantiated; it does not exist. He claims that Blacks oppress themselves and that “the system will make you rich if you do the right things” and “the system ain’t against you, you are against you.”
o In the Economic State of Black America, published by the Joint Economic Committee, we read that, “The data reveal…on average, Black Americans face much more difficult circumstances than their White counterparts.” There is a huge gap in the median wealth, in home ownership, and life-span. The incarceration rates are six times higher, (one factor- more whites use cocaine and marijuana than Blacks, but Blacks are arrested at a higher rate and given longer sentences than whites), segregation continues to be a problem (IT’S 2020, PEOPLE!!!) resulting in poor quality secondary education, which results in worse economic outcomes. https://www.jec.senate.gov -> report (PDF) entitled Economic State of Black America 2020
o These conditions are a direct result of systemic racism, therefore, Mr. Tatum is wrong. The system is definitely against Blacks. https://youtu.be/YrHIQIO_bdQ
Mr. Tatum winds down the video saying that it is brainwashing to believe: that other races and the public are against you, that white privilege and systemic racism exist. These were already addressed in other points. Here is a good video explaining privilege: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBQx8FmOT_0&feature=share
And this link contains a must-watch video showing current ways Blacks are still discriminated against in today's world:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/05/01/8-reasons-and-one-powerful-video-show-why-racism-is-real-in-america/?fbclid=IwAR01wMRiQMOzmdsOuKlJCbcex7e9yi2F5Fg-vbDbA4tGYar88eSRYT4nYiw
And this link contains a must-watch video showing current ways Blacks are still discriminated against in today's world:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/05/01/8-reasons-and-one-powerful-video-show-why-racism-is-real-in-america/?fbclid=IwAR01wMRiQMOzmdsOuKlJCbcex7e9yi2F5Fg-vbDbA4tGYar88eSRYT4nYiw
The only good point Mr. Tatum makes is his last one: Look in the mirror and ask how to make the world better, put action behind your words. May we all do that!
Below are some helpful links to do your own research and fact-finding, with many thanks to my Facebook friend, Chelsea, for sharing lots of these.
“As Christians, we are constantly called to examine our own hearts and consciences for how we might contribute to or break down racial divisions, intolerance, and discrimination.”
http://www.usccb.org/…/upload/racism-and-systemic-racism.pdf
http://www.usccb.org/…/upload/racism-and-systemic-racism.pdf
“Even when controlling for both the overall rate of Black police shootings and Black arrest rates,” reads the study, “structural racism was still a significant positive predictor of police shootings of unarmed Black suspects.”
“Officers’ racially biased use of discretion – either intentional or unintentional – is one cause of racial disparities in police contact that are not explained by differences in crime rates. Another cause is formal police policies such as “stop and frisk” and “broken windows” policing...People of color are therefore more likely than whites to be arrested – in part due to differences in crime rates but also due to differences in police policies and use of discretion. Once arrested, people of color are also likely to be charged more harshly than whites; once charged, they are more likely to be convicted; and once convicted, they are more likely to face stiff sentences – all after accounting for relevant legal differences such as crime severity and criminal history...Racial differences found at each stage are typically modest, but their cumulative effect is significant.”
"All media has bias because it is communicated by people with their own opinions and motivations and often directions handed down by superiors, so I believe that looking “behind the curtain” is important to identify which biases might be present in any particular case.
This is to say that it is important to seek multiple sources of news and critically assess the motivations of people who produce media, no matter who they are, and to seek out many perspectives. It is also important to seek out scholarly, peer-reviewed information when you are presented with unsupported statements/data so that you are making the best judgement before spreading information that may be biased. Statistics can be easily and unintentionally distorted when removed from context, and media often reduces data/studies in order to produce stories, so as individuals, fact-checking is essential, even when you may trust the source. The mathematical association of America has a good, brief article on how research gets misused and why we need to fact-check, and Cornell has comprehensive resources for assessing and fact-checking the news we consume." -Chelsea
https://www.maa.org/.../spinning-heads-and-spinning-news...
https://guides.library.cornell.edu/evaluate_news/antidotes
This is to say that it is important to seek multiple sources of news and critically assess the motivations of people who produce media, no matter who they are, and to seek out many perspectives. It is also important to seek out scholarly, peer-reviewed information when you are presented with unsupported statements/data so that you are making the best judgement before spreading information that may be biased. Statistics can be easily and unintentionally distorted when removed from context, and media often reduces data/studies in order to produce stories, so as individuals, fact-checking is essential, even when you may trust the source. The mathematical association of America has a good, brief article on how research gets misused and why we need to fact-check, and Cornell has comprehensive resources for assessing and fact-checking the news we consume." -Chelsea
https://www.maa.org/.../spinning-heads-and-spinning-news...
https://guides.library.cornell.edu/evaluate_news/antidotes
