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I am not sure what BLM wants other than an outlet to express frustration. I don't hear an coherent set of demands, just vague concepts such a justice, which is defined differently by branch.

It strikes me as similar to Occupy Wall Street. Good at gathering crowds, but will not do the non-glamourous work of creating candidates, electing them and getting new laws passed because that would mean working with the corrupt system.

Meanwhile the media will rile people up, and make it seem like there is a war going on here.

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Why are only 14 percent of black CPS 11th-graders proficient in English?

CNN and the other networks love this stuff much as they love Trump. Everything is "breaking news", and they certainly play it up.

As for BLM, I am gratified that they are exercising their right of free speech and association and holding our government to account. It is when the population is apathetic that the bureaucracy has the most power. The public should not learn to accept and become desensitized to this kind of violence nor should we accept the level of incarceration of our population (many for drug possession) or the inability of schools to properly educate our children.

Take Chicago for instance and all its financial problems. MANY would agree that taxes are high in Chicago. Yet money is being wasted on police brutality settlements, the cost to jail large amounts of citizens, and wasted in the failed school system that is CPS. All that money spent for what outcomes? And you're overtaxed, while the city is on the verge of bankruptcy. People should be pissed.

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Hawaii (fuck) You

Black lives matter if they were to be truly honest and sincere, would take their movement to black communities. Far more people are killed in black communities than they are by police.

They don't because it would force black people to take serious look at ourselves. If we want the "establishment" to look within, then we have to do the same thing.

The primary focus of the black lives matter movement should be black communities since most of the damage is done by blacks within those communities.

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The laws exist already. BLM wants to shed a light on the issue that police officers that kill a black man almost never receive any sort of punishment for it no matter how justified it may seem.

I honestly can't even remember the last police case where police officers who killed a black man got in serious trouble. I'm sure it exists but honestly every single case seems to go one of three ways: 1) No charges filed, 2) Charges filed and incompetent prosecutor, 3) Prosecutors way overcharge and the officers get found not guilty because the standard is set too high for a guilty verdict.

I guess we'll see what happens with these recent cases though.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

What? So blacks could simply overcome a system of oppression just by focusing on all the bad people in their communities?

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Be well

GO BEARS!!!

It is a matter of priorities. That is a bigger priority than police officers killing black people. It is not even close. When will the Black Live Matter movement make black on black homicide a priority? Will they make it a priority?

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This is the logic espoused by many white folks.

But consider that a cop killing a person is a much greater violation of public trust (government vs citizen) than citizen on citizen violence. The cops are supposed to be the good guys there to serve and protect. I guess if you're the victim, it doesn't really matter because you're dead either way. But from a public policy perspective, I am much more disturbed about police misdeeds than a crook committing a violent crime. They're both horrible. Maybe an analogy is with priests or teachers violating their flock versus a a neighbor doing it. The crime is the same, but the breach of trust is so much worse from a person in an authority position.

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Hawaii (fuck) You

In this situation I'm not really concerned about optics as much as I'm concerned about impact. Sure police abuse is an issue, but it is not in the top five things which ail black society.

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BLM is a niche group focused on 1 particular issue. Your comments come out as EXTREMELY out of touch and they are exactly the comments MANY racists and Republicans use to dismiss the issues BLM have with police brutality and the justice system. Feel free to start an organization that is focused on education or other issues.

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Be well

GO BEARS!!!

Out of touch? I'm actually out here in the communities of which I speak. I also have spent the vast majority of my life and career working in the communities of which I speak.

This is how non sensical that you sound. How can you name your organization "Black Lives Matter" if you don't focus on the communities where black lives matter the least.

You don't make sense.

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So they are saying enforce the law better? Difficult message to make into reality.

Here is one recent case where an officer was charged: http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/ex- ... an-n538411

And here is a case to show police us excessive for with everyone: http://www.wbrz.com/news/police-officer ... -year-old/

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Why are only 14 percent of black CPS 11th-graders proficient in English?

Yeah, that is why they are protesting.

I guess we will see how much time he gets though a guilty plea seems rare in these cases.

But those officers are probably going to jail for a long time which shows the unfairness in how justice is given.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

I think that does happen--not necessarily by BLM groups, though. There are lots of other organizations (both certified, for lack of a better word, and not certified) and individuals (some self-appointed) that focus on the problems endemic to their communities. Like most teachers and therapists and volunteers, you never hear of any of them except in local, neighborhood papers.

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Black lives don't appear to matter when it comes to police abuse and the justice system. This group was PRIMARILY created to shine a light on MANY of the injustices in the system and to demand that reforms be made because BLACK LIVES MATTER. This really isn't hard to understand. They aren't focusing on 90 separate issues.

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Be well

GO BEARS!!!

We shall see on the last item. Plenty of white people get shot. Unless there is tape of it, don't remember too many convictions in those cases either.

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Why are only 14 percent of black CPS 11th-graders proficient in English?

I'm not sure what LTG teaches but it's like a parent coming to his high school and asking why he doesn't focus on other subjects because those subjects are more important or just as important.

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Be well

GO BEARS!!!

It probably is. It may no longer directly limit access to goods and knowledge and services, which is one of the foundational issues for any community, but it does so indirectly.

Another foundational issue is justice, and if you are not treated justly . . . well, many problems stem from that.

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This is something that BLM should be pissed about: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/nor ... a?section=

North Carolina sure went full on nutjob.

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Why are only 14 percent of black CPS 11th-graders proficient in English?

False equivalency and I'm not really in the class anymore. I'm asking merely about priorities. I know why they don't focus on black on black homicide. Not really difficult to figure out either.

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I agree, but that is a huge part of the problem. BLM gets more attention from social and commercial media then these roll model community members that get hardly any coverage.

What is a bigger problem? Gang on gang violence or cops shooting people who resist arrest? Every month you seem to hear about an innocent child that was shot sleeping in their bed or playing in the front yard by some cowardly gang member. Why doesn't this get more attention then a two minute segment on the nightly news? Because it doesn't fit the narrative of us vs them. #BLM

Us vs us is harder to rally around and accept. It's never our own fault, always someone else. Nothing will ever change with that mindset.

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They don't focus on abortions or teen pregnancy either. They don't focus on other things because that isn't their niche. Why is that so hard for you to understand?

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Be well

GO BEARS!!!

Agree wholeheartedly. The need to always be the victim has prevented us from looking within. Even black on black violence has been rationalized to be part of some grand conspiracy. A number of blacks work from that premise and as long as it exists nothing will get accomplished.

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In an effort to argue your position you make even less of a point. So essentially you're arguing that the only time that black lives matter is when they are killed by police? Murder in black communities should be ignored because of what exactly? Oh yeah a niche.

To be honest they are not ignoring black on black homicide because of some misguided "niche" either. They are ignoring it because they know that the level of support that they receive from other blacks will be reduced. The age old black adage is after all that we can't air our dirty laundry in public.

Much more fashionable keep up the age old fight against the "man".

Of the problems that I have witnessed in the community, very little of it has to do with the police.

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There's another straw man. I explained to you why the group was created, what their focus is and why the name was chosen. Criminal justice reform is their cause. You can continue to dismiss them because they don't focus on other issues but that's your problem.

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Be well

GO BEARS!!!

Nas, the hook is deep into your cheek, and you're being reeled in by an industrial strength pole.

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Hawaii (fuck) You

Probably so.

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Be well

GO BEARS!!!

We know what is deep in your cheek Denisdman. Say hi to Bigfan!

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You just ooze with condescension. Thanks for illustrating why they were created. I truly was unaware of their origins. Thanks for clearing that up for me.

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I am being Juiced as I typed this. Juiced is slang for Trolled

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Hawaii (fuck) You