#BLM Analysis –
Persuasion and Social Movements Book
Chapter 3 –
Spreading Awareness of the Issue (Racism)
In
the words of Wil Linkugel, R.R. Allen, and Richard Johannesen: “A problem is
not really a problem to an audience until they perceive it as such…”
Until
awareness of an issue is present in the minds of the audience, they will not
see a problem.
What
is the iconic line in The Matrix? “There is no spoon.” In a way, the audience
that is unaware will see a spoon and say that there is a spoon present. Only
when they become aware that the spoon is not really there or is an illusion do
they say that there is no spoon.
That
is the primary job of social movement groups. They are not seeking attention or
publicity for the celebrity status or “just for the Hell of it.” They seek
understanding that there is, indeed, a problem and the group attempts to bring
this knowledge to the masses. The goal is to make society aware there is a
problem, or that “there is no spoon.”
The
Black Lives Matter are not fighting the police and are not out to kill whites.
They are struggling to bring awareness that racism still exists in American
society, and that there must be change to resolve this issue. (There is
escalation of this racism within the police force, as evidenced by the
increased uses of deadly force against black suspects and citizens.)
Chapter 4 –
Between Social Unrest and Enthusiastic Mobilization
The
Black Lives Matter movement has roots and rumored origins from the Ferguson
events (the shooting death of Michael Brown, and the civil unrest and mistrust
between the black citizens and the police force). 2014 and 2015 were some of
the biggest years for the movement, where Stage 1 of Genesis became Stage 2,
Social Unrest.
Videos
leaked, comments exploded, riots ensued, and more lives were lost. The movement
grew like wildfire, and attempted mass recruitment and public awareness of the
injustices of blacks murdered by police.
Now,
it is 2017, and the mainstream media is losing interest in the civil unrest of
black protests against police brutality and murder, in favor of covering the
political tensions following the election of now President Donald J. Trump. The
Black Lives Matter had lost the major outlet of news coverage, but they
continue to spread the messages of injustice thanks to social media. Now, they
stack between Stages 2 and 3, Social Unrest and Enthusiastic Mobilization,
respectively.
At
Stage 2, they continue to recruit and agitate the public, outraged at the
injustices of police officers slaying blacks while on the beat. At Stage 3,
they see an underlying issue within the social and political systems of the
U.S., and attempt to bring these issues to light.
If
more support was given to the BLM movement, then they could be at Stage 3
fully, with Stage 4 (maintenance) in the works. Unfortunately, most of the
public is becoming bored or growing tired of these messages – Stage 4 is in
jeopardy. Unless the BLM movement can find a way to plug the hole and fill the
gap, they may lose more ground and their ship could sink entirely.
I
am not saying that the BLM movement is already doomed or has been doomed from
the start (the latter is not true), but I am saying that they are in trouble.
If they cannot adapt or find a way to reinvigorate the public’s interest in
their message, then their cause could become caput and their voice would be
lost.
Chapter 6 – The
Social Reality
The
Black Lives Matter movement speak and act to gain public recognition of the
social reality of America, to interpret it on multiple perspectives, and to
take action (with just cause to take said action).
First,
they need to spread awareness. If they make empty claims, the movement would be
dismissed as attention seekers and as a publicity stunt; they would be
considered “hollow” for lacking evidence or instances of proposed injustice. On
the flip side, if their claims have evidence or impact, then society will see
this possibility and begin to question itself. Is there another reality within
our own reality? Is there a reality co-existing in another reality, which some
people are aware of and others are not?
Second,
the movement seeks understanding. Denial of this other reality is a common reaction,
or the society may not necessarily see the impact of this other reality, or
worst of all, they may say “that is not my problem.” The Black Lives Matter’s
claims are fruitless is they do not convince people that there needs to be
change, so they spread awareness first and then follow-up with understanding.
They ask society to look at the issue from difference perspectives and views. A
police officer killing a black civilian does not have the same impact on a
white civilian as a black civilian, so understanding this difference is key!
Once
awareness AND understanding are achieved, the Black Lives Matter movement can
strive for the third step – action. It is important that this action is
justified, has a goal, and has means to achieve it. Taking action simply to
take action is a fallacy – it is Begging the Question in a physical manner.
When
the actions are appropriate:
The
action is justified,
as that black suspects and civilians are being targeted by police for
unnecessary or excessive suspicion, and they are often met with excessive force
for minute things or mistakes. In the worst cases, police gun down black
suspects and citizens without proper reasons to do so (resisting arrest or
fleeing is not a reason to shoot a suspect).
The
action has a goal.
The marches and the protests are not merely done for the sake of it, but to
bring more awareness and give justice to those whom were killed by police. Any
unrest the Black Lives Matter causes does not have a secondary objective that
strays from the cause. Protests and riots of the movement may involve looting,
but looting is not the goal nor it is the intention. Looting is an unwanted
by-product of protests and riots, and to make it the goal would distract from
the goal of justice for the black lives that were slaughtered by police.
The
actions has means to accomplish the mission and to achieve a goal. The Black Lives
Matter movement has resources – namely people and social media outlets – to
spread their message and achieve their goals. With enough push for change and
proper utilization of their available resources (and possible resource
expansion), the BLM movement could succeed in their mission to end police
violence against black citizens and use appropriate force on ALL suspects.
On
a final note, I would like to point to a book I have been reading for SOCI 232
– Social Problems (with Dr. Castro). The book is Social Problems, by Joel Best. In this book, Best lays out the
process of social groups and movements in a social problems process. The
process goes something like this:
Claimsmaking
→ Media Coverage → Public Reaction → Policymaking → Social Problems Work →
Policy Outcomes
I
believe that the Black Lives Matter have shifted across the spectrum of the
social problems process throughout its struggle. I may appear to be repeating
my point with Chapter 4, but I would like to add that BLM at one point had
Public Reaction in their pocket and was attempting to go towards Policymaking.
Unfortunately, it seems that the BLM did not have any people in Congress or
other policymaking institutions to help them achieve new policies, nor were
they able to convince others policymakers of their struggles. They appear to
have failed to penetrate the policymaking bodies, at least for now. They also
have lost a lot of their media coverage, as news networks have moved on to
other topics (like the Presidential Election of 2016) over the struggles of blacks
against racism in the police force.
The
saving grace appears to be Twitter and other social media platforms. Without
those prospects, the BLM could already be history as a movement with potential
that faded away. The BLM movement is still alive, but from face value, it
appears they have fallen back into the Claimsmaking process with strives toward
Media Coverage and Public Reaction.
The
question remains if BLM will recover and regain its lost ground; however, what
is certain is that the movement is not dead. It could be argued that it is on
the brink, but it is still in the game as of now. For now, BLM is still an
entity, and it will continue to spread the word of “#Black Lives Matter” until
it succeeds in the mission to end police brutality and murder of black people,
or until the movement dies completely (which is unlikely).
