Black Lives Matter - Sometimes
As of noon on July 4, 2022, nine people had been shot and killed in Chicago over the July 4th weekend. A total of 57 had been shot altogether.
The corporate media barely noticed.
In Akron, a black man fleeing from police was shot and killed. The media exploded with fury. The streets filled with the usual suspects.
Seems black life only matters when it fits a particular narrative.
Nine people have been shot and killed in Chicago over the Fourth of July weekend in Chicago. They are among at least 57 people shot, according to police.
Friday night in Chicago a woman was killed and two others wounded in a shootout in Chinatown.
In the 2200 block of South Wentworth Avenue that same evening a man and woman engaged in a gunfight. The woman was struck in the abdomen, taken to the hospital, and died of her injuries.
Another man that same night was shot and killed in Englewood.
A man was killed in a shooting Saturday in South Shore. He was riding his bike when he was shot by someone in a passing car.
Three people were shot, one fatally, in a backyard early Sunday morning in Grand Crossing on the South Side.
During an eight-hour span surrounding that incident, a total of 16 people were shot in Chicago.
A man was fatally shot sitting outside a residential building Sunday morning in West Humboldt Park on the West Side.
Hours later, a man was shot walking in Chicago Lawn on the South Side.
Nine people were wounded in separate weekend mass shootings on the West and South Sides.
A 10-year-old was wounded while sitting inside his bedroom Sunday night when bullets were shot through the side of his home in Englewood.
These are anecdotes only. Right now in Chicago, a person is shot every two hours and 45 minutes. A person is killed every thirteen hours. Almost 80% of the victims are black. The same applies to the shooters. Overwhelmingly the people doing the dying are young black males.
No one cares.
In Akron, though, there is outrage. The mayor just declared a state of emergency, canceled July 4th celebrations, and imposed a curfew. Police are clashing with angry mobs.
Why? You know why. A black man was killed by police. Kids getting shot in the head for no reason in Chicago is no big deal, but the life of this one guy is something to go to the mat about.
The man killed was named Jayland Walker. Police attempted to pull him over in a traffic stop. He drove away at high speed. While attempting to escape from the police Walker shot at a police car following him. When he was finally pulled over Walker fled the vehicle and attempted to escape on foot. When he exited the car Walker was wearing a ski mask covering his head and face.
Bodycam footage of Walker’s shooting shows police officers firing dozens of times. Following the release of the bodycam footage showing the shooting of Walker, the Fraternal Order of Police's Akron Lodge #7 said that the car being driven by the victim was involved in a 'felony fleeing police chase' the previous morning. The press release from the FOP added, 'We believe the independent investigation will justify the officers' actions, including the number of shots fired. The decision to deploy lethal force as well as the number of shots fired is consistent with use of force protocols and officers' training.'
An armed member of the Black Panthers in Akron said Sunday, 'That was murder. They [police] lying. They shot him while he was running. He was running away from them. That was murder.'
What happens every day in Chicago and many other American cities is a tragedy. Law and order no longer exist. Armed gangs rule the streets. The young men and women, most of them black, who are born into these areas are doomed from birth. If they somehow avoid being shot, they will be pushed out of necessity to become involved in criminal activity and ultimately become murderers themselves.
If groups like Black Lives Matter truly cared about any of this they would be on the South Side of Chicago demanding an end to the violence, telling young black men to put down their guns, and doing everything humanly possible to provide an alternate path for them. These social justice warriors would be fighting to end a culture of death and bring hope to those who have none.
Instead, these charlatans and conmen shamelessly seize on every opportunity to divide the nation along racial lines, demonize the police and spread violence and hate. Their true objective is not justice. They seek to destroy and tear down and wage war on society.
Black lives matter – sometimes – when it suits the purposes of the revolutionaries in our streets.