Has Black Lives Matter been hijacked by Greenpeace? That is the question I have been asking myself since their most recent protest at London City Airport.
The protestors were all white males, including Ralph Fiennes’s cousin, and the only visible black person you could see was a police officer.
According to official Black Lives Matter spokespeople, the government’s failure to tackle climate change is evidence of racism and, as London City Airport is surrounded by areas heavily populated by black people, it was perfectly reasonable to stage the protest there.
Their last protest was at Heathrow Airport, and like the last action, the only thing the group has achieved is to look foolish in many people’s eyes – becoming the butt of jokes and loathed by huge swathes of the general public.
The protest disrupted the travel plans of many black people. A Nigerian woman interviewed by ITV, who was delayed en route to Lagos said: “The protest was uncalled for, unnecessary, and the protestors were being inhuman”. When told they were representing Black Lives Matter, she said “Black what? They can f**k off”.
It is perfectly acceptable for white people to participate in Black Lives Matter, but this focus on airports and climate change suggests that Black Lives Matter is being controlled or has been hijacked by ultra-leftist socialists and Greenpeace activists, who are furthering their own causes under the banner of Black Lives Matter, and also points to a lack of grassroots support for the movement amongst black Brits generally.
Black lives do matter, but London City and Heathrow airports are inappropriate places to protest that fact.
The Black Lives Matter protests in the US stemmed from anger against fatal police shootings of young black men, and the first black lives matter UK protests were to show solidarity with the US movement and focused on policing methods.
I was shocked to read that the US city of Chicago has this month recorded its 500th shooting of 2016, and it has been suggested that the horrific spike in crime rates is due to the police taking a less proactive approach to policing because of accusations levelled against them of racism – this has allowed criminals to flourish and left communities scared and under siege.
A recent report states that a reduction in stop and search has resulted in a rise in knife crime in London. Commander Dean Haydon, head of Scotland Yard’s homicide and major crime, has said: “Gang members and young people told police that reducing stop and search meant it was no longer such a deterrent for those thinking of carrying weapons, they are not being stopped and searched as much as they used to be so the deterrence is less”.
Black Lives Matter should protest against the needless and senseless deaths caused by knife crime.
Far too many young black boys, particularly from an Afro-Caribbean background, are fatherless, and studies show that boys who have fathers are less likely to get caught up in gang crime and that marriage still is the best platform for bringing up children.
What I also find so troubling about protest groups like Black Lives Matter is that when you scratch beneath the surface of a lot of their rhetoric, they are protesting in favour of elite rule. Identity politics and victimhood theories are heavily promoted, as well as the notion that only the government can rescue us from racism. They are advocating in favour of a benign authoritarianism and it comes as no surprise that so many of the so-called social justice warriors support the European Union and turn a blind eye to the fact that equality and diversity amongst EU bureaucrats is non-existent.
I am a black woman with first-hand experience of the pain and frustration that racism, discrimination, and colourism causes. Witnessing stunts like the absurd airport protest doesn’t make me feel proud; it makes me feel annoyed to see groups like Black Lives Matter trivialising issues.
(Image: Johnny Silvercloud)
