Juan Williams: Why Does #BlackLivesMatter Keep Damaging Their Own Cause?
Fox analyst Juan Williams has been reasonably defensive about the #BlackLivesMatter movement in the past, telling Eric Bolling on Saturday that there is no definite correlation to impassioned protesters to the acts of violence that have been attributed to rhetoric such as theirs. In a new column for The Hill, though, Williams slammed the group for hurting their own movement by constantly focusing their anger towards the national political structure.
Williams began by acknowledging how the movement was the African-American community’s response to the violence and social injustices they have endured. However, Williams also pointed out how the movement’s recent actions like challenging supportive Democratics while not proposing political solutions will be counter-productive to its own goals.
Williams expressed concern about how people who are caught up in the anger of the movement will become too politically discouraged to vote or push for any substantial changes to fix anything:
When BlackLives activists denounce the Democratic National Committee for issuing a resolution in support of police reform, they are hurting themselves with party officials. When they say that all political parties try to “control or contain” black liberation, they are also damaging faith in the political system, especially among young people.
When they interrupt Democrats running for the presidential nomination, such as Bernie Sanders and Martin O’Malley, they are alienating longtime political allies and their supporters. When they videotape Hillary Clinton after she generously agrees to meet with them privately — in an apparent attempt to embarrass her — they are distancing themselves from the likely Democratic nominee. And imagine how local and state officials will react now to any request for a meeting with the group.
Williams concluded his piece by referencing several congressional figures and bills in favor of sentencing reform and similar measures. He wrote that #BlackLivesMatter would be more constructive by drumming up support for those areas instead of heckling politicians and using dangerous rhetoric.
“The key to controlling fear or fire is turning it to a constructive purpose,” Williams wrote. “Now if only #BlackLivesMatter will harness its own fire into the urgent cause of criminal justice reform.”
[Image via Screengrab]
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