Black Lives Matter

Reading about current racial politics in Jewish RI is akin to reading Rudyard Kipling’s “The White Man’s Burden” with a diminution of literary style. A false sense of omnipotence over racial disparities is not going to eliminate them. White guilt and good intentions often lead to poor results. While the murder of George Floyd should be condemned, demonizing of police only buys a mistaken feeling of moral superiority. The surging murder rates in Minneapolis, New York and Chicago, to name a few, show that the Black Lives Matter movement is having effects opposite of its stated intentions.
Social justice advocates wish to use Floyd’s murder to create more unsound policies, like raising minimum wages. To not go bankrupt, a business has to make a profit in excess of the cost of providing the service. For example, a higher minimum wage makes cashiers more costly. The business owner must cut labor hours to compete, installs self-checkout, and some cashiers suffer unemployment. Unemployment leads to more crime and taxpayer costs. Public sector unions, like those for police and teachers, make their job security and pay better, but make it hard to fire poor performers. The damage done by bad police and teachers can be irreparable.
It should be noted that most of these racial problems are occurring in Democrat-run cities and states embracing social justice programs and wealth redistribution that encourages dependency. That comes back to the racist, condescending belief that minorities are helpless victims unable to raise themselves out of poverty. Beware of false messiahs with simple solutions. I would highly recommend the book, “Discrimination and Disparities,” by Thomas Sowell for those blinded by the media narrative. Black lives do matter, but the organization is hurting those it purports to help.
Farrel I. Klein
Providence