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Although it might be pretentious for a white dude, in one of the whitest states in the union, weighing in on Black Lives Matter on the cusp of Black History Month, I think my concern is legitimate. Im sure Ill hear about it, in any case. My particular yank concerns Barre Citys questionable decision to fly the Black Lives Matter flag and then, after a month, replace it with the other BLM flag Blue Lives Matter subsequently replacing that one as well, creating what is essentially a flag of the month club for the remainder of the year, transparently ducking responsibility to unequivocally condemn racism wherever it appears.

Taking this approach, the Granite City zeroes in on the low hanging fruit, theoretically pleasing everyone by creating a kind of balance that, however well-intentioned, trivializes Black Lives Matter and unwittingly contributes to widening the abyss between two politically charged movements. BLM is a mostly reasonable, even, dare I say, toned down response to hundreds of years of racial discrimination and violence perpetrated on African-Americans in this country. Although burned into the nations consciousness after the live-streamed murder of George Floyd, the movement actually emerged after the 2012 killing of Trayvon Martin.

After being ordered by Sanford, Florida, police not to follow Martin, George Zimmerman, a self-styled neighborhood watch captain, perceived the Black teen who was visiting his father to be in the wrong place, followed anyway, subsequently shooting him dead, and eventually being acquitted based on the states stand your ground laws. In death, Martin joined the growing contingent of young Black men three times more likely to be shot than their white peers.

But the movement really came into its own as America watched, horrified, as the last eight minutes and 40 seconds of George Floyds life ebbed away under the knee of a Minneapolis policeman, appalling in the ghastly reality of just how casual police-murders of Black men had become. Expressionless, one hand in his pocket, officer Derek Chauvin appeared as calm and collected as he might be squishing a bug. The stomach churning footage was a clear illustration of the police brutality African-Americans have alleged for decades, galvanizing the world as people took to the streets in 2,000 cities nationally and 60 additional countries, as far away as New Zealand.

As it became apparent the protests were diverse and largely peaceful a Harvard research study found 97.7% of all the demonstrations were without violence the movement was nonetheless demonized. While the data clearly showed the small number of violent episodes were directed toward BLM supporters rather than instigated by them, the far-right fog machine was already up and running, with the president and Fox News depicting the country as either burning down or completely taken over by violent, Black, left-wing socialists bent on destroying our way of life. However politically convenient, this assessment was a racially motivated fabrication.

Also coming to light at that time was the often too close association between police departments, violent militia groups and white supremacists, many of whom have adopted the Blue Lives Matter flag and its cousin, the Thin Blue Line flag, as potent symbols not only in opposition to the BLM movement, but as a show of solidarity focused on intimidating people of color into silence and submission. According to the Brennan Center for Justice, the FBI has warned of White supremacist infiltration of law enforcement and along with Homeland Security pointed to racist groups as the most lethal domestic terrorist threat to the United States.

None of this is intended as an intimation the Barre City Police are anything but honorable public servants, showing up every day to do the incredibly difficult and dangerous work protecting the community. I appreciate the work they do, and although I dont support blanket defunding, I do believe in reallocation of resources are necessary to address some of the problems for which police are untrained that can frequently result in tragedy such as domestic issues or mental illness.

My issue is with city government and the apparent belief that a poignant entreaty by African-Americans not to be murdered based on their skin color, somehow needs to be balanced, especially with what has become a controversial symbol on its own, frequently used to justify the precise institutional racism that BLM and its supporters are aligned against.

Like much of our politics these days, this is complex, rife with nuance yet still requiring a clear decision, firmly denouncing racism without equivocation. In this, Barre missed the mark, in effect, limiting their support of Black Lives Matter to 30 days and subsequently promoting a movement diametrically opposed to everything BLM stands for. They cant have it both ways.

Earlier this week, as Congress prepared to make him the first president in U.S. history to be impeached twice, Donald Trump put an even finer point on centuries of racial strife, in his first public remarks since the deadly Capitol insurrection he incited. As usual, dodging any responsibility and voicing no regrets, he claimed his remarks preceding the siege were totally appropriate, instead blaming racial justice protests as the real problem, suggesting If you look at what other people have said, politicians at a high level about the riots during the summer, the horrible riots in Portland and Seattle and various other places, that was a real problem.

Think about that. According to the president, African-Americans demanding the bare minimum racial equality would offer the privilege of not being shot is the real problem. The sheer audacity of that statement as the nation recoils from MAGA goons, Proud Boys and yes, white supremacists, violently storming an enduring symbol of democracy the U.S. Capitol should be the catalyst for every state, city, town and hamlet to proudly raise the Black Lives Matter banner and commit to leaving it up for as long as it takes to flush this poison from our system.

Walt Amses lives in North Calais.

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