Time For The Voices of Hate To Be Silenced.

How racist people justify their racism.

In the current environment of racial tension and the Black Lives Matter movement, I get that some people don't understand it. I get that some people confuse the movement with the organization. I even get racist people saying All Lives Matter. in response.

What gets me though are racist people who KNOW they're wrong, and completely fabricating narratives to justify holding on to their racism.

Today? It's the post below, shared by one of my FB friends.

If the text is too small, here is what it says...

The animals pictured below car-jacked, then raped Christopher Newsom, cut off his penis, then set him on fire and fatally shot him several times while they forced his girlfriend, Channon Christian, to watch. An even more cruel fate awaited her!

Channon Christian, was beaten and gang-raped in many ways for four days by all of them, while they took turns urinating on her. Then they cut off her breast and put chemicals in her mouth … and then murdered her. Why didn’t this received National coverage by the news media like the George Floyd case?

Oh, that’s right – the victims were white.

Anyone reading this will think it's happening now or that it is very recent news and become incensed, which is of course the point.

They WANT you to get angry and enraged. They WANT you to feel a sense of injustice.

Specifically, the want you to feel that white lives don't matter because in their minds, when they hear Black Lives Matter they wrongly believe that it means white lives don't.

And by getting you to be wrongfully enraged at the perceived injustice, they gain an ally to unwittingly support them in their racism, and turn any chance of discussion and opportunity for progress into an argument based on whataboutism.

What about this? What about that?

It is a deliberately false narrative they created to manipulate you into staying closed-minded and angry so progress can't be made because everyone is on an emotional knife edge.

People like this deliberately set out to sabotage progress so they keep things the way they are, justify their own biases, and hold on to a false sense of identity.

But what is the truth? That there wasn't outrage or that it's not in the media? That it's being buried because the victims are white?

No. That's the lie. That's the false narrative.

The incredibly horrific murders did happen, but not as the description says - there were a few additions to the story.

So what is the truth?

For starters, they did not cut off Christopher Newsom’s penis or Channon Christian’s breast - that was a lie.

Christian was killed within a day of the kidnapping and wasn't held captive for several days - another lie.

They poured cleaning solution into Christian’s mouth to eliminate DNA evidence, not torture - another lie.

And didn't shoot Christian or set her body on fire - lie.

But they didn't just lie about the details of the murders, they lied about the motive.

The case wasn't tried as a hate crime because there was no evidence to show that skin color was a factor or motive for the crimes.

And there was SIGNIFICANT outrage and it was on every media outlet -> back in 2007 when it happened.

All 5 of them were arrested and charged with various charges murder, rape, theft, carjacking and more - more than charges between them.

One of them got the death sentence. Two of them got life in prison. Another 53 years in prison. One of them was an accessory only and he got 18 years in prison.

The ENTIRE point of posts like this, I can only conclude, is for racist people to manipulate others through anger into siding with them in their racism so they can muddy the waters and interrupt, even slow the progress of racial equality.

And the tactic is simple - lie.

Take an old, horrific tragedy where the victims are white and the perpetrators are black, (it has to be old so it's not in the current news), add some dramatic and false details to stir people's anger, twist the narrative to be against whatever stance they're against, (in this case Black Lives Matter), and throw it out into the world with a bold, emotionally charged statement that plays into the heart of the topic at hand.

That's the strategy. That's the game.

If they get enough people to believe the lies, can slow and even stop progress.

And I think from now on, I'm going to continue to explain the narratives and expose the strategies, because telling people they're being manipulated isn't enough.

And calling them sheep or accusing them of drinking the Kool-Aid is disrespectful, dismissive and even mean-spirited.

But educating them and exposing the lies?

If even one person becomes more aware can grows, my efforts will not have been wasted.

And I think in this time especially, those of us with the skill to do research, think rationally, and have the ability to convey ideas effectively have a responsibility to combat the complete and utter bullshit that those who breed hate push out into the world.

Those of us who can do this cannot allow the voices of hate to be the loudest voice in the room anymore, or allow them to control the narrative.

It's well past time for ignorance about thinks like race to die, and we can start the process of drowning out the voices of hate by sharing this post, and others, that debunk falsehood and expose lies everywhere.

We need to share it because those who do this also lie about the sources that do tell the truth and expose the lies. They tell people not to believe them, don't trust them, or that they're part of some conspiracy, and people who fall for the lies, don't.

We can no longer allow ignorance to go viral unchecked. We have to challenge it, rebut it, and stifle it out.

Propaganda is the tool that those who push hate have learned to use in order to infiltrate the masses. We need to respond in greater numbers.

I know for a fact that the good far outnumber the bad, but the good also tends to be quiet.

It's time to shout people, and be louder too.