Nikki Haley is confused. On Wednesday, the Republican governor of South Carolina stated that the Black Lives Matter movement was actually harming black lives. According to the
New York Times:
"Most of the people who now live in terror because local police are too intimidated to do their jobs are black," Ms. Haley said at a luncheon in Washington. "Black lives do matter, and they have been disgracefully jeopardized by the movement that has laid waste to Ferguson and Baltimore." […]
"Some people think that you have to yell and scream in order to make a difference," Ms. Haley said. "That’s not true. Often, the best thing we can do is turn down the volume level."
It is actually remarkable how many on the right are condemning the Black Lives Matter movement. The movement is asking for police to stop killing black people. Why is that so remarkably controversial? If police can't do their jobs because we want them to stop killing black people, they aren't very good at their jobs.
And notice how Haley turns this into another boring conversation about black-on-black crime. Black people are forced to live in terror because of crime in their neighborhoods (read: black-on-black crime) since police can't police now. Right. Note that Rand Paul did the same thing during a speech in Chicago, saying, "When I hear people say, 'Black lives matter,' I think of Jacele Johnson, who is 4 years old and got shot this weekend just a few blocks from here." In other words, when I think of black lives matter, I think of black crime. It's a deflection tactic and the ultimate example of false equivalence.
How crazy is it that when we ask police to not act without undue force—in other words, to do their jobs—we're told that they are unable to do so? How crazy is it to say that police are too intimidated to do their jobs now that we've asked them to stop recklessly killing people of color?
Haley also does what so many on the right have done in this conversation. They talk about America while denigrating the most American of traditions. Bad news, Gov. Haley. "Yelling and screaming"—in other words, marching and protesting—are not only legal, they are a deep and important part of our history in this country. This is the benefit of free speech and democracy. You don't have to like the message, although you should. But the tactics themselves you should support. This is like saying, "All those people sitting in at the lunch counter are only hurting themselves. You don't have to disrupt everyone else for your cause."
Haley once again proves that she's where she should be: in the wrong on the right.