Like many progressives, I have been sympathetic and supportive of the #BlackLivesMatter movement. But with their debut of the #bowdownbernie hashtag and repeated targeting of Bernie Sanders for heckling at speaking events -- without doing the same to Hillary Clinton, both of whose records on racial issues are essentially the same and mostly positive -- #BLM has lost my support.
They should lose the support of all fair-minded progressives. Why? Because bullying, dehumanizing rhetoric such as telling anyone to "bow down" is the kind of thing Donald Trump would say. It has no place in the progressive movement, the Democratic Party, or indeed in a civilized society. It is immature, offensive, and will only serve to alienate millions of people who otherwise would have rallied to the cause, the truth, that Black Lives Matter. Those who claim to speak for this truth should grow up and stop denigrating Sen. Sanders -- a progressive leader who has a long track record as an outspoken ally in the movement to value all life equally regardless of race.
Bernie Sanders is not perfect on any issue, nor is Hillary Clinton. There is room for improvement all around. We need a vigorous dialogue in America about issues of racism and racial injustice in the criminal justice system, and the Democratic presidential primary is a great place for that to occur.
But extreme #BLM activists are probably turning more people off from engaging in this much-needed dialogue than they are winning support for their cause. I hope all progressives will continue talking about protecting the lives and freedom of innocent people of color -- and demanding action on these issues from our political leaders -- but without the nasty, rancorous, and sadly counterproductive tactics and rhetoric that #BLM has recently adopted.