...and I was a voluteer at Bernie's record-breaking Pheonix rally later in the evening. I went to NN15 because I live in Arizona and I wanted to be affiliated with those who came to protest in my own state the oppression of America's racial and ethnic communities. As a middle-aged white guy, I came not as a member, but as an ally of BLM. I left feeling otherwise.
The truth is that as I heard and saw the reaction of the NN15 attendees in the room, I came to realize that BLM made a strategic blunder.
At first, as with any unexpected boisterous protest, the attendees were confused and disturbed because what they came to hear about was being distrupted. That disquieting feeling quickly dissipated as we realized what was starting.
For a while, we took it to heart, even joining in with the chanting, the clapping, the "human microphone". We all knew BLM has a real point to get across to our leaders and has a real need to protest to be heard. Everyone there was fine with that... everyone... for a while.
Then, in front of a room full of allies and potential allies, the BLM protesters wouldn't relent. For a moment, they did, which gave Martin O'Malley a chance to address their concerns, and wow, did he blow it big time with a supremely tone deaf response. At which point, the protesters very understandably fired up again.
As the event continued, O'Malley slinked off stage, and Bernie Sanders emerged to address the matter head on. He tried to connect the interests of the BLM protesters with his message of economic renewal for the vast majority of Americans which, in his opinion, when coupled with reform of brutal police tactics, will serve to mitigate the underlying causes of the pain that has made the BLM protests necessary.
Sanders tried to address BLM with real solutions, but it appeared to everyone I could see and hear in the room that the protesters weren't interested in hearing solutions, but were only interested in making noise.
And that was NOT the way to win over a room full of allies and potential allies. Pissing off your friends is NOT the way to affect change. BLM lost support yesterday afternoon. They made a strategic blunder.
