theatlantic | “You’re hollering this ‘black lives
matter’ bullshit,” Hubbard said. “It don’t matter. You’re killing each
other.” In fact, the overwhelming majority of people hollering “black
lives matter” have never killed and will never kill anyone. The vast
majority of Black Lives Matter protestors are not “tearing up the
neighborhood” either. These race-based generalizations rob their objects
of individual identities. The fact that some young black men carry guns
and commit violent crimes doesn’t mean that other young black men and
women––totally distinct individuals who happen to share the
same skin color––should have their activism discredited, enjoy fewer
civil liberties, or be at increased risk of being killed by cops. It is
interesting that the various right-wing news sites that picked up this
video failed to catch these flaws, despite fancying themselves champions
of individualism, color-blindness, and the rights contained in the
United States Constitution.
Hubbard
was speaking off-the-cuff at a moment of high emotion; it’s possible
that she hasn’t fully considered all the implications of her views; but
as stated, they are wrongheaded. She might’ve been on solid ground if
she’d stopped at arguing that police were justified in shooting Ball-Bey
and that Black Lives Matter was wrong to protest that particular
killing; instead, she spoke as if the Ball-Bey encounter bears on the
righteousness of protesting other deaths, like Freddie Gray, Walter
Scott, or any of the other black men that police officers have been indicted for murdering.
* * *
Despite these significant disagreements, I’m glad Peggy Hubbard spoke
out on Facebook. It’s generally a good thing when citizens earnestly
express their views in public discourse, and she deserves kudos for
trying to improve her community as best she can. She has articulated
beliefs that are shared by a lot of people, which is itself an important
service: Insofar as those beliefs are inaccurate or wrongheaded, better
that they be aired and debated than invisible and unexamined.
This viral video and the comments around it also represent an
opportunity for the activists of Black Lives Matter to understand how
some critics of their movement perceive the world, to engage in
conversation and debate,
to refine any weaknesses in their own thinking that emerge, and to
persuade their interlocutors to adjust some of their positions. In fact,
despite Hubbard’s harsh words, I’d bet that, properly engaged, she
could be persuaded to voice support for at least a portion of the
policing-reform agenda. If so, what an ambassador she would make to
millions of potential converts.
