When police reform became tied to anti-police activists, it was predictable that the Black Lives Matter movement would sink its brief period of goodwill. Sure enough, as Democrats push an abomination of a police reform bill, that goodwill is long gone.
According to USA Today/IPSOS polls, people who “expressed trust in the Black Lives Matter movement to promote justice and equal treatment of people” dropped from 60% to 50% since last June. Trust in local police to do the same has risen from 56% to 69%. Even though more black people approve of Black Lives Matter than local law enforcement, they’ve seen that gap close by 26 points.
This swing was entirely predictable. In June, the public said it was more important to ensure law and order than “protect the right to protest” by only 1 percentage point. That gap has jumped to 18% in favor of law and order. Meanwhile, 57% oppose redirecting police funds to social services. The “defund the police” movement is underwater by 40 points, with fewer than three in 10 black people supporting it.
Any desire the Black Lives Matter movement had for actual police reform was drowned out by obnoxious activists, politicians, and corporate allies. The American Civil Liberties Union and celebrity politicians such as Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar fully backed the “defund the police” movement. The Minneapolis City Council made George Floyd’s death all about the extreme demands of anti-police activists, voting to abolish the city’s Police Department.
Meanwhile, protests devolved into riots in many cities. Leaders propped up by Black Lives Matter supporters excused or justified the riots: Then-Sen. Kamala Harris helped bail rioters out of jail, while washed-up former NFL player Colin Kaepernick cheered on the destruction of businesses and homes that were lit on fire. Several people died.
Black Lives Matter supporters picked stupid cultural battles, continuing their protests against the American flag and the national anthem. Sure, they were able to rebrand syrup bottles and remove white voice actors from nonwhite characters. If that was the goal, the movement was a success. Yet otherwise, they failed.
These were all self-inflicted wounds. The movement had a sympathetic national audience after Floyd’s death, but instead of pursuing realistic police reforms, movement leaders instead tried to bludgeon the public into accepting all the worst elements backed by anti-police figures. Everyone has reverted back to their pre-2020 positions, and it was entirely predictable.
