I ruffled some feathers last week when I said that LP National made a bad move by referencing Black Lives Matter in their tweet about Kyle Rittenhouse. I’m squirming as a hit “send” on this article because I’m sure it will upset a few people and it might cost me a few supporters. If you disagree with my assessment, I would love your feedback. And I would also like to know how much Critical Race Theory you’ve read.

This is long, so I’m going to break it down into a couple different posts. And the reason I think this matters, is because I'm going to be spearheading a dramatic change in messaging from LP National and I want people to know why I am steering clear of certain talking points and associations.

Here's why I don't think we should co-opt the BLM movement or their messaging. First, let’s look at the organization, and then let’s examine the movement at large.

From their website:

“#BlackLivesMatter was founded in 2013 in response to the acquittal of Trayvon Martin’s murderer. Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation, Inc. is a global organization in the US, UK, and Canada, whose mission is to eradicate white supremacy and build local power to intervene in violence inflicted on Black communities by the state and vigilantes. By combating and countering acts of violence, creating space for Black imagination and innovation, and centering Black joy, we are winning immediate improvements in our lives.

We are expansive. We are a collective of liberators who believe in an inclusive and spacious movement. We also believe that in order to win and bring as many people with us along the way, we must move beyond the narrow nationalism that is all too prevalent in Black communities. We must ensure we are building a movement that brings all of us to the front.

We affirm the lives of Black queer and trans folks, disabled folks, undocumented folks, folks with records, women, and all Black lives along the gender spectrum. Our network centers those who have been marginalized within Black liberation movements.

We are working for a world where Black lives are no longer systematically targeted for demise.

We affirm our humanity, our contributions to this society, and our resilience in the face of deadly oppression.

The call for Black lives to matter is a rallying cry for ALL Black lives striving for liberation.”

Let’s start by taking apart “ eradicate white supremacy” and then move onto “intervene in violence inflicted on Black communities by the state and vigilantes.”

What is white supremacy? When I think of white supremacy, I think of Jim Crow, redlining, and MLK Jr’s fight against the Klan and his subsequent assassination. I’m relieved that stuff is behind us. No same person thinks it’s acceptable to lynch black people.

Is that what BLM is referring to when it mentions white supremacy? No. BLM subscribes to the critical theory definition of white supremacy.

What is critical theory, and what does it say about white supremacy?

Critical theory refers to one of two things: 1) the Frankfurt School of Marxist critics, including György Lukács, Max Horkheimer, Theodor Adorno, and Herbert Marcuse, and/or 2) Critical Social Theories, such as Critical Race Theory, Postcolonial Theory, Queer Theory, and Intersectional Feminism. https://iep.utm.edu/frankfur/

None of these theories or related institutions use the word “critical” like you and I do. From Robin DiAngelo’s book, “Is Everyone Really Equal?”

"An approach based on critical theory calls into question the idea that “objectivity” is desirable, or even possible. The term used to describe this way of thinking about knowledge is that knowledge is socially constructed. When we refer to knowledge as socially constructed, we mean that knowledge is reflective of the values and interests of those who produce it. This term captures the understanding that all content and all means of knowledge are connected to social context."

Critical theory, rooted in Marxism and enhanced with postmodernism, rejects objective truth. Instead, it replaces it with socially constructed knowledge from a Marxist perspective. Critical approaches interpret texts and situations through the lens of power dynamics, constantly seeking to uncover the inherent oppression within “the system” (whatever that system may be).

In the formal sense, “critical” means looking for the problematic power dynamics in any system, including itself, as they are defined by Theory. It’s an unhealthy marriage of navel gazing and complaining.

Now, for the Critical definition of white supremacy.

“When I use the term “white supremacy”, I do not use it to refer to extreme hate groups. I use the term to capture the pervasiveness, magnitude, and normalcy of white dominance and assumed superiority.” - Robin DiAngelo, “What Does It Mean to Be White? Developing White Racial Literacy”

According to critical theorists (and BLM) white supremacy means anyone who holds an attitude of “support” for the alleged racist system, or anyone who benefits from the alleged racist system. Keep in mind the “racist system” also includes capitalism, as I will explain in a future article.

The majority of people who organize BLM chapters and marches subscribe to and promote this ideology, and you can readily see that by scrolling through their social media accounts and looking at the language they use on their flyers and promotional materials. Many, but not all, of the people who march with BLM hold the same beliefs. Some, but not all, of the people who marched with BLM made their contempt for private property very well known by looting and burning businesses.

I find it troubling that so many libertarians aren’t willing to take a more critical (ha) look at the BLM organization and the talking points of the movement. We are certainly detail-obsessed with every other philosophical tidbit that makes its way in front of our eyes.

As libertarians, we know that the criminal justice system is severely broken. We know that it seems to impact black communities worse than it impacts white communities. We don’t all agree on the ‘why’; some of us think the policies are intended to be racist, some of us think it just turned out that way. But we’re all very interested in exploring the topic. Let’s show the same level of interest in cultural movements and their origins.

If Black Lives Matter has its origins in a clearly Marxist organization, if many of its proponents believe that literally every caucasian person in the US is a white supremacist, if many of them reject objective truth ... is it really too much to ask for us to do black outreach outside of BLM?

I think it’s not too much to ask, but I will continue to make my argument in the next post by discussing BLM’s attitude on vigilantism, Kyle Rittenhouse, and anti-racism.