Nobel Peace Prize?

I see many are discussing the nomination of Black Lives Matter for the Nobel Peace Prize. Of course some are saying that BLM is a national terrorist group. This stirs up some thoughts in my mind. 

When I first found out about George Floyd, it was via scrolling through Facebook. I didn't talk to my husband or kids about it for a few days, although it quite consumed me when I wasn't busy doing anything else. I was watching closely to see if arrests were made and what was going on. 

My kids found out from my husband's cousin, which led to a great conversation and series of conversations that I shared here. I figured my husband had seen news about it, but I guess I just didn't know how to bring it up, and he hadn't either. He broke the ice by standing behind me as I was sitting behind my computer a few days following Floyd's death and saying in Creole, "Did you hear about the black guy the police killed in the U.S.?" (My husband is black and is Haitian. He has never yet traveled off this island. I'm primarily of European/Irish descent and am originally from Virginia, but have been here in the Dominican Republic for thirteen years, since college). I replied with a simple, "Yeah". I won't quote him verbatim here, but in few words, he let me know in a joking way that he'd heard it communicated as an act of war with brewings of something similar to the Haitian revolution in 1804. I laughed slightly at his joke and he walked away. 

I felt relieved that he broke the ice, and also was slightly startled, yet amused by his half-hearted comment. All my family are white people in the U.S. so of course there was a bit of sting to the joke, but I got over it quickly, knowing that it was nothing more than that. He did not actually have access to secret intel. It's not funny, but neither is history. 

True, we didn't have an in depth conversation at that time, but my brain started spinning. I mentioned in another post that my husband doesn't really talk about racism and is one of those people who doesn't let it get to him. He in no way made that statement from a place of personal anger or hate. 

If you aren't familiar with Haitian history, Haiti was a French colony that employed a very brutal slave system, compared to the U.S., for example, where there was a 10:1 slave to slaveholder ratio. It is said that extra measures were taken by the French to be able to control the slaves, as they were so outnumbered. 

Well, in summary, they lost control, militias were formed, and the slaves led a genocide against all the French that didn't manage to flee. This happened in 1804, 28 years after the U.S. declared independence from Great Britain, and made Haiti the second colony in the New World to gain independence. This is also said to have made Haiti the first free black republic in the world, although I have to admit I don't

Toussaint Louverture,
Haitian Revolution leader

understand the details to that and the situation of other black republics around the world. 

I talked in my last post about how in the years following independence, France then continued to threaten to attack and overtake Haiti again, extorting enormous amounts of money from the young republic. Other countries were reported to have done similar types of bullying. Anyway, this history is what floated around in my mind following his comment. I then posted these thoughts on May 29. 

"Here's some food for thought. America gained independence in a bloody revolution against England, right? And we celebrate and honor that. It is honorable to die while defending the freedom of your people, even if you're not in the bondage of slavery, but your freedom is even threatened somehow.

What if descendants of slaves in the United States, facing unjust treatment still, God forbid, put those same principles into action? With the extreme availability of guns, what if secret militias were already forming? I'm not saying this to encourage any such thing, but to invite reflection about potential consequences of actions. Hoping and praying that those in power listen to Jesus by treating others as they would want to be treated. Since when does cold blooded murder caught on tape require an investigation before arrest?"

Some friends and family chimed in and I appreciated the dialogue. Again, I was in no way trying to condone violence by posting that, but to ask "what if" questions to make us think of best ways to avoid violence in our reaction to situations, but also in what we teach and celebrate. I also poured my thoughts into this post during those first few days, which shares a plea for people to take a knee and listen. 

And then what happened? Wikipedia provides a wealth of information that seems reliable. The numbers at least match up with what I've read in other sources. Protests in all fifty states, plus D.C., (plus other countries, but these stats apply to the U.S.). 93% of protests were considered to have no violence or destruction involved and therefore were deemed peaceful. 25 people dead, over a billion dollars in property damage, tens of thousands of people arrested, tens of millions of participants.

The article also says, "it is partially initiated by the nationwide Black Lives Matter movement". These stats cover the racial unrest, but not events or protests specifically organized by the organization Black Lives Matter. Pick a war that the U.S. was involved in and do a Google search. You'll find that the casualties were hundreds of thousands, some into the millions. And what have the causes of war been? Does the video of George Floyd being suffocated by a police officer for eight minutes while handcuffed and motionless, and what that represents to the African American community rank among such motivations?

We should mourn the lives of those 25 (and more if there are) people whose lives were lost. It's surely sad that businesses were damaged, and I hope that they were or will be able to recover with insurance, and other means, such as community support. I used my voice to urge peace throughout. But when you put it in this perspective, these protests look pretty peaceful by comparison, don't they? A different approach could have been taken. Violent acts could have been planned and executed, as that is what is taught as the heroic response to violations of freedom. In fact, it might just be a successful example to the world of how to communicate and work through problems without using violence toward other humans.

The name Black Lives Matter surely is a humble and peaceful one, although people still somehow found ways to find it offensive. Their website displays no aggression or hate. And when have you ever seen a cause so unified and widely spread? Black Lives Matter may or may not win the Nobel Peace Prize, but they should at the very least, earn the respect of anyone who has ever tried to motivate, organize, lead, or motivate literally anything, from a large conferences to group assignments.

With that being said, let me also say that I think BLM's role in their cause is an easy one compared to groups like Equal Justice Initiative who has been fighting for criminal justice reform and educating the public about their work for over thirty years. And then there are groups like Big Brothers, Big Sisters, and Teach for America, which give basically anyone the pathway to mentor directly into the lives of vulnerable youth. I volunteered with BBBS throughout college and still keep in touch with my little sister and her family.

If BLM would use their audience (and maybe they do and I'm unaware) to not only drive change through petitions and protests, but also convince people to give their resources to groups like Equal Justice Initiative, and to give their time to directly investing in the life of a vulnerable young person through groups like Big Brothers Big Sisters, then I think this chapter of history could truly come to a close, and racial statistics in the U.S. could become a thing of the past.

I am in no way trying to display insensitivity to people who were innocent victims of violence or property damage that did take place during these protests. I am putting the effects of it all into perspective, considering the alternative methods of warfare that have been used throughout history when groups of people are unable to come to an agreement.

As for the argument that BLM is a domestic terrorist group, we actually have the insurrection on the Capitol on January 6th to compare it to. Five people were killed during a four hour attack in one location. Compare that to 25 deaths from several months of protesting all over the country. Again, not trying to support violence or destruction in any way, but to simply put things into perspective.

Thanks for reading and please leave your thoughts in the comments!

Edited March 31, 2021.