The information about COVID-19 has been ever-changing. This has caused it to become quite a political issue. Politics, unfortunately, have caused great harm to many segments of our society. Questions swirl about quarantine, wearing a cloth mask, group gatherings and now getting kids back into the classroom. Each side seems to be looking for information that can support their argument. I say information rather than facts because many points have been skewed to support an agenda.
Far too often we use sound-bite pieces of information as a rally cry. The media tends to use sound bites to bolster their stories. The public uses memes to provide “evidence” that supports their beliefs. Anyone who seriously studies any topic realizes that memes are half-truths at best and outright lies at worst. This does not help the problems we are facing.
One such meme that has been posted is about Black Lives Matter, the organization. I want to make a distinction that there is an organization by that name. It also is a rally cry for a movement. They may have come from the same place but they do not necessarily have the same goals.
The organization has a way to donate money via their website. It was reported in a meme that all of the money funneled through the website and goes directly to the Democratic National Committee. I am guessing someone twisted through a lot of faulty logic to come to that conclusion. People see the meme which then builds a belief that the conclusion logically follows from the premise and that both are true. In reality, the conclusion does not necessarily logically follow from the premise.
Unless someone can show the money trail without using fuzzy logic, I don’t believe this claim is factual.
What is factual is that the organization uses ActBlue software to help them gather donations. ActBlue provides the software to Democratic campaigns, candidates, committees and progressive groups. Therefore, money donated to the organization will go to left-leaning causes.
Another one I have recently seen consists of an argument stating that BLM is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. This is true. A premise is stated that it is illegal for them to use their money to further a political campaign. That is untrue. It is illegal to further a partisan political campaign. But short of directly or indirectly providing support to a partisan issue the organization is not doing anything illegal by supporting its own cause.
Ultimately the premises lead to a conclusion that allowing the words “Black Lives Matters” to be painted on a street is government allowing a nonprofit to practice politics. There is a distinction between practicing political activities and practicing partisan political activities.
Again, I think there needs to be solid evidence of the organization breaking these rules. Something a meme would never do accurately.
It would appear that I am fighting for the organization in this column. Instead, I am using examples of how memes and sound bites improperly provide support for any position.
I completely disagree with many of the goals of the organization. One example, directly from their website, states they want to disrupt the nuclear family structure and replace it with “villages” that collectively care for one another. That sounds like they are setting a foundation for building out communes. They even refer to other like-minded people as comrades. While many words could have been used to describe like-minded people I found it curious that they chose the word comrades.
While the organization doesn’t claim, via their website, that they are in favor of “defunding the police” many people on the street, marching in the name of Black Lives Matter, do push that agenda. If the organization is being misrepresented then it should clarify that defunding the police is not one of the goals of the organization. But they have not and that is telling.
Scotty Anderson is a computer programmer who enjoys serving the community through various community-oriented service jobs.
July 11, 2020 at 02:00PM
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His View: Internet memes never tell the whole story - Moscow-Pullman Daily News
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