When it comes to the social justice theme of the day, people are expected to either fall in line or be ostracized by those sympathetic to the cause – there is no middle ground.
During an interview with a UK-based network, Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas of the girl group TLC opened up about her thoughts on social issues in the United States. When asked if she actively participated in marches related to Black Lives Matter, Thomas said that she did not and she believes that “all lives matter.” This caused Twitter users to go on the attack threatening to boycott TLC’s latest album and pointing out that the black community has been a large part of the group’s success.
What the social justice warriors failed to comprehend was that Thomas mentioned a key point of Black Lives Matter’s outrage: police brutality. She went on to state that she recognizes instances that occur where inexperienced police make decisions that end tragically. However, that point was lost on the mob because, in the course of condemning unnecessary police brutality, Thomas also pointed out that white people also fall victim to inexperienced policing methods.
While social media has been an incredibly useful tool, it can also serve as a rally point for those who want to incite virtual riots and inflict maximum damage on a person. Word of mouth is perhaps one of the most effective tools in a fight. It’s ironic that calls to action from many members of the black community come in the form of public humiliation toward another member of the very same community.
Pushing an agenda that’s supposedly based on the idea that equality for all hasn’t been achieved in 2017 shouldn’t include attacks on those who do not share in the same cause. Sometimes I wonder who is actually stifling who when it comes to opinions and beliefs. It sets minorities back several decades to expect everyone within a particular group to hold the exact same beliefs and share in the same causes.
It has gotten to the point where people are afraid to hold certain beliefs on topics where following the leader has become almost mandatory for certain groups. Either fall in line or face being ostracized by members of the community. It does nothing to help outsiders understand the message or even share in dialogue regarding social issues. The words Rozonda Thomas spoke fell on mostly deaf ears because she did not echo the sentiment of the masses. While showing support for their message, she gave her opinion as asked.
That’s another thing many keyboard social justice warriors do. They put way too much stock in what celebrities say. Taking to social media to burn them at the stake for a joke, interview, or post is the norm. So the message that is being spread far and wide is not social awareness, but that those who speak words not approved by social justice warriors will receive social media backlash.
In the end, it amounts to demanding that everyone within a particular minority group shares an opinion. That sentiment in itself is not only counterproductive, but it also does not promote the very equality many “march” for.
