By Jim George
Perhaps you have noted the same strange phenomenon I started seeing recently, which prompted the letter to my Congressman and Senators which follows for your perusal and, should you feel it helpful and appropriate, adaptation for transmittal to your own representatives in our National Legislature. That phenomenon is the fact that I am seeing more and more prominent calls for investigation and eventual prosecution of ANTIFA and that label is often, if not usually, followed by a catch all phrase such as the one used yesterday in the letter of 50 Members of Congress to the Attorney General calling for action against ANTIFA “and other left-wing anarchist groups…. .” Is there anyone with a functioning mind who does not know the name of the “other left-wing anarchist group” being referred to here? Why the reticence, so uncharacteristic of our governing class? As Jack Benny might have told Rochester in another time, long, long ago: “I’m thinking, I’m thinking!”
Therefore, I sat down and delivered myself of a philippic which has now gone via electronic delivery to Congressman Matt Gaetz and Senator Rick Scott. It was deemed a bit too windy for Senator Rubio’s algorithms to handle and has been delivered the old-fashioned way.
In submitting this for your review, I must add one more note and that is how much information may be found so easily and readily about the depth of the danger and treachery represented by Black Lives Matter, making the above-mentioned reticence so much more difficult to understand.
Herewith my letter, for what it’s worth:
I am directing this letter to my Congressman and Senators to express my concern that a Marxist-driven organization, Black Lives Matter, is growing, developing, expanding, becoming more and more powerful by the day and the hour, is fomenting all kinds of violence across the country, is insidiously sending its ideological tentacles throughout major areas of our popular culture and yet all I see in official discussions about the violence which has grown to unprecedented levels in the last 3 months are mentions of ANTIFA—never their principal partner in crime (for that is exactly what it is—crime), Black Lives Matter and its organizational parent, the Black Lives Matter Global Network.
In this correspondence, I will furnish links to a number of excellent analyses of this dangerous organization which have appeared only recently and will also discuss BLM’s own statements of goals and objectives on their own website—as it has been said many times, and especially in the last few months – when someone announces that they plan to hurt you, or worse, it is a very good idea to listen to them and assume they are being deadly serious. Whatever one may say about BLM, and especially its leaders, it must be admitted that they are quite open about their founding philosophy, as one of their founders, in particular, has been quoted in a video interview as saying she and one other founder are “trained Marxists.”
I will examine some of the organization’s own statements later in this letter; first, I would like to examine the general tenor I see in public statements of so many of our public officials, i.e., those officials we have elected to represent us in the National Legislature and to give voice to our concerns as we see them. In doing so, I am taking the liberty of making the following special request: I would like to receive either a written answer from each of you or a phone call in order that I may have a statement of your position on the question I am raising as, if I am wrong in my perception, I am most interested, in the utmost of good faith, in learning that fact and the reasons I am wrong. For example, while I have tried to do a good bit of reading of various articles, columns, etc., which have considered the real objectives of BLM, I have not done a thorough research of the Congressional Record and there may well be speeches in that Record of which I am unaware as of this writing. If so, I would definitely like to know about them in order that I may have the opportunity to educate myself further on this subject and what is being said about it by those we look to for such pronouncements in our behalf.
Only a few minutes before I started this letter, I learned of a letter submitted by 50 members of Congress, including my own Congressman, requesting that Attorney General Barr and the Department of Justice immediately open an investigation to identify and prosecute all individuals and groups responsible for funding and organizing the riots we are seeing all across the Nation. Here, as they so perfectly demonstrate the gravamen of my concern I am writing to express, are the first three paragraphs of their letter:
“We write to share our deep concerns regarding the ongoing violence that has gripped American cities and threatened the rule Of law across our nation, ANTIFA and other left-wing anarchist groups have unleashed a barrage of totalitarian attacks on our country in recent months, including accosting a sitting U S. Senator, hijacking peaceful rallies, organizing armed riots, destroying property, burning buildings, stealing livelihoods, and spreading hate.
“It is clear that these individuals are well-funded and supported by a national network Of left-wing activists committed to perpetrating violence and furthering anarchy in our streets. As such, we urge you to immediately open an investigation to identify and prosecute all individuals and groups responsible for funding and organizing these terroristic acts that are wreaking havoc on our nation.
“As you know, I8 US. 2101 makes it a federal crime punishable by up to five years in prison to incite a riot; organize, promote, encourage, participate in, or carry on a riot; commit any act of violence in furtherance Of a riot; or aid or abet any person in inciting or participating in a riot. Tragically, we are seeing the letter and spirit of the law being desecrated on a daily basis, as ANTIFA and other organized groups of anarchists continue to infiltrate peaceful protests and launch violent attacks against American citizens. Tragically, these activities recently turned deadly in Portland, Oregon, as Michael Forest Reinoehl, who described himself as “100% ANTIFA” shot and killed a supporter of President Trump,
One who reads that letter, as timely and admirable as it is, might be excused for asking the following question: where is there even a single mention of the other organization—the one which, by all accounts, started the rioting in Minneapolis, the one which was founded in rage at the acquittal of the person their own statement still refers to as “the killer” of Trayvon Martin, the one which burned down many of the businesses in Ferguson, MO, the one which then followed with destruction and mayhem in may other locations such as the 2015 riots in Baltimore, the one whose name and raised fist trademark we see prominently displayed in practically every riot across the country—Black Lives Matter? I ask the following as one who not only holds no brief for ANTIFA but who abhors everything they stand for and everything they do—why name just ANTIFA in that request for investigation and prosecution? Do they not want Black Lives Matter to be prosecuted as well? If not, why not? There must be a reason why such a well-known and well-recognized fomenter of destruction and burning and pillaging and thievery and hooliganism and violence is so noticeably absent from this otherwise well placed, if not way overdue, request that the Department of Justice finally do SOMEthing to identify the sources of funding for these deadly riots.
The contents of this letter serves as a fitting example of a phenomenon I have seen in many other writings lately, including books I have read on the current disruptions and attempted coups against the lawfully elected President of the United States in which there may be very specific discussions of how wretched and rotten and sickening the actions of ANTIFA are but no mention whatsoever of the other organization. One must wonder why that is and why our elected officials will not just come out and “tell it like it is” and, once and for all, start naming “the other organization” as if it has become this obvious to me, I must assume many others have noticed this “strange phenomenon” of not naming one of the two most prominent fomenters of destruction in the recent upheavals.
As one of your constituents, I specifically ask the following question, to which I request, as genuinely as I know to do so, a clear answer stating your position with regard thereto: if you have not already done so, why are you not using your “Bully Pulpit” to stand on the floor of Congress or the Senate and denounce – by name—the Black Lives Matter Global Organization and ask for an investigation of its sources of funding and organization. If you decline to do so, I would like to know the reason why. At the risk of repeating myself, I cannot for the life of me understand why no one in Congress, the place where our elected Representatives to the National Legislature gather to perform their Article I duties and responsibilities, will stand up and identify one of the two major reasons we have had so much strife in the last few months. If, indeed, this is the case, again, there must be a reason and I am entitled to know what that reason may be.
There have been a number of very comprehensive analyses published recently to which I respectfully refer you for your further study and perusal—here are just a few quotes from some of them which graphically illuminate the danger posed by this extraordinarily radical movement dedicated to the overthrow of our entire way of life.
In the most recent piece I was able to find, published yesterday in Washington Examiner, entitled “Black Lives Matter has terrorist and communist inspirations, but liberal media doesn’t care”, the author observes:
“ … As the Washington Examiner’s Dunleavy reported, BLM was founded by three women who are avowed Marxists who cite as mentors and financial backers some noted communists and a domestic terrorist. Clearly, there is at least some central organizing involved in the violence, such as when police in Columbus, Ohio, interdicted a bus stockpiled with weapons. In Portland, where often-violent protests have continued for more than 100 days, police regularly confiscate body armor, stun guns, dangerous lasers, Molotov cocktails, and other injurious, possibly deadly paraphernalia.”
The article referred to there, “Black Lives Matter radicalism: Rhetoric versus reality of ‘defund the police’ “ also contains valuable discussions of the background of the formation of the organization which eventually grew into the present behemoth causing so much damage in cities all over the Nation.
Two recent columns stand out in my view as most valuable resources for anyone who wishes to better understand this lethal domestic terrorist group trying to tear down the very fabric of our way of life. They are “The Racial Marxism of BLM” and “To Destroy America” and I respectfully submit a few quotes from each to give just a flavor of what we are up against and how terrifying these terrorists are not just in their aims but in what they are telling us and saying out loud as to what they plan to do to our Beloved Nation and all it stands for.
Both pieces are rich in the very long history of the development of Marxist terrorism of the type we are now facing in Black Lives Matter, such as this passage from The Racial Marxism of BLM:
“A history that should never have been forgotten has long since been lost. It is time to refresh our memories. Black Lives Matter (BLM) does not represent the old Civil Rights Movement. It does not seek equality under the law. And it does not intend to stop until it overthrows the very idea and structure of America as we’ve known it. Under increasing pressure to acknowledge the dawning reality to which Americans are increasingly waking up, Joe Biden has finally said that looting and arson are, in fact, bad. But Pandora’s box has already been opened. The Democrats’ Vice-Presidential nominee, Kamala Harris, put us on notice in June: “everyone beware—because they’re not gonna stop…everyone should take note of that…they’re not gonna let up, and they should not—and we should not.”
“What has been forgotten—perhaps because it is often purposely hidden—is that Antifa and BLM both were born from a peculiarly American form of radical and violent Marxism. The actual word used to describe this ideology is in one sense not important: understanding how those who lead and fund these groups think is what matters. In fact, as soon as one uses the word “Marxism” today, the activists and intellectuals begin scoffing in disdain.
The author then touches on the very reason I am writing this letter and it has to do with the fact that our institutions – including “politicians on the American Right”—are failing in their obligation to speak out to their constituents, and to American citizens in general, about the horrific dangers this terrorist organization represents to all of us:
“The American media—and many politicians on the American Right—have failed to point out to the American people that BLM was created and is led by radical Marxist racialists. Their heroes and teachers are the violent radicals of the 1960s and ’70s. As Murray Bessette points out in “Listen When They Tell You Who They Are“, we know this because they tell us so. They call themselves “trained Marxists.” This doesn’t mean that they merely propose left-leaning economic policies like free healthcare for all. Instead, as Bessette says, they want to destroy the family and abolish private education and private property along with the police.
He also makes crystal-clear what the real aim of these terrorists is, in no uncertain terms:
“As Peter Myers explains, “The present ascendancy of the woke Left on race is no triumph for civil rights, nor for social justice or any sort of justice, nor for democratic government,” which this movement opposes. What BLM truly wants is a new America. An America ruled by a racial version of Marxism: “a confederation of identity groups—especially of racialized identity groups—where moral authority and its ensuing social advantages are apportioned according to the relative strength of group claims to past and present aggrievement.” Jim Crow, in other words, but in reverse.
“The government, of course, will be in their hands and the laws will be ordered accordingly. BLM utterly rejects the notion of equality under the law: they wish to enact a system of law and culture in which people will be judged by their race and sexual identity, not insofar as they are equally human. As Myers points out, “the ruling principle is disintegration, not integration; discord, not harmony; war, not peace. To persist on this path is to push the republic ever closer to either dissolution or despotism.”
“And here we are. BLM and its associates, despite being the direct descendants of Marxist domestic terrorists, despite rejecting the principles of America itself, and despite holding views that are not even representative of the people they purport to represent, now have the resources and path they need to wreak the havoc they have been planning for years. They have already succeeded in causing more chaos than their intellectual parents. As ever, the Democratic Party refuses to oust or reject them from its ranks with vigor. Worse, outside of President Trump, many in the Republican Party are still too cowardly to denounce them—even as America burns.
“Our failure to stop this movement decades ago is what led us to this moment. Now, we have no choice. It is time to stop pretending that BLM and Antifa are anything other than domestic terrorist groups led by radicals who seek to rip America apart.
“Of course many if not most of those protesting today by simply marching in the streets have little understanding of the ideology driving the organizers and the worst of their trained foot soldiers. But that’s how revolutions work. BLM is what it claims to be: a racialist Marxist group that seeks to completely alter the American way of life. They have more power and resources now than any insurrectionary movement in American history. They will not stop until they are stopped.
“This should not be a partisan issue. But if our political leaders on the Right and Left continue to refuse to specifically call them out for what they are and directly oppose them, America will continue to burn. [Emphasis added]
In the second article cited above, “To Destroy America”, the author goes into the sordid – at least in this Proud American’s view – background which produced some of the founders of the current terrorist organization known as Black Lives Matter:
“In a 2015 interview, Patrice Cullors, another of the three founders, said that she and Garza were “trained Marxists.” Abdullah, of the Los Angeles BLM chapter, was born a red-diaper baby—“Raised in the 70s, in the picket lines of Oakland, by activist parents,” as the interviewer put it. Her paternal grandfather was Gunter Reimann, a member of the German Communist Party. Garza cut her organizing teeth as director of People Organized to Win Employment Rights (POWER), founded by Marxists Garth Ferguson, Patty Snitzler, Regina Douglas, Brian Russell, and Steve Williams. To Williams we owe the concept of “transformative organizing,” which insists “that effective organizing for social change cannot simply be based on an apolitical and highly specific analysis of what is possible in the short term.”
“Cullors trained for a decade as a radical organizer in the Labor/Community Strategy Center, established and run by Eric Mann, a former member of the Weather Underground, the 1960s radical faction identified by the FBI as a domestic terrorist group. The “Weathermen” explained in their 1969 foundational statement that they were dedicated to “the destruction of U.S. imperialism and the achievement of classless world: world communism.” The ties between the BLM Global Network and the Weathermen run deep. National Review’s Andrew McCarthy revealed in a recent exposé that Weather Underground supporter Susan Rosenberg, whose 1984 sentence of 58 years in prison for possession “of 740 pounds of explosives, an Uzi submachine gun, an M-14 rifle, another rifle with a telescopic sight, a sawed-off shotgun, three 9-millimeter handguns in purses and boxes of ammunition” was commuted by President Bill Clinton, serves as vice chair of the board of directors of Thousand Currents—the radical, grantmaking institution that until July sponsored the BLM Global Network. Rosenberg was also sought on federal charges that she aided the 1979 prison escape of Joanne Chesimard, a Communist now living in Cuba, and whom Cullors quotes approvingly in her book When They Call You a Terrorist. (Since July, the Global Center has become “a project” of the Tides Center, another donor and supporter of the hard Left and its ideas).
Like the previous author discussed, and many others who have written on this subject recently, he concludes with a plea that politicians wake up and start speaking out about what this organization truly is:
“These are the ideological sources for what could be the largest radical movement in American history—one that could lead to real policy changes. One component is street pressure, driven by the likes of Mann and Cullors. Another takes place in plusher environments, such as Fortune 500 companies or the halls of Congress. Consultants like White Fragility author Robin DiAngelo told 184 Democratic legislators in a conference call in June that their policies hurt black lives. DiAngelo told The New York Times that “capitalism is so bound up with racism. … [it] is dependent on inequality, on an underclass. If the model is profit over everything, you’re not going to look at your policies to see what is most racially equitable.”
“Up to now, the American system has resisted socialism by offering prosperity and opportunity. Our politicians today need to understand what they’re facing from the BLM movement and what is at stake. The “white settler state” of Eric Mann’s fevered mind is in reality the American constitutional order. The imperialism that Mann, Rosenberg, DiAngelo, and others imagine is the American free-market system that has been the most successful weapon against poverty ever devised. Political leaders of either party feeling pressured to adopt BLM policies or even just mouth the rhetoric should spend some time examining the movement’s intellectual sources—and its political goals. [Emphasis added]
There are many other excellent sources of information about what this well-funded, well-organized and maniacally dedicated terrorist organization really is, some of which may be found here, here, here and here (collecting articles treating this issue).
However, in line with the admonition of several writers who have given us some of these fine works of research, what better resource could we have than what they, The Black Lives Matter Global Network, are telling us in their own words. Here, for your perusal and consideration, if you have not been thus edified before, are a few quotes from their statement of objectives—entitled “What We Believe”:
“Enraged by the death of Trayvon Martin and the subsequent acquittal of his killer, George Zimmerman, and inspired by the 31-day takeover of the Florida State Capitol by POWER U and the Dream Defenders, we took to the streets. A year later, we set out together on the Black Lives Matter Freedom Ride to Ferguson, in search of justice for Mike Brown and all of those who have been torn apart by state-sanctioned violence and anti-Black racism. Forever changed, we returned home and began building the infrastructure for the Black Lives Matter Global Network, which, even in its infancy, has become a political home for many. [It is worth noting, unless BLM has already dismantled one bedrock foundation of our American system of justice, the jury trial, George Zimmerman was, as their own statement makes clear, acquitted of all charges and thus could not, in any sense, be referred to as Trayvon Martin’s “killer”, except, perhaps, in the sense that a terrorist organization can make language say what they want it to say.]
“Ferguson helped to catalyze a movement to which we’ve all helped give life. Organizers who call this network home have ousted anti-Black politicians, won critical legislation to benefit Black lives, and changed the terms of the debate on Blackness around the world. Through movement and relationship building, we have also helped catalyze other movements and shifted culture with an eye toward the dangerous impacts of anti-Blackness.
***
“We are guided by the fact that all Black lives matter, regardless of actual or perceived sexual identity, gender identity, gender expression, economic status, ability, disability, religious beliefs or disbeliefs, immigration status, or location.
“We make space for transgender brothers and sisters to participate and lead.
“We are self-reflexive and do the work required to dismantle cisgender privilege and uplift Black trans folk, especially Black trans women who continue to be disproportionately impacted by trans-antagonistic violence.
“We build a space that affirms Black women and is free from sexism, misogyny, and environments in which men are centered.
“We practice empathy. We engage comrades with the intent to learn about and connect with their contexts.
“We make our spaces family-friendly and enable parents to fully participate with their children. We dismantle the patriarchal practice that requires mothers to work “double shifts” so that they can mother in private even as they participate in public justice work.
“We disrupt the Western-prescribed nuclear family structure requirement by supporting each other as extended families and “villages” that collectively care for one another, especially our children, to the degree that mothers, parents, and children are comfortable.
“We foster a queer‐affirming network. When we gather, we do so with the intention of freeing ourselves from the tight grip of heteronormative thinking, or rather, the belief that all in the world are heterosexual (unless s/he or they disclose otherwise). [Emphasis added]
Therefore, it is safe to conclude –not as a matter of opinion, but of fact based on their own statement of what they believe—that they “disrupt the “Western-prescribed nuclear family structure requirement” by “collectively” caring for one another, a statement which could not have been written more accurately by Karl Marx himself. Additionally, one is left to seriously wonder what in the world all the talk about “a queer-affirming network” has to do with the vast majority of persons of color in America today, but that is for another day.
Please, Members of Congress and of the United States Senate, I implore you as a constituent of yours, listen to what they are telling you they plan to do to our Beloved Nation. They are deadly serious about what their plans are for us. I ask that you be equally serious in your responsibility to tell the American people what they are actually facing. It is no exaggeration to say that the future of the American Republic depends on the electorate being much better informed than they seem to be at the present time about what they are facing.
Respectfully Submitted,
James A. George
thepatriotfriends 