How to Stop Law Enforcement Reform: Lie

The biggest obstacle to law enforcement and criminal justice reform is willful disinformation campaigns led by many in the law enforcement community.

Americans have become all too familiar with the campaigns hidden behind slogans such as All Lives Matter and Blue Lives Matter. While the slogans themselves bear some truth, the sole purpose behind the creation of those campaigns is to counter the message of Black Lives Matter using racism, dog whistles, and blatant disinformation.

To be clear, Black Lives Matter (BLM), is a movement that was created to bring attention to the murder of Black men at the hands of the law enforcement apparatus in the United States. It’s a simple message. Speaking to the (mostly white) folks behind the counter-movements, however, would have you believe that BLM is a terrorist organization.

The supporters of these counter-movements, including law enforcement officers and federal agents, use antagonizing rhetoric to discount the fact-based claims of BLM. Some have gone so far as to promote egregious lies and statistics that are untruthful and labeling activists who speak out on police brutality as Black Identity Extremists — a term the FBI has since abandoned in favor of using the “racially motivated violent extremism” category, which is just as problematic.