If there is justice in the world, Martin O'Malley blew his political future by apologizing for saying that white lives matter. The apology, as you likely know, was issued by the former Maryland governor and candidate for the Democratic nomination for the presidency after a verbal altercation at the recent Netroots Nation gathering.
There is always drama at the Netroots Nation gathering, and Slate's Jamelle Bouie described what happened when O'Malley spoke:
This year’s disruption came from Black Lives Matter, the anti-racist movement sparked in the aftermath of Ferguson and fueled by the steady drip of police violence against black Americans. Midway through O’Malley’s remarks, demonstrators marched toward the stage, chanting names of black women killed by the police or who died in police custody.
After a few minutes of protest, organizers handed protesters microphones, and they used the opportunity to question and challenge O’Malley on police brutality. O’Malley, notes BuzzFeed’s Ruby Cramer, was supportive, nodding his head in assent to the questions and concerns.
He erred, however, when protesters shouted their slogan, “Black lives matter!” O’Malley responded, “Black lives matter. White lives matter. All lives matter.” The demonstrators booed. The reason is easy to understand. “Black lives matter” is a statement of specific concern; police violence is most acute against black Americans, and so activists stress the importance of their lives. To reply with “all lives matter” is to suggest there’s no specific problem of police abuse targeted at black Americans. It’s as if someone responded to an annual breast cancer drive with “Breast cancer matters. Prostate cancer matters. All cancer matters.” It sounds like a dismissal, and that’s how it was received.
Let's unpack this: First, Black Lives Matter is anything but an anti-racist group. On the contrary, it seeks to promote racial hatred and discord. Any and every instance of police brutality matters, but the supposed instance of police brutality that ignited the black lives matter movement was not police brutality. Grand Jury testimony indicates Michael Brown, the young black man who was shot by a white police officer, was killed when he lunged for a policeman's gun. Lionizing such a young man, who was caught on camera committing a strong arm robbery and shoving a much smaller man, as a role model is harmful to other young black men.
And why on earth would one be offended if, at a breast cancer drive, someone reminded us that other forms of cancer also matter? Normal people who do not earn their livings from stoking racial hatred would say, "Hey, we'd better not forget that prostate cancer matters too." But BlackLivesMatter is a political movement based on rage and out to get what it can by bartering this rage. Their rage is unappeasable, trumped up, and politically motivated.
Bernie Sanders, another Democratic candidate who appeared bat Netroots Nation, got into a slight verbal altercation with the out-for-blood mob, but he stood his ground, while, as Bouie put it, O'Malley "seemed to get his error." O'Malley's cowardly apology should be put finished to his long shot candidacy. Who would want as president a man (or woman) who cannot stand up to the heckling of a mob at Netroots Nation?
It should also be noted that the progressives who love to lecture Republicans on civility have not commented on the behavior at Netroots Nation.