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Analysis/Commentary

The Ivory Motte

On the Backs of Giants

When I initially developed the conceptual framework for this analysis, it rested on the idea of concept creep. However, John Murawski at RealClearInvestigations recently wrote a thorough detailing of “Motte and Bailey” argumentation and its emergence in online debates. Since this is a much more detailed description of a parallel occurence, I will use his framework here to describe the ‘forking’ of the BLM movement.

Basically, the BLM Bailey refers to the extended version of BLM that is being pushed by Google, Facebook, and the NYT – the totalitarian, cultural Marxism that is seeking out to destroy the livelihood of all who don’t embrace its ideology. The Ivory Motte is the simple, impenetrable stronghold of the movement – the undeniably true statement that “Black Lives Matter.”

By keeping the slogan uncontroversial and attacking abstract concepts like ‘racism’, they can bully skeptics into compliance and attack anyone who crosses their cultural revolution as ‘racist’ and destroy them socially and financially. By muddying the waters, they can use BLM to push more and more radical policies, such as trans rights, giving benefits to illegal immigrants, and eliminating police departments.

Note: Henceforth, the ‘Ivory Motte’ will refer to Twitter SJWs; the ‘BLM Bailey’ will refer to the ‘footsoldiers’, the undefined mass movement based around mutual respect and police reform. It reverses the analogy above but provides a clear explanation of what’s happening.

“Closer to the hole next time? Let me get my chapstick and I’ll pucker up…”

-Drew Brees

Common Jumping-Off Point

To be fair, these two aspects of BLM have a common starting point; namely, that black lives matter. It’s where they go from there that makes them distinct and causes the confusion that those in the Ivory Motte use to push THEIR goals at the expense of those in the BLM Bailey. It’s why liberals can’t say ‘Black Lives Matter’ without adding ‘trans’ in the middle, and it undermines those on the street simply looking to live in peace.

As a mass movement within the black community, the goals are very simple: black people want to feel like their lives are valued equally. Nothing more; nothing less. For the record, this isn’t a view almost any Republican disagrees with** and can be best achieved with some national policing reforms (that will benefit both blacks and police) and A LOT of local activism.

This could have been done years ago, and would have been but for the fact that this doesn’t go far enough for the cultural Marxists in the Ivory Motte. They need to exploit a fundamentally just movement to achieve their more radical goals.

**Now that Steve King is gone…

Cultural Marxism

Simple equality isn’t enough for the Ivory Motte; these people have been ‘educated’ by elite institutions to see the ‘systemic racism’ that encompasses all things American. Therefore, the system itself must be destroyed. It’s about ‘oppression’ – certain groups are oppressed, and ALL oppressed groups must come together to fight the oppressors*. Even if these goals are admirable, they distract from the main goal of BLM – getting cops and black people to stop killing each other.

This allows them to expand the BLM movement from one of simple human decency into a broader movement that encompasses the radical ideas of AOC-style Cultural Marxists. By starting with a common enemy – Donald Trump – and a vague goal – fighting oppression – they can piggyback on a legitimate social justice movement to push an extreme, partisan agenda.

*Donald Trump and an intentionally ambiguous group of ‘white men’.

Two-Front War

The resulting confusion allows Cultural Marxists to co-opt otherwise well-intentioned people. People take up the banner of BLM thinking they’re fighting for basic human rights; they end up fighting for men to compete in sports with women. Furthermore, the BLM slogan allows them to censor and silence any criticism or legitimate questions and gain the support of conformists and cowards.

The result is that – at the same time ‘good’ BLM-madness sweeps the nation – a backlash to the overreach of Google, Twitter, and others pushing ‘bad’ BLM is brewing. Unfortunately, this results in well-meaning activists getting caught in the crossfire since no one knows whether ‘Black Lives Matters’ means the Motte version or the Bailey version.

Exploiting Blacks -An American Tradition

Of course, keep in mind what’s important to both groups. Personally, the Ivory Motte is much more likely to have a personal interest in advancing the extremes of the LGBTIA+ movement than have a problem with police violence. Economically, they have a vested interest in maintaining illegal immigrant labor. Local policing issues are of little interest; it’s all about #TheResistance!

Since the Ivory Motte finances BLM, they get to call the shots. It’s no accident, then, that the movement quickly became the ‘Black TRANS Lives Matter’ movement, with BLM providing nothing more than a convenient cover for Cultural Marxists.