Abstract
Black Lives Matter has grown from a hashtag to an activist group. Black Lives Matter is an issue that will be explored in this document from a psychoanalytical perspective. The qualitative instrument that is used will measure several documentations of behaviors of said members of the group, as well as those who consider that their view coincides, or who has participated with the group known as Black Lives Matter. The research model begins with the history of the group itself. In other words, each documentation following the abstract has been assessed as a part of the qualitative research that will arrive at the research question answer, if there is an answer possible within the work. Several authors, commentaries, psychological documents, and videos have been explored for the answers to the dilemmas that challenge Black Lives Matter. That is the reasoning of the title, Perspectives: Black Lives Matter. The researcher has looked at the behavior of the group from all angles to arrive at a research question, which will be a psychoanalytical question, and the result of the study conducted, which is the solution necessary for the progress of all persons involved in the group.
Black Lives Matter History
The work of the authors and writers that follow offer a summarization of the evolvement of Black Lives Matter. It began “after the 2013 acquittal of George Zimmerman, who had killed a black teenager named Travyon Martin.” (CNN 2013). Please note that I could not write the history of Black Lives Matter from their website because of an error on their site, Black Lives Matter. The website states that the group formed “after the acquittal of George Zimmerman in 2012.” (no author, no date). After the deaths of other black males, including Michael Brown, the hashtag began to be supported by people who seemed to agree. Since then, Black Lives Matter has grown into a group whose actions elevated them high enough in media attention, and in many black communities, if nowhere else, to receive nomination for “Time” Magazine’s Person of the Year, 2015. All the while, in the same issue of “Time” Magazine, there is a report that some activists of this group became so demanding as to disrupt presidential campaign events to stand for their rights to racial justice and reform. A smaller group of Black Lives Matter supporters, having been given a White House meeting with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, disrespectfully took over the meeting, bombarded her with questions, then accused her of “exhibiting white privilege”, when she verbalized that she was unable to meet their requests. They continued demanding investment into the black communities, and not private prisons. Their insistence, and name calling grilled Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to the point that it made her eyes “flash with irritation”, yet later foster legislation that in some way, gave in to the interests of the group (Altman, 2015).
Sadly, in July of 2016, in the city of Dallas, Texas during a peaceful protest over the killing of two black men in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, an angry man named Micah Johnson, who happened to be black, and wanted to “kill white people”, shot four police officers dead, a city transit officer dead, and injured other officers and civilians on the scene before he was found and killed. (NBC Staff, 2016). This event is considered to be the worst act of terror against police officers in the United States since the September 11, 2001 attacks. Unfortunately, things didn’t stop there. Days later, police were shot in Baton Rouge, Louisiana after hundreds of Black Lives Matter supporters in Baton Rouge and St. Paul, Minnesota were jailed for rioting. I mention these events to make this statement; Something happened here that made each individual’s response to stimuli—Not the whole—But individual response to stimuli respond and change for the better, and also for the worse. Black Lives Matter supporters got to Hillary Clinton, somehow. Maybe this public and visible demand made Mrs. Clinton consider the 2016 presidthis time, this is where Black Lives Matter stands.
Introduction to Research
A qualitative research began with the history of Black Lives Matter to determine what is the psychoanalysis of the group, and those who have acted both negatively and positively with the group. The following qualitative search has been done to fully understand the and give an analysis of the group. I conducted a full scour of the internet, but found few answers to the main issue here, which I consider to be the problem concerning Black Lives Matter. I looked at more documents online than I could possibly cite. The reason was not because of no ideas of what the psychological aspects of Black Lives Matter are. I wanted to write that I looked at many documents before forming an educated research question. I looked at perspectives on slavery, and decided on the Harvard Gazette, which, from my assessment, looks at Black Lives Matter from a historical perspective, mainly from issues of slavery, and problems that formed from that sad history (Mineo, 2015). I poured over literature, only to find that even video and articles from NBC online did not mention the words Black Lives Matter concerning the peaceful protest where Micah Johnson killed and injured people. In fact, NBC wrote only “staff writer” as the author of the online document (NBC, 2016). I looked at other psychological perspectives, and overall found an issue that deals with more than whether black lives matter, but “Which #Black Lives Matter,” a story of blacks and suicide (Pickens, 2014).
After several days, and reading several articles, dealing with psychological disorders, I found the connection that, in my psychoanalytic opinion, surmises much of the psychology of Black Lives Matter. Each case and event written in this document came to one point, and even the reasoning that makes that point obvious. While this is in no way a judgment of anyone, it is only a suggestion, and this is the research question: Could it be that many, if not all of the people who strive for black lives to matter have issues with Psychological Projection?
Psychological Projection is a defense mechanism. The theory, by Sigmund Freud, states, “Projection is a form of defense in which unwanted feelings are displaced onto another person, where they then appear as a threat from the external world. A common form of projection occurs when an individual, threatened by his own angry feelings, accuses another of harbouring hostile thoughts” (Britannica, 2016). Projection, whether in neurotic or psychotic subjects, is used by those who basically want to project onto other people, institutions, et cetera, anything that makes them uncomfortable, which can span from lack of self-worth, to feelings of hatred for others or anything. Denial is also a hallmark of projection. I view this as a concern for some members, or people who associate with, Black Lives Matter, because no matter what kind of situation is going on, no matter what the root of that situation is, individual responsibility is a hallmark of life, and personal identity, and we should not cast blame on others. In my documentation of incidents, and in the way that the Secretary of State was questioned, then blamed for playing a sort of privilege card, made me first wonder about whether blame was placed upon her, even if she did help to enact changes. I do realize that Black Lives Matter was getting their first chance to show themselves as a force for change and justice, and I know that many issues regarding race deserve discussion, but the projection that was cast upon the Secretary of State in the meeting, although it won some of the change they wanted, also seemed to invite other people with other problems. In my opinion, Black Lives Matter has invited upon itself some unstable people like Micah Johnson, and others, to project what feelings they have upon whites upon them with violence, and are using the movement to validate their doing so. In my opinion, this is the danger of psychological projection in a person who is psychotic. There is the concern that if a person wants to project off on an agency, an institution, a group, a disco, a country—They can claim affiliation to the group most popular or threatening at the moment, and deny their responsibility to be in charge of their “ego system”, so to speak, at the expense of lives. I realize that police doing things unfairly is an issue. Sociologist Alice Goffman spoke at last year’s TED conference that she had witnessed black men in double digits beaten long after they were restrained by police (Goffman, 2015). But this is perhaps another face of projection—It is possible that some officers are projecting their fears, hate, discomforts on victims? This is possible; However, to organize and give a group a name that disregards other lives is almost like an unconscious blame game that could be considered just as racist by other groups of people, no matter how great or important the cause is considered to be.
The evidences that psychological projection might be a problem facing many people who cling to Black Lives Matter are so subtle, perhaps the group itself has not noticed it—and as I write this, I am hopeful that it too will not be made a blaming example. As I studied the incident on the NBC page, I noticed something significant, just as I did on the “Harvard Gazette” page. No groups project anything toward Black Lives Matter, except silence, and understanding. NBC did not mention that there was a Black Lives Matter protest happening; Harvard Gazette reveals nothing except understanding. There could be several reasons why everyone is so hushed about Black Lives Matter in all venues. These are my results. Could it be that these institutions understand Black Lives Matter’s plight? Or, could it be that they just want peace, having already surmised that many people not a direct part of Black Lives Matter might want to play a projection/blame game in court with them? After combing through the entire net, few organizations come at Black Lives Matter to ask that they claim responsibility individually for their own “matters”—And the only organizations that did this did so in a way that is not in keeping with accurate research.
Results
I conclude that, despite efforts on the part of Black Lives Matter to fight for racial injustice, that their actions border on the whole as a group of people who are for the most part pshchologically projecting their fears and complaints to other people in the name of Black Lives Matter, and the rest of the psychological community refuses to touch this issue truthfully for fear of being accused of racism, and boycotted on some level for being racist. No one wants to challenge this group. My solution is this; No one is responsible for the solution to problems except the individual self, no matter what group gets together. I never saw the Jews protest over six and a half million dead, so there is a problem here with people who are still blaming slavery and discrimination on anyone who will accept it. While the losses of black lives are tragic, no one has the right to blame that on anyone but the perpetrator of the crime, not everyone a lone gunman decides to kill. Black Lives Matter will not heal until all people realize that they are responsible for themselves on an individual basis, and that blaming anyone else is just an excuse or a psychological projection. Black Lives Matter might become a revolution of ignorant and dangerous excuse makers if professionals do not stop petting organizations that don’t have their own facts straight on their page, and thereby enabling unorganized groups to blame others for racism, which is not the issue. The issue of Black Lives Matter, in my final analysis, is finding someone to blame. There is a cure. Accept responsibility for one’s self-worth, individually.
References
Aultman, A. (2015). Time Person of the Year, 2015, No. 4, Black Lives Matter. Retrieved
Defense Mechanism. (2016). Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved from
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Black Lives Matter. (n.d.). Who We Are. Retrieved from http://blacklivesmatter.com/about/
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Goffman, A. (2015, March). How we are Priming some kids for College—And Others for
Prison. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/alice_goffman_college_or_prison_two_destinies_one_blatant_injustice?language=en
Mineo, L. (2015, Nov 13). Background on Black Lives Matter.
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NBC5. (2016, July 10). Sniper Ambush Kills 5 Officers, Injures 7 in Dallas Following
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Pickens, I. (2015, Oct 14). Which Black Lives Matter. Retrieved from
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