Black Lives Matter jumped the shark long ago. In fact, I’m pretty sure they jumped the shark the moment they were founded by two professed “trained Marxists” (see Opinion: Black Lives Matter Is Still a Terrible Organization). But still, they continue to find ways to make themselves appear more radical and dangerous.

Case in point, Chicago looked like a scene out of a Batman movie Sunday evening and into Monday morning as looters ravaged the more affluent areas of downtime, including the historic Magnificent Mile area. Thousands took to the streets after police wounded a 20-year-old man who had fired at police, because facts no longer matter at all in these situations. There were even reports of people bringing U-hauls to load up stolen merchandise from places like Best Buy and Coach. To say that it was a scene of absolute anarchy is an understatement.

For their part, Black Lives Matter decided to hold a rally last night to show solidarity, not with police or against violence, but with the looters.

Since when does being anti-police brutality mean you have to be pro-crime?

“That is reparations,” Atkins said. “Anything they wanted to take, they can take it because these businesses have insurance.” https://t.co/mUuSg5VFjv

— Peter J. Hasson (@peterjhasson) August 11, 2020

Members of Black Lives Matter held a solidarity rally on Monday night with the more than 100 individuals who were arrested after a night of looting and unrest in Chicago.

The rally was held at the South Loop police station where organizers say those individuals are currently being held in custody.

“I don’t care if someone decides to loot a Gucci or a Macy’s or a Nike store, because that makes sure that person eats,” Ariel Atkins, a BLM organizer, said. “That makes sure that person has clothes.”

Black Lives Matter Chicago organized the rally after overnight unrest throughout the city, with police saying that more than 100 individuals were taken into custody for a variety of offenses, including looting.

“That is reparations,” Atkins said. “Anything they wanted to take, they can take it because these businesses have insurance.”

You can go to the link and watch the video of Atkins talking. She’s obviously a very disturbed individual, yet she’s helping lead the Chicago chapter of Black Lives Matter. This rally is not an off-shoot but is sanctioned by the group.

I want that to be clear, because there’s a lot of false narratives surrounding BLM that get thrown around by those attempting to normalize them. We routinely see excuses made for them by asserting that it’s really just white, Antifa kids causing the chaos and destruction or that BLM doesn’t support violence like Antifa does. This is patently untrue and has been born out by mountains of evidence, from the destruction in Ferguson in 2015 to the looting in New York in 2020. BLM supporters have even shot people. While Antifa has no doubt done their share of rioting, there are plenty of examples of BLM supporters and activists looting and rioting as they did in Chicago this weekend. Any attempts to pretend they aren’t involved or don’t support this activity should be discounted with prejudice.

BLM as an organization is a revolutionary organization. They describe that right on their website. They are just as illiberal and just as dangerous as Antifa are. The fact that we as a society are normalizing their antics is deeply disturbing. The idea that criminal activity can be excused as reparations is the kind of thing you’d expect from a culture that is completely collapsing, and perhaps ours is? You simply can not exist as a civilization if you allow looting on the basis of faux claims of reparations or providing for needs. The more BLM is treated as mainstream, the more their views are treated as mainstream. That’s incredibly dangerous given the repercussions. This is the kind of stuff we’ve seen in 3rd-world, socialist countries and it never leads to anywhere good.

But we live in a country where BLM is celebrated while innocuous movements like the Tea Party were demonized. Very little makes sense anymore. What I do know is that BLM needs to be pushed back on. I do not think it’s possible to draw a distinction between the organization and the movement because the organization is what started and drives the movement. The idea that most of the radical protesters in the streets don’t know what BLM actually stands for doesn’t pass muster. Further, if Richard Spencer started an organization and people started using his catchphrase and hashtags, that would immediately be seen as an indictment on everyone involved. The media would not be drawing a distinction between the organization and the “movement.”

BLM does not deserve special treatment. The organization was started by Marxists and is sustained by people with awful views. No one knows where their money goes, nor do they seem to have any goals except causing chaos. I’m simply not going to take part in that, no matter how true the actual words “Black Lives Matter” are.

(Please Follow Me On Twitter! @Bonchieredstate)