Did you know that Black Lives Matter is not an African American organization?

@Speedyman However, the people participating in the recent demonstrations are not necessarily Marxists, at least if you define "Marxism" as promoting the abolition of private property.

We are talking about the organisation. But we know Marxists usually have quite cobvenient exceptions for themselves! I have known some! @Lila15

@Speedyman I couldn't care less what "philosophy" the organization's leader espouses. I'm going by what the actual participants and supporters believe. And 99.99% of those are not Marxists. I don't know about where you are, but here in the US, the people who are called "Marxists" would be considered conservatives if they were in Europe. For example, Bernie Sanders favors regulated capitalism with a strong welfare state, basically Boris Johnson without the nationalism. Here, "Marxist" means anyone to the left of Ronald Reagan.

@Lila15 So someone calling THEM SELF a Marxist has no meaning in your mind?

@hippyjoe1955 Only for that person.

Are you saying [b]everyone [/b] who protested is a Marxist? I know people who went and some of them are business owners.

@Lila15 What I am saying is the organization is Marxist. The people who unwittingly participated in the advancement of marxism through the BLM protests are useful idiots to borrow a marxist phrase.

@hippyjoe1955 Except the organization is having no effect on turning the U.S. or any other country "Marxist." There are no politicians advocating the abolition of private property. The only effect they're having is a reassessment of how police departments are funded and whether some of their functions should be handled by social workers or others. They're also sparking a discussion of the fate of public monuments to anti-Black historical figures.

If that's "Marxist," then the word loses all meaning. I've noticed that many conservatives use "Marxist" and "communist" as a synonym for "liberal." This is just polarization, like when liberals call conservatives "fascists" or "Nazis."

The American Nazi Party supports Donald Trump; does that mean the Republican Party is identical to the Nazi Party? of course not.

@Lila15 Says you. You need to study history. The BLM tactics helped bring about the Communist revolution in Russia. They helped bring Hitler to power. They helped bring Mao to power.

You need to study the aims of the movement@Lila15

@Speedyman You need to stop judging people by the people you think are representing them. Do you want to be judged by the Spanish Inquisition just because all of you are Christians? Most of the people in the recent demonstrations aren't even BLM members, and most of the members aren't "Marxists." I think you're the one who needs to study why people are demonstrating.

Just curious, do you think it's a problem when the police execute suspects in handcuffs, or you're OK with that because the police are always right no matter what?

I’m not judging anything just stating facts. Black lives matter are a Marxist organisation. You actually need to read up about what these people are about. I’ve done some research and I know what they’re about. I’m not talking about all the people who are demonstrating that the core organisation I can assure you is Marxist@Lila15

@Speedyman I don't agree that BLM is a "Marxist organization," because they haven't done anything to move the US or any other country toward abolishing private property. The only success they've had has been to encourage a reassessment of police functions and removal of racist statues. Neither of those have anything to do with Marxism. So if they are Marxist, they're really ineffective.

@Lila15 We all know that you don't agree. You also refuse to look at the evidence. Maybe you are what the marxists call a useful idiot.

@hippyjoe1955 You're another judgmental one. Please explain how having social workers take over some of the duties currently done by the police, and removing the statues of traitors to the US, contributes to making private property illegal.

You need to read up on what Marxism actually is and stop using it as a generic insult for anything you disagree with.

@Speedyman Old fashioned red-baiting, how quaint. Marxism is pretty much dead as an ideology. You're beating a dead horse.

For goodness sake when somebody has got no argument they start name-calling. You have no argument and you know nothing@badminton

@Speedyman I believe I am being accurate. Communism has no support in the U.S. to speak of. The CPUSA, or any other Marxist group, cannot get even 1% of the vote. They are insignificant politically.

BLM is about unarmed black men being killed by police.

@badminton So you are basing your opinion on..... Seriously the US education establishment has been turning out well trained marxists since for ever. BLM is just one of its manifestations and no it has nothing to do with cops killing blacks. Or whites killing blacks or blacks killing blacks. It is marxism's useful idiots being idiots again.

@hippyjoe1955 That's your opinion. I disagree. In my opinion, Marxism is largely discredited and dead internationally, and certainly in the U.S.. People know what went on in the old oppressive communist dictatorships of the USSR, Eastern Europe and China. Almost no one takes Marxist communism seriously as an ideology anymore. You are tilting at windmills - attacking imaginary enemies.

@badminton Oh look another what Marxists call "Useful idiot" claims marxism is dead. Too Funny!!!!

@hippyjoe1955 It sounds like you are dissapointed that communism has been defeated and discredited. Be happy about it! It's a good thing.

@badminton If you think marxism = Soviet communism you have your head implanted where the sun doesn't shine. Too Funny!!!

Oh dear you have obviously no idea of what you are talking about. You are still one of these idealists who thinks that all the problems we had with the looting and rioting (in mainly black areas) were just a bunch of innocent people being discontented and no one was stirring up the trouble@badminton

@hippyjoe1955 Marxism is a historical theory that assumes the Hegelian Dialectic applies to economics. A Marxist does not necessarily support doing anything that would bring about a communist society; they merely believe that such a society is an inevitable outgrowth of a capitalist one.

Soviet-style communism was a political system based on concentration of power in a single party, brutal suppression of dissent, and prevention of emigration.

@Speedyman And you're obviously one of those conspiracy theorists who thinks nothing happens spontaneously and there is a secret evil cabal behind everything.

No one "stirred up" the trouble; some bad actors took advantage of the trouble.