Protesting against the Black Lives Matter vigil in Boise is the wrong side of history

As many as 5,000 people attended a vigil at the Idaho state Capitol this week in honor of black Americans lost at the hands of police and fellow citizens, most notably and recently George Floyd, an African American man killed by a white police officer in Minneapolis.

The vigil was a solemn occasion, filled with song, prayers, readings and moments of silence.

We won’t call it a protest, because it wasn’t really a protest. It was a vigil, grieving the wrongful, unjust deaths of many black people in America.

Of course, the backdrop is inescapable: Floyd’s brutal death, captured on an excruciating 9-minute video in which Floyd can be heard saying “I can’t breathe,” while a white police officer puts his knee on Floyd’s neck, is yet another example of a black American dying from police brutality.

The vigil in Boise on Tuesday night was part of the Black Lives Matter movement, recognizing the systemic racism that we continue to confront, that continues to end in a tragic death like so many names we continue to hear in the news — names that were read Tuesday night: George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Tamir Rice, Trayvon Martin, Sandra Bland, Michael Brown, Alton Sterling, Philando Castile, Freddie Gray, Eric Garner.

So we struggle with what to call the armed people who showed up to the vigil waving American flags from the beds of their pickup trucks as they circled the vigil, revving their engines during moments of silence. The term “counter-protester” has been used to describe them. But if there isn’t a protest, how can you have a counter-protest? And what exactly are they countering?

If the purpose of Tuesday night’s gathering of thousands of Idahoans was to mourn a recent tragic death, as well as many other deaths, what’s the purpose of showing up to disrupt it?

From what we can tell from the shouts and faux displays of patriotism, their message, as it were, is maybe that America is great and we don’t want any sort of criticism about our great nation.

In response to the call “black lives matter,” they chant “all lives matter,” as if to say, “Your complaint doesn’t register; I don’t accept your criticism.”

Yes, of course, all lives matter, and yes, police lives matter. But to try to negate the message of Black Lives Matter is to negate a reality of systemic racism in our country, a reality that persists and will continue to persist if we deny its existence.

John Allen, president of the Brookings Institution and a retired U.S. Marine Corps four-star general, wrote in Foreign Policy this week, in regard to the protests: “the fundamental and underlying reasons for the unrest: systemic racism and inequality, a historic absence of respect, and a denial of justice. All of these factors are centuries old and deeply ingrained in an American society that systematically delivers white privilege at the expense of people of color.”

One cannot help but look at these “counter-protesters” arriving at Tuesday night’s vigil without thinking about those black-and-white photos from 1957 showing an angry crowd of some 400 white people jeering, booing and threatening to lynch frightened African American teenagers who were turned away from an Arkansas school that had been ordered desegregated.

Those jeering, sneering and booing were on the wrong side of history then, and those who seek to deny the realities of the Black Lives Matter movement are on the wrong side of history today.

Some of the peaceful protests that have been occurring across the country unfortunately have been beset by violence, fire setting and looting.

The vigil Tuesday night in Boise was nothing but peaceful, respectful, solemn and impactful.

Those who showed up to disrupt it — some of whom were carrying weapons — appeared to be interested in nothing but intimidating, bullying and inciting confrontation and conflict, which easily could have escalated into violence. That’s the last thing we want in Boise and in Idaho.

Without any apparent point or purpose, these “counter-protesters” do nothing but inflame divisions and deny a respectful opportunity to recognize a tragic and harsh reality in today’s society.

Bringing groups together offers an opportunity to listen, learn, come together and understand where the Black Lives Matter movement is coming from. If the “counter-protesters” want to attend these vigils or other peaceful protests, they should come with open minds and open ears. They should listen to what’s being said, so that they may learn something and recognize that we are all Americans simply striving for a better America.

If they’re not willing to do that, they should just stay home.

This story was originally published June 5, 2020 at 4:00 AM.