Black Lives Matter Responds To Backlash From Chicago Kidnapping & Torture Video

After arresting and holding all of the suspects in custody yesterday, the Chicago Police Department announced that all four black teens believed to be responsible for the torturing a white teen with special needs -- which was broadcasted via a horrific Facebook Live video --  have been charged with hate crimes. 

Though a political motive has not been established, the attackers could be heard uttering anti-Trump invective while they abused the victim. They also used anti-white language, and the hate crime charges imply the police's belief that the assailants found a motive to attack the victim due to either his race or disability.

Many conservatives on social media and some right-leaning pundits have indeed deemed the attack to be racially-motivated, and they are angered that the mainstream media is not condemning a certain political sect, arguing that Trump and his supporters would be repudiated if the races in this particular hate crime had been reversed. They think Black Lives Matter should be held accountable for the actions of the four black teens in question. Accordingly, the hashtag "BLMKidnapping" is currently a top trending topic. 

An argument for the censure of Black Lives Matter is the notion that the movement has been stirring up anti-white sentiments with its nationwide protests against institutional racism and sanctioned violence against blacks. There are some, including those in political power, who believe BLM intends to demonize the entire white race. 

Chicago police have established that, at this point, there is no apparent connection between the actions of the perpetrators and BLM. Even so, in response to widespread online backlash, the Chicago branch of BLM has issued a statement, via Facebook, regarding the brutal incident and its implication of BLM. 

The activist group states that it is "against all types of harm and violence." The statement also points out that the teens in question were apprehended and charged swiftly and that they will likely be "convicted to the fullest extent of the law." 

An ensuing post linked to an article about a white football player who was accused of sexually assaulting a black, disabled teammate. He avoided jail time and was not charged with a hate crime nor a sex crime. BLM advocates may see the juxtaposition of this incident and the kidnapping in Chicago as being evidence that the penal system favors whites. Regardless of the apparent similarities between the two cases, it has always been a major grievance of BLM that whites often do not face the full arm of the law when it comes to crimes carried out against blacks. 

Clearly, both BLM and their adversaries see the aftermath of the Chicago kidnapping incident as indicative of the state of race relations in America. Wherever evil exists, so does a clash of political ideologies. There will be much clamor around the responses of President Obama as well as President-elect Trump, both of which should be imminent.