Ben Carson: Black Lives Matter Advocates ‘Pointing Fingers’
If you ask Republican candidate Ben Carson, Black Lives Matter advocates are not doing the right things.
At a rally in Harlem today, Carson said he’d like to see Black Lives Matter advocates do more to solve problems and less in the way of creating strife.
“Of course black lives matter. But what I feel instead of people pointing fingers at each other and just creating strife, what we need to be talking about is how do we solve problems in the black community. Of murder, essentially.”
In addition, Carson went on to say that he’d like to see those from the Black Lives Matter movement — and the African-American community as a whole — focus more on family and faith, and “the values and principles that got black people through slavery and segregation and Jim Crowism.”
As a result of the African-American community moving away from what he sees as valuable ideals, more violence is occurring, Ben Carson said during his speech.
“As we throw those things away, we’re seeing terrible crimes occurring in our communities.”
It’s not the first time that Ben Carson has been critical of the Black Lives Matter movement. Carson, who is seeking the Republican nomination for an opportunity to run for president, was previously criticized when he called Black Lives Matter advocates “silly.” Carson made the previous Black Lives Matter comments while talking to a group at a rally in Washington, D.C. to defund Planned Parenthood.
“We need to talk about what the real issues are and not get caught up in silliness like this matters or that matters. Of course all lives matter. I don’t want to get into it. It’s so silly. Black lives are part of all lives, right? When we’re talking about a culture of life, then we ought to be talking about a culture of life and not allow ourselves to get caught up in all the divisive rhetoric and terminology and political correctness. It’s the reason we can’t make any progress as a society.”
Since making the comments, Ben Carson and the Republican Party at large have been criticized for being dismissive of the Black Lives Matter movement. Like Carson, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, who also is running for the Republican nomination, has been criticized for his easy dismissal of racial inequality.
What do you think about Ben Carson’s Black Lives Matter comments? Do you agree or disagree?
Learn more about Ben Carson and his bid for the Republican nomination in the video below:
[Photo by Oliver Douliery/Getty Images]
