Fences Matter


The tweet below tacks onto what I've said before about Black lives having little to do with people of Sub-Saharan descent.

 People are dunking on the typo, but what jumped out at me are the phrases "Black Lives Matter" versus "No Human is Illegal."

At first blush, one might react, "Whoa! Isn't 'No Human is Illegal' dangerously close to 'All Lives Matter'?"

Not at all, says I.

You see, Undocumented Lives are Black Lives. 

As are trans lives.
As are addict lives.
As are felon lives.
As are impoverished lives.
As are sex worker lives.
As are homeless lives.

You get the idea.


You might think of "Black" as a synonym for "marginalized" in most contexts, but that doesn't quite capture it. (more later)

"Black" and "marginalized" are better understood when considering "blackness" and "marginalized-ness."

"-ness" means "state : condition : quality"

But the quality of being black, in usual terms, is nothing like the state of being on the margin. This shows us that something else is meant.

As I laid out before, "blackness" really refers to something like "the way things aren't." But it also refers to those who believe the way things aren't are the way things could be.

(This is why if you don't vote for Biden "you ain't black.")

A little clarification. Obviously, in the correct sense, the way things aren't IS the way things could be. History attests to the ways humans have overcome nature and bettered ourselves. For more good news, visit Our World in Data.

In the wrong sense, believing in the way things aren't is a belief in magic. It's a belief that things can be achieved without the work. The only work "blackness" recognizes is "raising awareness" and "gaining consensus."

"Black Lives Matter" roughly means "Consensus is Magic"

Humans achieved flight because we harnessed physics, not because we all agreed that flight was possible (quite to the contrary).

"Blackness" believes we can fly without the Wright Bros.

"Blackness" believes we can fly if we all just agree that we can. (Clap your hands.)


Moving on.

You may have noticed my list of marginalized groups was incomplete. Not all so-called marginal people are reliably "black."

Black conservatives aren't "black."

Gay white men are increasingly not "black."

Disabled are only "black" when agitating for "black" causes.


Undocumented Lives are Black Lives in the sense that illegal immigrants sought to achieve residency and even citizenship in a way other than through established channels. The way that works, not just for them, but everyone.

This is not to say that illegal immigrants are part of the ideological Black Lives fold. Probably not. But advocating on behalf of illegal immigrants fits into the greater ideology of assuming that any tried and true approach is actually just an arbitrary selection.


Blackness has nothing to do with skin color.

Blackness is a state of mind that says Chesterton's Fence is racist.

Because Chesterton doesn't get it.

Because Chesterton is white.

Obviously.

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