Do black lives really matter?

Of course they do and far beyond a momentary t-shirt slogan. Orwell stated his “hard truths”, mostly about religious nonsense and political lying. He was famously disinterested in America but his observations about English society seem relevant to ours. He knew that the middle class was politically passive and would rather come home, watch football and have a nice meal with the missus. Carrying banners (and wearing t-shirts) was for “Bolshies” and picketers. I'm sure Orwell would agree that the hard truths about America are unending racial injustice and gun violence. In in his fable Animal Farm, Orwell wrote, “All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others”. Something that could be said about our Constitution. Meanwhile, the media pollutes the thought environment with every atrocity and carnage they can find with the banner screaming “Breaking News” which really should read “Heartbreaking News”. We see several bumptious young ladies wearing “Black Lives Matter” t-shirts forcing their way onto the stage and pushing Bernie Sanders aside, probably the one and only candidate who could do something for them (Better not try that with The Donald or you'll be out on your ear in no time). “Our patience will achieve more than our force”, said Edmund Burke (Google him) It's a truth universally acknowledged that American youth is not superbly educated but rather superbly agitated. If the young are going to act up they should adopt some realpolitik of practical realism and politics based on power so they could get some results. Here's an example: Ferguson is burning and the local kids are looting. Suppose instead, a group of young people went to protect the store from looters wearing t-shirts that said “Protect Ferguson”. It would go viral, and give the media something good to air. Who knows, displaying positive behaviour like that, even The Donald might say, “You're good kids, you're hired!”