Good people in small towns across America are not being informed as to the true nature, origins and intentions of Black Lives Matter. Before another innocent child or gullible adult raises another BLM sign in sympathy or solicitation, the truth needs to be shared with those who mistakenly believe that their emotional and financial contributions to this Marxist organization actually go toward helping Black people.

I commend the Select Board for rising above the social media fray with diplomatic replies to a resident parroting BLM talking points that Hopkinton need not consider further, and avoiding the groupthink so many social justice warriors seem to expect of all around them. Requesting a formal statement of BLM approval, the assumption of racist hiring practices, the implementation of diversity training, defunding the police, and the assumption of intrinsic departmental racial bias is anathema to the experience, spirit and humanitarian goals of the Hopkinton Police Department. SJWs need not apply here, since welcoming the world every April for generations has shown us that all men and women are created equal.

I know of no one who wasn’t moved and disturbed by the ending of George Floyd’s life. BLM’s subsequent and ongoing organized anarchy in our cities is what happened to end that moment of national unity. According to some reports, only 15 unarmed Black men died during 375 million police interactions in 2019 — hardly evidence of “systemic racism,” the incendiary buzzphrase of the mainstream media. It goes without saying that statistics don’t explain away the occasional tragic injustice, but they should clarify perception. I believe that the Black Lives Matter movement intends to eliminate law enforcement, prisons, the nuclear family and capitalism itself, while redirecting your dollars to the Democratic National Committee. Ironic, in that Democratic-controlled Chicago regularly experiences murderous Black on Black shootings. Wouldn’t you think BLM funds should be utilized there? Think again! I am reminded of my grandmother’s anguish upon learning that her pre-war Christian contributions to the “poor Japanese” were subsequently turned into weapons her son luckily dodged during the Pacific Theatre.

Please do your homework — go to the BLM website — before jumping onto a “wolf in sheep’s clothing” bandwagon. The anarchists, crooks and panderers hope you don’t. I don’t want my, or your, grandkids to grow up in a country where identity politics dictates who thrives and who doesn’t. I’ll say it once: Of course Black lives matter, but I remain an ALL LIVES Matter advocate.

— Rob Phipps, Sutton (former longtime Hopkinton resident/current Hopkinton property owner)

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