Republican Presidential candidate Ben Carson spoke critically of the Black Lives Movement and one its icons, slain Ferguson, Missouri Black criminal Michael Brown, in an interview Friday with CBS News reporter Major Garrett.
Ben Carson speaks in Ferguson, Missouri, image posted to Twitter by KTVI reporter Betsey Bruce.
Carson, the only African-American running for the presidential nomination of either major party, was taking a bus tour of Ferguson with Mayor James Knowles when he spoke to Garrett.
Carson spoke of the images evoked by touring Ferguson, including strong-armed robber Michael Brown, whom Carson called a ‘bad actor’. Brown’s shooting death in August 2014 by a white police officer as he violently resisted arrest helped inspire the Black Lives Movement.
“It also conjures up an image of the people being unwilling to actually face the facts. I think the community is unwilling to face the fact that Michael Brown was a bad actor.”
Carson added that police supporters should acknowledge that not all policing is ‘pristine.’
Carson went on to criticize the Black Lives Movement as ‘bullies’, comparing it to the bullying of ‘political correctness.
…””the Black Lives Matter movement, where it’s foisting yourself on people – rather than engaging in dialogue – and bullying people. I never liked the idea of bullying on behalf of anybody.””
“”Garrett asked him, “And you think there’s an undercurrent of bullying to Black Lives Matter?”
“”Sure, absolutely,” Carson responded. “There’s an underlying bullying to ‘political correctness’.
In remarks after touring Ferguson, NBC News reported Carson said it was wrong for Brown’s body to remain in the street for hours after he was killed.
Carson again criticized the Black Lives Matter movement, saying it should change its name to ‘All Black Lives Matter’.
“”My beef with the Black Lives Matter movement has been, I think they need to add a word. And that word is ‘All.’ All Black Lives Matter,” said Carson. “Including the ones that are eradicated by abortions, including the ones that are eradicated on the streets every day by violence. We need to be looking at all the factors that have kept the black community in a very dependent position for decades.””
Carson also said that even though he grew up in the inner city, he never had a problem with police even though he knew there were bad police officers. Carson explained that his mother raised him to be respectful of authority.
The Washington Post reported Carson said that respect must go both ways.
“”It is very important that police are taught to be respectful of everyone,” said Carson. “One lady was talking about the fact that she woke up, her son woke up, and said: ‘There are police out there all over the place! There are armored vehicles out there!’ She went outside, a policeman was walking on the sidewalk, and she asked him: ‘What’s going on?’ He said, ‘nothing.’ That’s not respectful. We need to make sure that respect is offered in both directions.””
