Daily Broadside | Progressives Are Altruistic Marxists Until They Get Rich

Daily Verse | 2 Kings 6:16
“Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”

Happy Friday, fellow Broadsiders. Russian dolls are full of themselves.

We’ve all heard of the BLM Global Network Foundation (BLMGNF), the umbrella organization of the BLM movement. This is the group responsible for inciting the mostly violent peaceful protests and demonstrations across our nation last year after the tragic in-custody death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

A core tenet of BLM that no longer appears on their website is the disruption of the nuclear family. The statement was included among BLM’s public policy positions on a “What We Believe” page. That page was removed in September 2020, although you can still see the entire page here on the Way Back Machine. Here’s what the statement said:

We disrupt the Western-prescribed nuclear family structure requirement by supporting each other as extended families and “villages” that collectively care for one another, especially our children, to the degree that mothers, parents, and children are comfortable.

This is nothing short of Marxist ideology, which seeks to disrupt the nuclear family. That should be no surprise, since BLM’s co-founder Patrisse Cullors described herself and others as “trained Marxists.” BLM also used clearly Marxist language in the deleted “What We Believe” page, including the words “comrades,” “collective,” “struggle,” and “communal.”

In other words, BLM is a socialist ideology dressed up like a civil rights movement. Socialism, remember, is a political and economic system built on collective ownership of the means of production and the equal distribution of the products of labor. The goal is a “classless” society whose members are economic equals—a true workers’ paradise.

Imagine the shock, then, when we learned that Patrisse Cullors, now the executive director of BLMGNF, has purchased four homes in the U.S. worth $3.2 million.

Just kidding! — wasn’t shocked.

The leader of a movement advocating the equal distribution of wealth has more homes than socialist icon Bernie Sanders. That isn’t sitting too well with those formally or informally affiliated with the BLM movement. After all, BLMGNF’s 2020 Impact Report shows that the organization is sitting on some $60 million out of $90 million in donations received. It’s natural to suspect that maybe the leader is getting a sizeable cut of those “operating expenses.”

A page from BLMGNF’s “2020 Impact Report” showing the breakdown of their finances.

But, no, Cullors “serves in this role in a volunteer capacity and does not receive a salary or benefits,” BLM said in an official statement.

BLM also deflected the controversy by injecting race into the discussion, claiming, Without Evidence, that the “narratives being spread about Patrisse have been generated by right-wing forces” who put “Patrisse, her child and her loved ones in harm’s way” and “continues a tradition of terror by white supremacists against Black activists.”

It turns out that BLM has been under pressure to be more transparent about their finances.

“For years there has been inquiry regarding the financial operations of BLMGN and no acceptable process of either public or internal transparency about the unknown millions of dollars donated to BLMGN, which has certainly increased during this time of pandemic and rebellion,” the chapters said.

So if not through BLMGNF, how did a self-described anti-capitalist monetize her activism? She founded a consulting firm, “Janaya & Patrisse Consulting.” She wrote a a New York Times bestseller, When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir. She also signed a multi-year, multi-platform deal with Warner Brothers (although to do what isn’t known).

Well, good for her. I’m really not that upset or even that interested in what Patrisse Cullors does with the money she seems to have made. If there’s anything that bothers me about it, it’s this: she’s no Marxist—she just plays one on TV.

Cullors is just another clear-eyed capitalist who’s figured out how to leverage the grievance industry into personal wealth. Look at Barack Hussein Obama and his $12 million mansion. He’s the same one who said, “I think when you spread the wealth around, it’s good for everybody.”

Right. We’re all altruistic Marxists until we get fabulously wealthy. Then we’re all greedy capitalists.

I say, a pox on both their houses. BLM agitators deserve Cullors. Couldn’t have happened to a nicer group of commies.