A heartening story out of the UK, in which a man who was ousted from his position as the head of an 'anti-social behavior reduction' charity after he sharply criticized Black Lives Matter has been reinstated. Not only that, every member of the craven board of trustees who voted to remove him has now been jettisoned, as part of a deal to avoid promised, costly litigation. This is quite a dramatic turn of events:
A boss who was sacked for criticising Black Lives Matter has been reinstated as head of the charity he founded. Nick Buckley, the founder of Mancunian Way, described BLM as ‘post-modern, neo-Marxists” who were “call[ing] for the destruction of Western Democracy and our way of life” which led to his removal by the board of trustees. This morning the trustees of the charity, which helps young people in Manchester avoid a life of crime, say they have “confirmed a mutually acceptable statement to avoid litigation.” The current trustees have resigned and a new board has asked Nick Buckley to return to his former role.
To recap: Buckley speaks his mind on Black Lives Matter (more on that on a moment), he's then pushed out by the board that was either hyper-woke, or determined to placate that crowd. Buckley lawyers up, receiving help from the Free Speech Union, "who provided a top solicitor, Geoffrey Davies, who took on the case pro bono. Staring down the barrel of a potentially brutal loss in court, the charity arranged for the entire board to resign and be replaced by new members, who promptly welcomed Buckley back to reclaim his former position:
Mancunian Way, it’s trustees and Mr Buckley have confirmed a mutually acceptable statement to avoid litigation. The relationship between the parties irretrievably broke down following Mr Buckley’s recent public and private statements. All trustees have made the decision (1 of 2)
— Mancunian Way (@1mancunianway) July 23, 2020
.. to step down. A new board of trustees have been appointed and they have chosen to ask Mr Buckley’s company, BNB services Ltd, to resume the provision of its support services (2 of 2)
— Mancunian Way (@1mancunianway) July 23, 2020
The group, for some reason, keeps denying that Buckley was let go in the first place as a result of his controversial comments, but it appears as though nobody really believes that. Their actions betray the feeble spin. As for Buckley, he sounds understandably pleased: “It has been a difficult 5 weeks, but common sense prevailed in the end. We have rights in the UK that our forefathers fought for, we cannot allow them to be eroded for the sake of a quiet life. I would urge everyone to stand up for their rights.” Let's briefly examine what he said about BLM -- the formal organization, not the sentiment. Many people of good faith can and should embrace the principle of "black lives matter"; on that front, here's a quick explainer on why "all lives matter," while a morally correct sentiment that should not constitute a fireable thought crime, misses the point in the eyes of many. But BLM as an entity is quite radical. From their own published manifestos:
We are self-reflexive and do the work required to dismantle cisgender privilege and uplift Black trans folk, especially Black trans women who continue to be disproportionately impacted by trans-antagonistic violence...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. We foster a queer-affirming network. When we gather, we do so with the intention of freeing ourselves from the tight grip of heteronormative thinking...We know that police don’t keep us safe...That’s why we are calling to #DefundPolice...
Crushing the nuclear family and defunding the police. No, thanks. It's entirely understandable why many people might say to themselves, "black lives matter? Count me in. Black Lives Matter? Hard pass." Was Buckley off-base when he described BLM as "neo-Marxists"? Let's ask BLM's co-founder:
Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Cullors said in a newly surfaced video from 2015 that she and her fellow organizers are “trained Marxists” – making clear their movement’s ideological foundation, according to a report. Cullors, 36, was the protégé of Eric Mann, former agitator of the Weather Underground domestic terror organization, and spent years absorbing the Marxist-Leninist ideology that shaped her worldview, Breitbart News reported. “The first thing, I think, is that we actually do have an ideological frame. Myself and Alicia in particular are trained organizers,” she said, referring to BLM co-founder Alicia Garza. “We are trained Marxists. We are super-versed on, sort of, ideological theories. And I think that what we really tried to do is build a movement that could be utilized by many, many black folk,”
Well, then. Back in the US, here's another episode in which the 'canceled' party ought to seriously consider his legal options. Painful consequences for mob-driven rushes to judgment may be the only viable option for fighting back and turning the tide:
Cleveland High football coach Ken Duilio says he’s been fired because of his job as a Portland police sergeant https://t.co/0CWZGG2XmC
— Jake Schneider (@jacobkschneider) July 23, 2020
Portland Public Schools has fired Cleveland High School football coach Ken Duilio, he says because of his position as a sergeant for the Portland Police Bureau...Duilio said there was a group — he did not know who — that put pressure on the school district to fire him as football coach. Duilio believes a campaign to remove him at Cleveland began after he spoke during a news conference at North Precinct on June 26. Fliers with Duilio’s picture attaching him to past incidents as a police officer were stapled to telephone poles throughout Portland in recent weeks...The flier mentioned two incidents involving Duilio from 2001...About a week ago, Duilio said he was asked to come into the district office to talk about incidents listed on the flier. Duilio said he was told that the district “didn’t see a path moving forward because of pressure they’re getting” and was asked to resign...Duilio said he respectfully declined. Later in the week, he was again asked to resign, he said, and again Duilio said he didn’t think that was the right thing to do. Duilio declined to say who called him into the district office or who asked him to resign. One day later, Duilio was dismissed.
The anonymous mob dredged up incidents from nearly two decades ago, in which Duilio was cleared, as a basis for demanding his firing as a high school football coach. The cowardly school district officials tried to get him to resign, but he honorably refused -- so they fired him. May they be Buckley'd. In case you missed them, go back and read my related posts on this general subject from yesterday. I'll leave you with Buckley relaying his story in his own words: