When the Black Lives Matter movement was started, those who benefitted from it knew eventually a common thought would arise. The thought that it would be no different from the KKK, the alt-right, or any other type of terrorist/anti-group organization that has been manifesting in the United States for decades.

Despite the clear name and the clear purpose of the group, BLM has been unfortunately lumped together with those groups in particular. Especially when one of those groups are criticized.

But why is that? Why is it that some people (white people in particular) feel so adamant to condemn a movement like BLM by comparing it to others that deserve to be denounced and removed? Is it warranted or is it a means of switching the narrative and making the victims just as bad as the perpetrator. Unfortunately, the latter thought seems to be the case.

The Black Lives Matter organization was started in 2012 after the murder of Trayvon Martin but it didn’t gain a strong presence until the death of Michael Brown in 2014.

According to the BLM website, co creator Alicia Garza describes the movement as,“...an ideological and political intervention in a world where Black lives are systematically and intentionally targeted for demise. It is an affirmation of Black folks’ contributions to this society, our humanity, and our resilience in the face of deadly oppression.” It is a movement at its core, created to tell the world that black people are here, we have contributed to history and even if we did not, we still matter.

With that type of message so clear, you would think that it was that cut and dry for everyone. But unfortunately, that isn’t the case. The other day I was tagged in a tweet by my friend (who will refer to as Jane) about a couple of coworkers complaining about a shared post condemning the hate group “protests” in Charlottesville, Virginia.

In the comments, these coworkers complained that we shouldn’t have the “us vs them” interaction but remind that we are all human, a colorblind approach of ignoring the history of dividing races. The second comment, however, is the subject of this conversation; In the second comment, the poster stated that there isn’t much of a difference between these hate groups and the black lives matter movement because they both use violence as a means to an end.

To break this down, one thing needs be made clear. No group with good intentions are pure and without flaws. Humans by nature are complicated and made up of different thoughts and feelings. Just because the group as a whole can denounce the actions of a few rogues and people who claim to act for the movement like the Dallas shooting in 2016 by a lone black gunman.

But with that in mind, that is where the differences start. At its core groups like Nazis, alt-righters, white nationalists, and the KKK are groups that believe that a specific race, in this case, Aryan/white, are superior to others and will use violence, manipulation of the masses and murder/genocide to meet their goals. BLM shines a light and promotes ways to expose the injustices done against black Americans while the groups that joined the Charlottesville “protest” wished to keep the views and rules of the past.

In the past, the BLM organization as a whole condemn violence against others while a “protester” ran over counter protesters, killing at least one, with no one in his group condemning the actions.

With this in mind, the question that arises is: why? Why is this well-intentioned group compared to the likes of the KKK, a group with the exact opposite agenda? In 2016, TIME magazine released an article online on why BLM is not considered a hate group.

In this article, the president of the Southern Poverty Law Center, who compiles a list yearly of domestic hate groups, speaks out as to while there are some black hate groups, BLM is not considered one. In the article J. Richard Cohen explains why some would want to consider it such by saying, "...reflects a broad sense of unease among white people who worry about the cultural changes in the country...surveys showing that large numbers of white people believe racial discrimination against them is as pervasive, or more so, than it is against African Americans."

Black Lives Matter differ from hate groups because of their intentions. They don’t go out of their way to promote violence, condemn the actions of those who do, and at its core, they promote education and being aware of a person’s rights.

The groups at Charlottesville are hate groups.

They do what they do because they hate anything different from them and fear the progression of society towards equality. They make themselves known because there are those in power that make them comfortable to say what they want to say with little to no consequences and they work to spread fear to keep the rising voices down.

Sometimes it is a struggle to find where the lines are drawn and know who to turn to for information. I know that I can be considered bias because of my race, my orientation, and my gender. But with that said, you should take the initiative to listen to the voices of those affected by this. Do your own research and form your own thoughts. And never forget your history, for those who choose to not learn from it, are doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past.