Yelling 'Black lives matter' isn't enough

If you missed the mess that occurred this weekend during the liberal Netroots Nation conference in Phoenix, let me give you a quick recap:

Some protesters interrupted Martin O'Malley and Bernie Sanders to complain that the Democratic presidential candidates aren't taking Black lives seriously. The exchange generally went like this:

Candidates: Well, yes, actually, we do care about you.

Protesters: No, you don't! Give us specifics.

Candidates: OK. I support …

Protesters: Not good enough! Stop talking! We're going to yell some stuff now!

Sigh.

I'm really getting sick of reading about groups protesting just to protest. I get it. They're mad as heck and won't take it anymore. But they don't actually listen to what the other side has to say.

And when the conversation turns to solutions, they completely check out. I still haven't heard from the protesters what actions they'd like to see to make "Black lives matter."

What's worse, O'Malley actually apologized for his comments, as if he was out of line for suggesting that all lives matter, and that maybe we should all sit down and talk about potential solutions rationally.

Horrors.

Come on, folks. Yes, Black lives matter. But not everything is about race or religion. And if you are going to make it about one or the other, make darn sure you have some solutions if you're going to interrupt a high-profile event to protest.

Otherwise, you just cheapen your cause.