One of my favorite aspects of Twitter is the ability to get a window into what black activists and thinkers are saying about the topics of the day. Black Twitter has given the world two of the greatest hashtags of all time, #WhiteTears and #WhiteFragility. You know sh-t is going down when those hashtags start popping up in a story. And that’s what happened this week when some butthurt idiots decided that Jesse Williams’ amazing BET Awards speech was “racist.” Yes, there are literally thousands of people who “understood” the “argument” Stacey Dash made, which is that Jesse Williams is the for-real racist because he stood up and made a speech about violence against black people, education inequality, the narratives of civil rights movements and systemic racial inequality throughout society. I wish I was joking.
So, Jesse made some people mad. And instead of trying to make a coherent argument about why he might be wrong (he’s not wrong and there is no argument to be made), some people just decided to claim that he’s an awful person, a racist, and he should be thrown off of Grey’s Anatomy. A Change.org petition was started by someone named Erin Smith and the petition already has thousands of names. Smith wrote:
Jesse Williams spewed a racist, hate speech against law enforcement and white people at the BET awards. If this was a white person making the same speech about an African American, they would have been fired and globally chastised, as they should be, but there has been no consequences to Williams’ actions. There’s been no companies making a stand against his racist remarks and no swift action condemning his negative attitude. Why was Burke’s character fired from Grey’s Anatomy after his inappropriate homophobic slur, but nothing for Jesse Williams? Why the one-way street? Why the support for a hater? Why the hypocrisy? #AllLivesMatter All humans bleed the same color. #EqualConsequences4RacistBehavior
**A special note to all the people making assumptions: Who said I was white? Who said I’m a Trump supporter? This is not about politics. This is about equal consequences for racist behavior. If this was an Asian, Mexican, Caucasian or whoever saying the same exact words as Jesse Williams did, I would be against it and petitioned them to be fired if they did not suffer the same consequences as others have suffered for their irrational behavior. We’re all adult human beings. Why not act that way? Instead of lashing out with immature and obnoxious name calling, do something about getting everyone to look at everyone in the same light. Make a difference!
I’m still failing to see the twisted logic of this argument. Yes, I do think people should be fired or censured for making racist statements. But saying “there’s a crazy amount of police violence against black folks” IS NOT RACIST. Therefore, it’s not a fire-able offense. This is actually a perfect example of the appropriate use of #WhiteFragility. When you’re so fragile that you’re offended when black people want to be a part of a conversation about violence against their community.
So, Jesse responded to the stupidity without naming names. He tweeted this:
Do not promote empty people & their tantrums. Pure clickbait to gain followers, attention & money, for themselves, not you. Never you.
— jesseWilliams. (@iJesseWilliams) July 3, 2016
And then Jesse’s boss, Shonda Rhimes, decided to chime in. I hope she’s drinking a big glass of #WhiteTears right now.
Um, people? Boo don't need a petition. #shondalandrules
— shonda rhimes (@shondarhimes) July 5, 2016
Photos courtesy of WENN.
That’s a serious demonstration of the inability to reflect, right there.
Not inability. Refusal to reflect, I’d say.
I mentioned on here the other day – about something entirely unrelated – something my mum used to say. If a narcissist makes an accusation, the accusation is always something they’ve done/said/believe themselves. Because they spend their whole lives talking to themselves in a mirror.
That’s what this #WhiteTears thing is. Narcissism by the narcissist members of a dominant group whenever anything threatens the dominance. They will never understand that reverse racism, reverse sexism, reverse classism do not exist. Because they can’t reflect. They can only look in a mirror and accuse others of their own sins.
Hear, Hear!
Yup. Willful blindness and ignorance.
I’m glad that she did this. Now I can see who exactly in the country thinks this way and plan/avoid accordingly.
–TheRealPinky
Always the best takeaway, Pinky.
I read his speech, I think this Dash girl over killed her response. I’ve heard people talk rationally of this topic n both made sense becaus it was not rooted in hate. Most agreed with him,although they could do w/out the white people stigma. Lime one man said,whose white, why am I singled out.I would have like Jesse to name names, cause u know there r names n they need to be ousted. Hate is such a soul crushing feeling.
And just when I think I’ve seen the peak of human stupidity, people show me that there’s more. There’s always more.
I love Shonda’s tweet.
I wish she would of posted it in proper English not ” Boo don’t need .. ” it sounds terrible.
I hope she doesn’t speak like that in person, but still.
It is proper English, just a different form of proper English.
It’s also ad-style speech, meant to be memorable.
She’s an extremely successful writer. She knows what she’s doing.
I think it was the perfect way to respond to the ridiculousness.
Sigh, code switching to make a specific point about racism and the demands of a petulant and selfish white audience.
OBVIOUSLY she does not speak like that in professional meetings.
On the topic of proper English, it’s “would HAVE” not “would of”.
(Sorry had to do it)
But yes, I do think Shonda handled that perfectly.
*rolls eyes* Shonda is a professional and more accomplished than most people. If she wanted to speak/write “proper” English, she would have. She did it to make a point and to send a message to her specific audience.
@HadleyB: care to explain what you think here is improper English?
@hadleyb there’s nothing improper about her English. Acquaint yourself with the concept of language variation before you make such ignorant comments. AAVE is a perfectly acceptable dialect, deal with it. If her English is incorrect, so is American English ( it’s coloUr and fOetus, dammit!!).
Here Baby https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_American_Vernacular_English a grown Mogul gets to talk whatever way she wants as the setting of her choice calls for it
@Kitten Thanks for the laugh, you’re always on point .
Oh lordy! I was going to try to unpack why this is a terrible comment, specifically on this subject, but other commenters already did. Wow, just wow.
Would have, not would of. It’s generally best to use appropriate grammar when commenting on the grammar of others.
@Kitten 😳. A gentle lesson on grammar never hurts.
excuse me – what does it mean?
I`m german and I do not understand it.
Who is Boo?
Umm Shonda went to Dartmouth she knows proper English. She is an incredibly intelligent, accomplished woman so yeah she knows how to turn a phrase and speak proper English- which she did here.
But she phrased her response that way precisely because of who would get it and who would not.
If you missed both points then it wasn’t for you.
That was the point.
Thank you everyone for their responses to this. Last week my friend and I went to NYC on the Megabus to see Hamilton, and we were talking and laughing on the three hour drive up. The couple in front of us seemed to be Megabus novices and since they wanted to nap on the way up, they kept turning around giving us dirty looks and say blah blah blah shut up while making a talking hand motion. The man put his seat all the way back on purpose (he smelled like bo and cigs- ugh). My friend and I continued talking and laughing, because um those people don’t own the megabus- bring earplugs next time. The man finally, very loudly, mocked the way I was speaking and his wife looked over and did the same. When I continued talking after saying “um ok” they started to make fun of what I was saying. Well that was it, I said oh I am not the one and you two are going to learn today!! I am highly educated and successful, you cannot begin to judge me on how I am talking with my friend in a fun, friendly conversation. We are absolutely allowed to talk on this bus even though it’s the morning but being rude and nasty and low key racist (not to mention smelly) is not really acceptable. They shut up for the next twenty minutes until we unloaded. Let me go after the non “proper English” of Trump supporters! Sorry for the rant!
Well, @HadleyB, now I feel compelled to point out your note is not in proper English either.
It’s “would HAVE”, not
“Would of”…
@tschic Shonda means “boo” as in “mein Schatz”, like Jesse is her protegee/baby who doesn’t need petitions, because he’s too awesome for that.
I’m British and I didn’t know “boo” either. So ta muchly – thank you very much in Britisher!
@Alexandra Thank you!
He really is awesome.
Oh Boo…
white people will have to realize that generalizing a privileged and a socially powerful group is harmless.
Generalizing a race and putting them all in the same bag is racist, no matter the race. And you do that with whites constantly.
#whiteprivilegerightthere #plusidiocy Shonda’s response was perfect. I hope she gives him more interesting material on Grey’s next season!
I don’t always love her shows but I always respect Shonda. The woman does what she wants. Jesse will be fine.
She fired what’s his name…dreamy guy….don’t watch the show…but for cheating on his wife.
Tone deaf
What terrifies me, as a white person who has done my best to learn and grow as a human being, is that trying to explain racial inequality and white entitlement to people like Erin Smith is like talking to a brick wall. I have many friends and family who think this way and it’s easy to believe that they will stay stuck in this mindset and never change. Many, many years ago, I used to think this way, so I have hope that people can change if they open themselves up to others’ POV…but some days I just don’t know…
LOVE Shonda’s tweet…hilarious!
It is like talking to a brick wall. When the whole “All Lives Matter” reaction exploded it just killed me…it’s a reflection of exactly what you described. Absolutely no willingness to learn or grow.
I think Jesse and Shonda shouldn’t have even bothered to acknowledge this but their responses were both great.
I think it’s also a reflection of fear, defensiveness, narcissism (as Sixer mentioned) and of course, privilege.
“do something about getting everyone to look at everyone in the same light”
^I hate sh*t like that.
I hate it so much when people try to “wish” away inequality or our country’s history by pretending all things are the same.
And no, repeating it over and over again does not make it so.
How will we ever learn from our past if we don’t acknowledge it?
….if we don’t recognize that slavery formed the foundation upon which a tower of racism in various incarnations was built? That’s not a problem that gets fixed overnight, lady.
We have to view these issues through a very sensitive lens; one that recognizes that we have made grievous errors (to put it mildly) or we are doomed to repeat it. These Pollyanna types do absolutely nothing in terms of forging an understanding and respect between races. They just make everything worse.
I’m so tired of being embarrassed by white people.
Why should they want to learn and grow? From their point of view, everything was just fine until some icky dirty people started to complain.
It’s all about … all of it, everything, the guns, the Trump, the xenophobia , the all lives matter, the anti-feminism, the climate change denial … it all seems to be about people wanting to go back to a time that they thought was great because it was great for the richest, highest-status people in their social caste. Before everything was confusing and threatening and you had to think a little deeper. Before you had to learn to share.
Yes. The Nineteen Fifties that Never Really Was. The same myth-pathos?- exists about the 1980s and St. Ronnie too.
Exactly. Bill Maher had a great quote about that:
“You have to understand the Tea-bagger mindset; they have this nostalgia for this America that they think was stolen from them, that used to be, that was better – it’s really the 1950s, okay? That’s what they think was Shangri-La, and, y’know what they really don’t get is that it’s kind of insulting to a lot of Americans to pine for this era, cause it wasn’t that good for a lot of people. It was good if you were a white man. It wasn’t that good if you were Mexican, or black, or Jewish, or disabled, or gay, or a woman.”
I will admit I used to have a particular bias against a Native Americans, having lived near a reservation. I’ve seen things that confirmed my bias. Then I moved away and coincidentally took a mandatory course on working with minorities- particularly Natives. It went through native and white history (in my country) Holy Cow! My eyes were opened big time. When I say the white folk were not nice to the natives is an understatement. Residential schools, denying culture. abuse and of course the ramifications carries down generations. We can’t just expect the 3rd generation to forget about the atrocities.
I guess my point is, that hope is not lost for these people. You never know what will get through to someone
You were willing to learn. The problem is, some people aren’t willing. Some people don’t want to admit there is a huge problem in society. Some people want to “keep their power” as they say. They feel something is being taken away from them for the first time in their lives and they don’t know how to deal with it. They are threatened…they are uneducated.
” They feel something is being taken away from them for the first time in their lives and they don’t know how to deal with it.”
YES, this.
I don’t know who said it first, but this is spot on…”when you’ve always been privileged, equality feels like oppression.”
What was it that you didn’t like before about them? How did the course change your feelings about what you saw/your opinion of them?
I am a teacher, and I’ve known many teachers who think this way. There is a teacher in the district who participates in Civil War reenactments. Apparently she has claimed that the civil war had nothing to do with slavery. Another teacher speaks very badly about the students and their families that live in the district (90% Hispanic), by calling them “these people”. As in, “these people just don’t get it!” I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve heard the “I don’t see color, I see people” line. There was a huge concern about transgender kids’ using bathrooms. I feel it’s just willful ignorance at this point, since there are so many opportunities to be educated.
I enjoyed his speech. Particularly the bit about “brands on our bodies”. I wish the Oscars would let their award recipients speak their minds like that.
Uhm, Erinn Smith, are you white? Are you a Trump supporter? If not either, why so defensive about both in your original statement?
Yeah, the defensiveness of that struck me, too. Somehow I don’t think she’s a Hillary supporter.
Yeah I’d be willing to bet cold hard cash she’s both.
I can’t imagine being this stupid. If she is so dumb that she ignored what he was saying and really found his speech so upsetting that she doesn’t want to see him on Grey’s Anatomy anymore, you know what? She can STOP WATCHING.
I hate this special snowflake “I don’t like it so it can no longer exist’ mentality, and I doubly hate it when it’s led by ignorance, bigotry, and racism.
Yup. So white that she’s actually transparent.
oh BURN…nice one kitten!
Hey now – it’s a lesser Erin(n) with only 1 n!
But honestly- as soon as I saw her name I cringed. And then I read it and continued to do so, but with an added rage.
Like – who the f*** is she to say ANY of this. This whole piece that she wrote is honestly…so over the top ridiculous that it could have just as easily been satire but it’s clear that she believes it. I just don’t understand how anyone can be a functioning adult and not see the white privilege that they’ve been afforded. It just completely baffles me.
On a day where we wake up to yet another police shooting his speech is so important. We are trying to make it so our kids aren’t dying on the street for walking while black. Like he said if you don’t like it have all the seats
Plus she’s an idiot if she doesn’t know that Shonda is black and rules the roost at ABC
The president ABC is also a black woman. I hope she is not like Stacey Dash though.
+1000000
@Nicole
If you are speaking of the Alton Sterling shooting in Baton Rouge, you might want to research the incident. I cannot say that his killing was necessary, but what I can say is that Mr. Sterling was threatening people with a gun. He reportedly had his gun out during the altercation with officers. So far, I have not seen any video but I feel it is irresponsible for people to report on these incidents as if the suspect was just standing around doing nothing. Have poc been flat out murdered by police officers? Yep. It’s a shameful and tragic factor of our justice system and it needs to stop. Human beings should not be accosted, harassed, and murdered simply for being a shade darker than what you are comfortable with. But there are incidents in which the lives of police officers and innocent civilians have to take priority. I have not commented on Jesse Williams’ BET speech because I have mixed feelings about it and realize that here on CB, my opinion wouldn’t have been well received. There were some phenomenal moments in his speech that literally gave me goosebumps. There were a few comments made that I strongly disagreed with and even one that offended me. That is life. The cool thing is that we are all allowed to have an opinion. I respect yours, please respect mine.
@Mimi, go watch the video before you tell someone to research the incident. Alton Sterling was executed at point blank range while being subdued on the ground. Then come back here and tell us if it “may have been necessary.”
@mimi
I am really curious to know what aspect of his speech offended you. Not to jump down anyone’s throat. There are times when I have the minority opinion on this site and choose not to post because I can only imagine the barrage of comments, but I am genuinely interested in knowing what was problematic.
Mimi said that some of the comments HERE offended her, if I’m understanding her correctly.
@tg
“I cannot say that his killing was necessary”
Please read my entire post before you attack me. I specifically said that I had not seen the video. I only stated that the police didn’t just show up for no reason. They were responding to a disturbance call and were already informed that Mr. Sterling was armed. I have since watched the video and will be surprised and angry if charges are not brought against the officer who shot Mr. Sterling.
@amunet ma’at
As I said before, I really liked a lot of Jesse’s speech. It was resonant and that is probably why people have had such strong reactions to it be they positive or negative. My personal reaction was a little of both. In my experience as a commenter here on CB, I have come to realize that there are simply some people who aren’t capable of having a respectful conversation with people whose opinions differ even a little from their own. I’ll leave it at this: If you are in all good intentions trying to fight against racism, it might be best to promote the harmony of people as a whole.
Mimi= a quick google search pops up that the justice department just opened up a civil rights investigation into the shooting and the Louisiana governor is voicing grave concerns about it. My husband is in law enforcement and its such a hard job when you are one of the good guys like he is. But he has said time and again with questionable cases that yelling out he’s got a gun or he’s reaching for my gun can be a CYA move sometimes. Its always very hard to know the truth from video taken out of context for sure but my husband said that video itself looks pretty bad.
Pretty sure once you have someone subdued on the ground the threat is neutralized. Fact is he was shot in the back of the head at point blank range. The officers then pulled the gun out of his pocket according to the store owner.
So again how was he waving it at people if the gun was in his pocket? And LA is an open carry state and you see white people walking around with guns strapped to their backs all the time without dying.
@Nicole
He never waved his gun at police. He threatened someone with his gun before the police showed up. That incident, which was not filmed is actually why the officers were there to begin with. As I mentioned before, Mr. Sterling was convicted of unlawful possession of a weapon some years back. In the state of Louisiana, which is where I happen to live, you are no longer permitted to carry a firearm if you have been convicted of a weapons charge. Let me reiterate (because apparently I haven’t done so to your standards) that I fully believe that this was murder. The officer who killed this man should absolutely have murder charges brought against him. I sincerely hope he faces full consequences for the senseless killing of this man.
add to this whole thing that the cops are claiming that BOTH of their body cameras “fell off” in the struggle and didn’t capture the shooting.
Riiiiiiiiight.
I’m w you. While *most* of Jesse’s speech was both crucial and eloquent, there were a few parts of it that struck me as rather hyperbolic/disingenuous. But, of course, I would NEVER say what those things were on *here*—I don’t enjoy getting eviscerated for having an opinion or thought that goes, in any way, against the accepted norm.
No. He had a gun in his pocket, perfectly legal in that state, as protection from robbers (he sold his CDs on the street at night). He did not pull it out. He had his arms out in the surrender position. He was complying with police orders. And he was shot dead regardless. The police body cameras mysteriously all fell off their bodies, but a bystander was quick with a phone camera and got the video.
Five kids are orphans as a result. There had better be a thorough and unbiased investigation of those police officers. And they need to order better attachment devices for those body cameras…. Or else maybe we citizens should start following police officers around with our cell phone cameras set to video record. Just in case.
It is not legal to carry a gun if you have been convicted of a felony weapons charge. Mr. Starling has quite the criminal record which includes several convictions that are weapon related. I still feel strongly that this was not a simple case of self defense (which does happen all the time) but a case of a seemingly panicked officer who acted on emotions rather than procedural duty.
@mimi
Thank you for clarifying I guess. My passion for spoken and written word means I enjoy analyzing speeches. I like to look at the language and craft involved with the word play, etc. So in situations like this, I’m always curious to know what phrases/comments caused a particular reaction. It helps one to understand the perceptive nature of a literary text. Of course, I get not wanting to put out an unfavorable opinion as well. I just feel as if the dialogue is better when no one is trying to “win”.
Well we know about the dead man’s background.I can’t wait to read about the officers’ background.I can’t wait to read about their grades in school,about their personal lives,etc.
I love how the petentioner thinks that Isiah Washington’s real name is Burke and not his character’s name. Not to take away from the seriousness the impactful statement. Or better yet, proved the point not to look up his name and sees him as another example of just a black, nameless person.
Nooooo!!! He is one of the few reasons I still watch that show…
i don’t even know what to think of this petition… 🙄
Dont worry about it. The kind of people who would take offence to his speech would never tune into racially diverse Greys Anatomy anyway.
Surprisingly there seem to be people like that who watched the show and are now angry because of Jesse’s speech and are posted on various facebook pages that they will no longer be tuning in if he is not fired. Bye Felicia.
He’s not going anywhere, unless he wants to. Sounds like Rimes got a good laugh out of it. I hope, anyhow.
@naya@onsomniac: phew!
Dear Erin Smith (and hello to your husband, John Smith ;),
I am an Asian Canadian woman. I too believe #AllLivesMatter. Because of this belief I support #BlackLivesMatter. Think you can start a petition refuting the logic of this political choice? Change my org, Ms. Smith. I challenge you.
Oh for crying out loud, when will stupid people stop thinking that saying that black lives matter does NOT mean that other lives don’t? Good God.
When they are purged of the lingering racist belief that white people are and should be dominant over black people as well as the fear that black people are “coming for them” as in a slave rebellion.
It baffles me., because if they think that “black people are coming for them” …then aren’t the admitting that the first did something to cause black people to come for them? By their reasoning everything that happens to people only happens because they brought on themselves (at least when something tragic happens to POC). Constantly admitting the wrong doing without realizing it. The hate blinds them to any and all logic.
Exactly what “Black Lives Matter” really means is that “Black Lives Matter TOO”. They aren’t saying other people’s lives don’t matter. Ignorance at it’s finest. People want to play dumb because they are afraid of change.
Seriously.
I can’t remember where I read the analogy, but someone once said that the All Lives Matter concept is like rolling up to a Breast Cancer Walk and shouting “All Cancers Matter!” Pure nonsense.
I don’t get why it is so threatening to some people when black people speak. He has the right to speak about his experiences, and let’s be real, he’s right. Things will never change until people acknowledge that things are not equal for everyone. It’s times like this, that I can understand why some people don’t like white people. Please don’t think that all white people are like this. I’m ashamed of my race right and tbh, I can understand why some people don’t care for white people, when you have ignorant asses Like this woman. Stfu, dumba@s
Did I just get a crush on him? I think so
1) Talking about police brutality doesn’t make you a racist. Cops are not a race. *eye roll*
2) There was a comment on another site that captured it perfectly:
Asking the police to treat Black people the same as they do white people is not racism.
Pointing out fact that Black lives are not as valued in this country by non-Black people is not racism.
Pointing out the fact that those same people who do not value those lives consume, rip apart, dissect, mock, and then take pieces of that culture for entertainment and profit is not racism.
Showing people a mirror of their behavior is not racism. It might not make you feel warm and fuzzy but it’s not racism. If you don’t like the mirror then fix the behavior.
Well said.
as with Obama, he’s being called a racist for POINTING OUT that racism still exists in this country. it’s like people think it only exists BECAUSE people talk about it and if we’d just stop bringing it up, it would go away.
smh…
Perfectly said @Scal
Erin and her ilk are going to have to accept the fact people have the right to free speech in this country. Even speech that points out the injustices caused by white people.. Even speech that makes people feel bad or guilty or defensive. Noone says she has to like or agree with Jesse’s opinion but he has the right to express it. This petition is completely moronic.
Yeah I am not getting what was racist about his speech. I mean I just don’t get it. He wasn’t attacking white people (I saw this as a white person, not offended) What he said was true, there are issues that need to be addressed, and fixed.
I will never understand why it is difficult for people to admit what is really going on, I mean I hate that it is, it makes me sick that it is but I can admit that it does and we need to fix it NOW.
In other news, people are terrible and have way too much time on their hands.
I think this petition actually proves a great point from Jesse’s speech. A lot of people think just because we don’t have slavery and segregation anymore that we have come so far. This petition illustrates that there is a large group of ignorant people out there who feed into the insidious nature of systematic racism and oppression.
When a black man can’t address a group of his peers about equality without being called a racist himself, how far have we really come?
Nope. I can’t with people like this Smith person. Not today. Not tomorrow. She’s just another example of empty vessel making noise.
There are not enough facepalms for this petition.
Well at least he didn’t have a group of police publicly refuse to protect him like they did to Beyonce for daring to sing a song at a football game.
THAT is institutional racism and I think it truly escapes the logic of the white Trump supporter like Erin (sorry boo, you’re not exactly convincing) that blacks are constantly being threatened for existing, doubly so for speaking up, doubly so for threatening white power structures. If Jesse’s speech had taken place anywhere but the BET awards the outcry would have been massive, as it is now only the spoiled brats and her Ilk like Erin are speaking out.
Also, that tweet from Jesse, my heart fluttered. Dear GOD that man needs to slow down, he’s got too much perfect in one body.
Yeah, Jesse seems like such an amazing person.
The Super Bowl happened two days before two police officers from the county where I grew up were murdered. You couldn’t even speak the name Beyonce without hearing what a “pig” she was. Classmates and people I knew growing up were sharing the stories of the police refusing to protect her with absolute glee. I had to see that stupid Tomi Lahren video shared over and over again along with the “wisdom” of Sheriff David Clarke (look y’all- a black man says Black Lives Matter is a racist hate group, he must speak for ALL black people). Speaking about police brutality is not a call to harm the police!!! It is not racism and not hate. Ugh, people infuriate me. I stay away from facebook because I have had to hide a lot of people and a lot of ignorance and hate festers on there. I enjoy Instagram and Twitter much more.
“Erin Smith” = Stacy Dash sock puppet.
Jesse’s words were prophetic as we add another name to the growing list of black people killed by police. Alton Sterling was minding his own business selling CDs outside a store. Something we have all seen. There was no reason for that man to die with 2 police officers holding him down. Nothing. But…here we are with folks, like Erin Smith, trying to deny there is a serious problem.
I signed a petition to support Jesse Williams. It’s got more signatures.
The reports are that someone called the police because Mr. Sterling was threatening people with a gun he had in his possession. I have seen the cell phone footage and to be honest, it looks seriously questionable. He was in possession of a gun but was reportedly handcuffed. If the gun was in his pocket and he was handcuffed, he was not a threat to the lives of the arresting police officers. If he was threatening people with a gun, he deserved to be arrested. If he was handcuffed with his gun in his pants pocket, he didn’t deserve to be shot. It wasn’t necessary! We live very close to where this happened, so I am probably receiving news about this a bit quicker than most. On the flip side, if you google Mr. Sterling you find out very quickly that he has a mile long rap sheet and was a known gang member. Still, the video is seriously disturbing.
@Mimi
This incident is still questionable because I see countless “counter” footage of Non-POC who threaten the police with, or without weapons who still get arrested alive. I see the news reports, citizen footage, of Non-POC blatantly disrespecting the police when they arrive and still being processed to be judged in the court of law. Therefore, I no longer care about the extenuating circumstances because what that tells me is that the police have the capability and training to handle these incidents wihtout violence. It is just a matter of trying or not trying.
What does his long rap sheet/alleged gang membership have to do with anything? Unless, you’re saying that the cops already had a bias against him when they came to the store. The store owner said he & Mr. Sterling were laughing and chatting not 15 mins before that. And last I checked, you need a victim. Where is the victim of the alleged gun threat? Did the cops find him? Or is this another instance where a 911 call resulted in an innocent person being shot because the cops involved overreacted?
lol like you Googled Alton Sterling, you’re just regurgitating what the media is telling you to believe he deserved to die. Why no mention that he was a father of five children?
@TG
I NEVER said he deserved to die. And actually I did do some research on Mr. Alton. His entire criminal record is easily accessed and extensive. Charges include unlawful possession of a weapon, drug charges, and failure to pay child support. Does this mean he deserved to die? Nope! From what I saw on the video, He was fully subdued and handcuffed before he was killed. Why? My guess is that the officer who killed him isn’t going to have a justifiable answer.
@originalMia
“Or is this another instance where a 911 call resulted in an innocent person being shot because the cops involved overreacted”?
Except for the “innocent” claim, I’m thinking that is exactly what happened. If Mr. Sterling was threatening people with a gun, he was hardly innocent. Still, in my opinion he did nothing that should have resulted in his death. He appeared to be of no threat to the officers and I completely agree with everyone who is expressing that sentiment.
A witness has come forward saying he did not have a gun in his hand nor was he reaching for a gun.The police found a gun in his pocket AFTER they shot him.
Hey erin- you werent even a part of the conversation jesse was having, so no need to insert yourself into it. And I’m sure you are a big fan of the BET awards, insert eyeroll here, which is why you caught jesses speech in the first place. Some white folks just don’t get that a lot oif things just aren’t about or directed towards them. Talk about narcissistic!
I love Jessie. And Rhonda’s tweet!!
#AltonSterling
Father of Five shot to death by police in Baton Rouge while selling CDs in Baton Rouge.No mention of a gun found on him so he was probably unarmed.I just watched his 15 year old son,his eldest child, wailing in pain at press conference.
#stopshootingus
I live in the area and reports are that he was indeed armed. The initial call that police officers were responding to was a complaint that Mr. Sterling was threatening people with his firearm. I have seen the video and it doesn’t look like he had his gun out at the time of his arrest. It seemed like he may have had his gun in his pants pocket. One of the arresting officers can be heard yelling that Mr. Sterling had a gun. He was reportedly handcuffed and therefore had no way of retaining possession of his weapon and was not a threat to the arresting officers’ lives at that point.
Louisiana is an open carry state, so it doesn’t matter if he was armed. He wasn’t pointing the gun at either of them. They reacted as if their lives were in danger, when they were the ones with him pinned to the ground, hands behind his back when the first shots were fired. And they are going to have to explain why he was shot in the front and the back.
@Mia
Mr. Sterling was previously convicted of a weapons charge and therefore, by Louisiana state law had his privilege to carry a firearm revoked. to me, that is beside the point. It appears to me that this man was murdered. He was in possession of a firearm but did not seem to brandish that weapon during the confrontation with police officers. The video appears to show an officer finding a gun on Mr. Sterling’s person AFTER he was subdued and handcuffed. If that is indeed what happened (and it appears that way) Mr. Sterling posed NO threat to the lives of the arresting police officers and therefore was unjustly killed.
They probably won’t have to explain that, and that is precisely the problem.
I can’t pretend to know all the details of this case or Mr Sterling. I saw the video, and I would argue that he was subdued and executed. What I will say is that Dylann Roof was taken alive and he had actually just murdered nine people.
and let’s not forget that, not only was he NOT shot/killed, didn’t the cops stop at Burger King for him?…
W T EVERLOVING F???!!!
Ridiculousness…
“A hit dog always hollers.”
Everyone who signed the petition = bruised dogs.
I don’t know what kind of white privileged people are talking about. Both my father and husband work at least two jobs to pay the mortgage and keep food on the table and I’ve been passed over job after job. I’m not living in a mansion, we live paycheck to paycheck like everyone else. Do I feel like I need to pay for stuff that happened a couple hundred years ago because I’m part of a race no, nor do I apologize for it. I think for everyone, people need to take responsibility for where they are in life even if they’re handed a bad hand make the best of it and work yourself out of it
There is a big difference though, Chris, in that black americans are targeted by police and presumed guilty. The stats that Fox news types rely on do not and cannot take into account bias. A small example: I live in a wealthy area, There are no cops. Does that mean my overwhelmingly white neighbors do not commit “crimes”? LOL. No. It means they get a pass – no tickets handed out, no cop around to observe (white) drug runners, no parking violations, nothing. It’s like lliving in a different world, and just a couple miles away from Eric Garner was strangled.
How often have you gotten stopped by police for walking,riding a bike,looking at them this year? How often have you been stopped and frisked? How often have been stopped by police while driving,have them check for warrants and then let you go when they don’t find anything.
White privilege has nothing to do with money
My dad worked three jobs and my mom worked two jobs.Yet he was still stopped by police almost weekly for being black.She was followed around stores while shopping for being black.
well, Chris, let me give you an example.
when I was in high school, I worked in a retail store in an ivy league town. whenever (and I do mean EVERY TIME) a black person came into the store, an employee was assigned to follow them around and watch, without LOOKING like they were being followed and watched. like it wasn’t obvious?! usually, they’d walk right back out after giving the employee a dirty look, and rightly so. NEVER EVEN ONCE did they ask any of us to follow any white people around. That is white privilege. doesn’t mean that you’ll automatically get the dream job that pays you millions and get to live in a mansion, but it DOES mean that you are afforded things that black people are not. like the benefit of people assuming you’re not a criminal.
Happens to me every time I walk into a store. I use to work in retail, so I know. I had a Friends and Family card for a high end store ( the associate that gave it to me was off that day) . I walk in and I am greeted and I say Hello and I am just looking for now. Not 30 seconds later a sales person was right on my shoulder. She ask some stupid question about the weather and I told her, I am still deciding and decided to walk out the door. There were plenty of people to offer assistance, but nope, I got extra special attention. I went to their competition, paid full price and complemented the staff for allowing me to, you know, shop. They let me look, answered my questions when needed and assisted when asked.
I think you should take a hard look at the part where you say ‘stuff that happened a couple hundred years ago’ because last I checked there was a hell of a lot of segregation issues even as recently as the 60’s. And that’s just literally all state and local laws requiring segregation being thrown out. The racism was still there…the hate was still there.
Just because you’re not rolling in money does not mean that you aren’t benefiting from white privilege. The fact that you think because you have to work paycheck to paycheck means that somehow you and your family have not benefited from white privilege is part of the problem.
I visited the Civil Rights museum in Atlanta this weekend. I was born 2 years after Dr King’s murder. Please tell me how his death and all the other heinous acts of the 50s-60s is stuff that happened 200 yrs ago that Chris won’t apologize for. Ridiculous statement.
and some schools in Mississippi JUST desegregated their schools THIS YEAR.
tell me again, Chris, about how it all happened “200 years ago”?…
It always irritates me when people say all the bad things happened a long time ago get over it. There are still high schools in some states that have segregated proms. Some schools tried to have integrated proms and parents got mad and rented out a venue on their own dime for white students only. Some just had their first integrated prom last year and this year. A bunch of kids who otherwise go to school together are not allowed to do something as simple as dance in the same room.
Yeeeeeah, I’m sure Shonda is going to give that petition exactly as much attention as it deserves, which is to say she’ll reject it even for use as hamster bedding.
He is such a handsome man and I loved his speech and response to the petition.
Just wanted to remind everyone though, don’t go putting him on a pedestal because he might disappoint you thoroughly later. Its the message that’s important not the messenger.
Jesse’s reaction to the petition was perfect, he knows most people support him and his speech. These idiots dont need anymore attention.
Jesse tweeted about Alton Sterling. He is asking for receipts. I am angry as well.
Ugh. Everyday reader; very infrequent commenter.
This makes me RAGEY and makes me feel hopeless some times. Is there no hope for us white people to fricken GET IT? Dude is amazing and speaking out about not only deeply important issues, but issues that literally hinge on life and death. Jeez. I can’t even.
And to the: “Who said I was white?” You’re white. Please.
This #AllLivesMatter crap needs to die a horrible death. It’s so patronizing and ignorant.
Saw this cartoon somewhere and I loved it: http://publisher.attn.com/sites/default/files/allhousesmatter.png
LOL thanks for sharing.
That smug, self-satisfied expression is such a spot-on characterization of the #AllLivesMatter peeps.
This little cartoon so perfectly encapsulates the disconnect between words and actions on the part of the ALM folks.
Thank you for going hard on this, Kaiser. When I heard about this dumb petition, I was so disappointed AGAIN in my fellow white people who just can’t be bothered to see if they have anything to understand differently. I stopped watching Grey’s Anatomy a long time ago, but I started following Jesse on Twitter when I realized how woke he is. He’s the real deal. No one can come for him because they aren’t smart enough. Just the fact that people even thought they could get him fired proves they are not the brightest bulbs.
I just can’t even believe how hard it is to get people to see that we (white people) do actually have privilege, even if we are poor, even if we are struggling.
I still don’t understand why is it so difficult to realise minorities have a harder life than white people in countries like the USA, derived from the whole history of the country..
Do these people even watch the news? I’m not American and two of the stories in the news at lunch time were the 2 shooting of black people by the police (one filmed by the girlfriend, the other one the guy selling pirate CDs that got shot 4 times at blank point)..
That’s PURE RACISM, and yes, I’m white, middle-class europeam…
Gun legislation has to change, and police officers shouldn’t have a “license to kill”..
THERE’S RACISM, UNFORTUNATELY!!!!!!
This guy is a classic example of reverse racism. And also, Minorities have a hard life just like White people did and some Whites still have a hard life. The only difference is that minorities continue to keep migrating here whereas throughout the last decades you don’t see Irish, Italians, Brits migrating here from their countries fleeing from crimes, war, and so forth like minorities from third world countries.
Making comparisons are ridiculous people. Racism is racism.
Dear Erin-I’m white. White as milk. Blonde, white, and petite. And privileged and aware of it. But it’s my soul, that glories in every color of skin, hair, eyes, shapes of bodies, different accents and dialects, loud whispers and angry silence-it’s my soul that makes me who I am. And my soul was listening to Jesse and cheering. And today my soul was cringing in horror while watching the video of a black man dying next to his girlfriend with a 4 year-old in the back set. So you should thank god that Jesse spoke on what he did. Maybe you will listen someday too. With your heart. Good luck Erin. I hope you become a better person.