You know what’s amazing? People are still SO MAD about Beyonce. They’re mad because Beyonce celebrated her blackness in the “Formation” video. They’re mad that she had the audacity to feature the phrase “stop killing us” in the video. They’re mad because something something black people and police. And they’re especially mad that Beyonce slayed at the Super Bowl and that she and her militant dancers threw up a Black Power salute during their performance.
My reaction to all of that outrage has been “…and?” Why wouldn’t Bey celebrate her blackness? Why wouldn’t she have something to say about cops killing people of color? Why would her militancy – or her use of militant imagery – offend people so damn much? So, all of the sad anti-Beyonce people decided to throw an anti-Beyonce protest in New York yesterday. And this is what happened:
Protest against @Beyonce outside NFL HQ turns out to be no show #1010wins pic.twitter.com/dY6O2dD6aY
— glenn schuck (@glennschuck) February 16, 2016
And then to make matters even more amazing, a bunch of pro-Beyonce people came out, and they joined up with some Black Lives Matter organizers, and the whole thing turned into a pro-Beyonce, pro-BLM, anti-police-violence demonstration. AMAZING.
People got in formation to counter-protest the #boycottBeyonce protest Tuesday morning https://t.co/BUT4PLcMG9 pic.twitter.com/KSDV0XqHTn
— BuzzFeed News (@BuzzFeedNews) February 17, 2016
Still, all of that isn’t stopping wingnuts from blaming Beyonce for everything involving police and guns, etc. This story out of Tennessee is pretty crazy/stupid.
Here are some photos of Beyonce and Jay-Z going out to dinner last night in LA.
Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet, Instagram.
Bravo to the people!
People are getting it all wrong! What they should be protesting is the fact that Beyonce once again stole an idea, this time from Kendrick Lamar!
“Stole” from Kendrick Lamar? lol. If Beyoncé stole anything from Kendrick Lamar, that thing would be dripping with misogyny. That guy is the most misogynistic rapper out there right now. maybe second to Kanye. I’m not gonna get into it.
And I didn’t know only Kendrick was allowed to speak on black issues. You clearly have no idea what what you’re talking about
Lin, watch his performance at the Grammy’s and listen to the lyrics, especially the beginning of his performance. I do know what I am talking about. He is actually very talented so I am not going to fault her for taking the idea.
@ Lin, Kendrick is actually one of the least misogynistic rappers out there. Don’t confuse whatever guest spots he does with his actual music. You should listen to his albums before jumping to that conclusion. I am not much of a rap fan and even I know that he has some valid and insightful points about the struggles of black men and woman. Listen to Section 80 and then let’s chat. As for Beyonce, I love watching the ridiculousness of this drama unfold. It’s just such wasted energy.
Two things I’ve never given much thought to: the Super Bowl and Beyonce. But I love her so much for making the Super Bowl a platform for a timely social issue. I’m so glad we’re discussing this now and not Janet Jackson’s nipple, which is the last time I recall the halftime show being more news worthy than the game.
Does anyone in the Internetiverse get that they were dressed as Black Panthers, and that Cam Newton is a black Panther? Maybe most of this was their hidden way of showing him support? (Among the more important messages, of course.)
-TheRealPinky
The Black Panthers weren’t violent- they believed in self defense. I would love to see a more visible revival of the BP
ISO, I think part of the disconnect right now is that people’s view of the BPs was/is so different depending on where they got the information. I had heard of the BP, but didn’t know a lot of specifics. I was trying to do research and learn about the Black Panthers this week, and the difference between two running themes is severe. One side says they were violent militants, the other says they wanted more community minded things like better schools. They provided services like free breakfast for children before school.
I think it’s awesome that Beyoncé provoked the continuing of the overall conversation, and that she is getting people like myself to research aspects of the black experience in American history.
If anyone has recommendations for good resources on the topic, I’d love to hear them.
iso:
You’re mistaken, Black Panthers were violent, were caught mismanaging funds n giving orders to kill cops…everything the Great Martin Luther King Jr. stood n died for. People are being defensive cause it’s their idol Beyonce. Black Lives Matter is an important group n should have support. This has nothing to do w/ them or Beyonce announcing she’s black n proud,for real? why would that be wrong?
What is wrong, is using Katrina, using all this pain to sell albums. She grew up upper middle class, never has been victimized, is living a high life.Where hs she been the last decade giving back to her society?And I don’t mean a check here or there, I mean if your going to do a video like that,back it up. Ruining it by saying how good her man effs her in a song about Katrina people dying is insulting. The same police she condemns is the same one she needed as an escort to super bowl n close the roads. MArried to an ex drug dealer that hs never come ut n denounced his past. To me, it’s all promotion.
A great article written by a black activist from Katrina put it in words:
http://www.blackgirldangerous.org/2016/02/dear-beyonce-katrina-is-not-your-story/
@fee You can also read the article “If You Think the Black Panthers Were a Hate Group You Need to Watch This Documentary” on Gawker for a different perspective. If you care.
-TheRealPinky
hey, there’s a lot of dialogue about this within blm, in regards particularly to the bps patriarchy an the roles that it forced women to take. a lot of people are really staunch about a clear separation. I’m not opposed to militancy in the slightest, and I respect many of their values and legacy, I just also think that it’s antiquated and embrace intersectional values more. there’s actually a lot of cool writing on tumblr etc about this. sorry for the weird wording, on my phone.
anyway, cool to see people out in the streets, taking advantage of the current media attention. i don’t know if it’s by design, but in that way what Beyoncé did was really rad. I remember when the video for Girls came out, with similar military themes, me and my teenage girlfriends were in tears watching it haha. I know it’s corny, but Beyoncé and destiy’s child had a role in my young female life, I sort of wish that people would give her a break sometimes. at least she makes an effort to talk about the real s$&@, ya know?
Tiffany, look for a rerun of the PBS documentary on the BP that ran last night. Very good.
Tiffany and Lama….you can view the PBS program online for free. Go to Twitter and search “Black Panthers”….excellent program last night. Learned alot.
@fee I don’t think Jay Z needs to denounce his past, why would he? He acknowledges it, he talks about how that path leads to two places morgue or prison. He is very honest about where he came from the choice be made and why, I don’t condone being a drug dealer but I also never lived his life and the man changed!!! He is not a drug dealer now. He is a law abiding man, he is a smart strong business man, who from all accounts is a loving father and husband.
Sorry but he made a mistake as a teen/20s he owned them, grew and changed. He owes nothing more.
Fee, those are some interesting points and I agree with you.
Welllllllll…they were violent. They planned bombings, etc. They were offensive, not simply defensive. However, the point is that they weren’t simply violent. They had a very real grievance and hey, violence begets violence.
I’ve heard more than one NPR Fresh Air podcast on the BPs.
Umm…no
Yea…no.
Bey can use Katrina when she lives through something like that. I live in Louisiana, we still are facing the aftermath of that hurricane. Friends and families who’ve lost loved ones and everything they own, having to move and rebuild. She and her husband were never here, we’re never helping. Brad and Angie, Ellen, Sean Penn… Those are a few names that were here helping and raising money for our damaged state. The fact she used Hurricane Katrina sickens me. There were plenty of other things and ways she could have spread her message.
“You know you’re that bitch when you cause all this conversation.”
I think there’s a few very select black women in Hollywood who have experienced a very unique degree of racial shaming. They’ve all faced hardships, but it’s more specific to being told they are wrong or bad because of how they’ve expressed their race. Daring to wear their hair in dreads or be a shade too dark to care about.
Beyonce is definitely one of them and God help her I truly respect her for knowing what would be coming (because Fox News and Conservatives have such a raging hard on for how she expresses herself as a happy black woman) and still going ahead with it.
To these people Beyonce might as well have said “Murder all cops” just for daring to express pride and joy in her role as a black woman, anger and perception about the dangerous role of cops in the AA community and statements on money, power and black excellence.
They’re better off raging in their online communities foaming at the mouth. They don’t have the strength to really fight for or protest against anything, they’re not used to it.
Beyonce has actually got a lot of shit over the years, both for being black, and for not being black enough (because a blonde dye job and/or a nose job apparently amounts to racial self-hatred and wanting to pass as white?).
I haven’t always been a fan of her music, but I won’t deny she can be inspirational – Bootylicious did what three years of my mother’s “you look fine as you are” lines couldn’t do and actually got my sixteen-year-old self to stop hating my butt. It would be pretty amazing if Formation could inspire another kid somewhere to something greater.
I’ve actually seen people refer to it as Beyonce’s “cop killer song”. This despite the fact that I don’t think the song mentions the police AT ALL, and the video has the “Stop shooting us” message.
I can’t stand Beyoncé, but this is actually pretty amazing.
Agreed. People need to keep in mind that for anything you can be “pro” about there will always be an “anti” group. No need for anyone to get their panties in a bunch.
She’s so powerful the naysayers didn’t even show up to protest. They we’re probably like my fellow conservatives I think we better sit this one out.
All hail the Queen B.
Team Bey on this one.
If you haven’t already, make sure to watch the SNL bit where white people discover that Beyonce is black. It aired last Saturday and it’s hilarious.
I love it so much!
Here’s the link, it’s called “The Day Beyoncé Turned Black”
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ociMBfkDG1w
This video is the best. SNL got it right for once!!
Being a transplant to the US, at first I was really shocked by the latent racism that emerged in the 2008 election (at least for me, I hadn’t really realized the extent to which it permeated American culture. Like just blown away by the things people can say on T V).
But now, I kinda love it. I love seeing it all pulled out into the open. I love that people are being exposed for who they are. I love reading the desperate whinging of people, who have always harbored their racial prejudices privately, sensing that the time is nigh when they might actually have to surrender some ill-claimed privilege. Be mad. Be angry–tell us all about how angry you are! Just one more bigot revealing himself for who he is; one more person showIng how completely out of touch she is. This is the only way the US will ever move past their race problem. (Am talking more about the link to the Tennessee story)
That’s amazing!
That first photo of her is STUNNING and powerful.
Team Beyoncé. The fact that the idiots at Faux News hate her just reinforces the indisputable fact that she was 100% right to use her celebrity to stand up for something she so strongly believes in.
Faux news tried to turn Beyonce and Jay-z’s trip to Cuba into something too. I’m certain they have it in for her.
Amen! I’ve never been a big Beyonce fan but I have become her number one fan in the past couple of weeks. And I love what happened with that moronic anti-Bey protest. So awesome.
My friend posted the most on point meme on facebook with Beyoncé’s picture saying “Let’s face it, you didn’t know to be offended by the half time show until Fox News told you to.”
Ha! Love it 😂
Wow soon these people will be saying Beyoncé made all those cops murder all those innocent people in the past years, for marketing purposes.
This is pretty amazing, indeed. What an amazing turnout, for the greater good: AWARENESS.
@Mimz: yes, awareness is definitely the first step. First being self-aware of how we are treating others, and then how we can BETTER the situation.
No joke: people are actually blaming her for inciting violence and causing the deaths of several officers in the past few weeks.
My opinion of Beyoncé has gone way up since she dropped Formation. Such a great video, and her Super Bowl dancers were so awesome.
you know, for all we have to say about her, this? is AWESOME.
I can’t stand Beyonce or her husband, but why are people mad at her? I don’t get it, she’s not depicting something that doesn’t happen. The police are out of control and it’s about time they get taken into accountability.
Because if she is forcing it out there (although hand to god I missed it in the super bowl performance I was more into the dancing) and people like to pretend the problem isn’t real because if we say it’s real and acknowledge it then we might have to fix it and then that might mean all those who had the privilege advantage might lose it.
If Beyoncé who is more privileged at this point then almost anyone and has such major influence calls it out and makes it real then people will believe it (even though most people do) and the bubble of denial is burst.
First pump, Bey!
This is all nice but in the Beyoncé haze there is another issue here that’s been widely ignored. I didn’t watch the Super Bowl; I just cannot support the NFL organization making billions of dollars while men (mostly men of colour) are left with horrific health issues and dying young from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy. Black lives matter….but apparently not when we’re down by 6 in the fourth quarter! Beyoncé’s perfomance was impressive but against the background of the NFL the impact for me was…lessened.
The players are being paid big bucks in their active career. They sign up for it. They know what they are getting into.
SOME players are being paid a ton. But what about all the players from previous eras, who have been essentially used and discarded? They helped build the NFL into the entity it is now, and yet many don’t have the money (remember, for a long time players weren’t paid a massive amount) to care for their broken bodies and minds? Or the lower tier NFL players and practice squad players who put their bodies on the line, shouldn’t the NFL make sure that their bodies are cared for when the damage done is specifically j flicked by their sport?
Isn’t that true for every contact sport?
The NFL generates billions of dollars in revenue, yet just discards players like broken toys when they’re done with them. And correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m pretty sure employers are supposed to be held responsible for unsafe job conditions. It may be a contact sport, but there is a lot the NFL can do to protect the brains and bodies of the players. I fully support the NFLPA negotiating on behalf of all the former players.
Well no, nobody signed up for CTE. That’s why it was news. To everyone except perhaps the NFL itself.
http://www-tc.pbs.org/independentlens/wp/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/through_a_lens_darkly-01-press2-1920×830.jpg
it would seem the best revenge is not only your paper but your own rally, eh?!
Can someone give her long blond weeve a drink of water, it looks thirty as hell.
You know one of the most difficult realizations people are starting to see from this situation, SNL touched on it the other day:
Is that when a black woman decides to embrace herself and all things she associates with her culture, some white people see it as an affront to them. Are they so steeped in privilege that a PoC simply enjoying who they are and where they come from is so threatening?
Only if it’s a black woman.
Yeah, apparently.
To answer your last question: YES.
…and I find that attitude completely bizarre and baffling on every level.
Yeah I just…the logical part of me knows where the contempt comes from, then the other part of me is screaming “WHY!?”.
My friend said, “This is the first time Beyonce talked about her culture and didn’t make it inclusive.” which sounds bad but she really meant for once Beyonce wasn’t singing a message that basically said, “Hey even if you’re white you can join in this.”
She hasn’t hidden her blackness but she made her songs very inclusive, giving everyone the chance to join in. This is the first song she’s done that is just, “Either you get it or you don’t.”
It’s her history. Her passions. Her message.
The visuals are about young black people in the South and all the different realities they face from the Southern Gothic Black Church to the New Orleans celebration to the cop car sinking.
To many who felt she was ‘safe’ this is a very strong statement from her that she doesn’t need to make everything palatable for everyone.
Exactly. Which is why all the negative comments and “think pieces” are so damn frustrating.
Ok, I’m a white person, and I watched the video, and I don’t get what the problem is. I’m trying to see why white people are upset. Because they think any criticism of police = all police are murderers? Because I’m proud to be black = kill all the white people? Because women, especially women of color are not supposed to be … What? Powerful? Happy? Strong? Because that’s all I saw. I am sincerely confused.
There are many white people who are afraid of black people. The video confirms what they’ve always thought about black people. Black people really do hate white people. They really do hate the police. Imo that’s why people are upset.
Only black men are allowed to celebrate being black, hence Kendrick’s performance was hailed as one of the best of the night but Beyonce has been dragged to hell and back by Faux News and social media. Kendrick is a genius for saying “We hate po-po (police)” and Beyonce is booty shaking scum for having “Stop killing us” as graffiti in a video and saying she like her daughter’s afro.
Because people associate the Black Panthers with violence. When she dressed and saluted like them, some people saw it as inciting violence rather than peace. I’m not saying I agree, but that is what some viewed as offensive. Nobody wants police killing black people, but nobody wants black people killing police either. Good for her for being proud of her heritage, but everything she does is for publicity. She knew it would be controversial and it worked in her favor. I couldn’t care less about her mimicing the Black Panthers. To me, she is no different than Madonna, Gaga, and Dennis Rodman. It’s all about attention and selling records and it worked. She is very good at marketing herself.
“Nobody wants police killing black people, but nobody wants black people killing police either.”
But is that a real potential threat to our society right now–black people killing police left and right?
In order to even pose that argument, you have to completely ignore the power disparity between a militarized army of law enforcement and a black citizen. The threat is there for a black person, it is not necessarily there for a cop who has a gun/tazer/baton at his fingertips and a convenient badge to hide behind. Combine that with a system that thrives on closing ranks and exploiting a borderline-impenetrable level of authority to protect their own and it’s pretty easy to see who will win.
RE: Beyoncé–I don’t know if this is all a gimmick to her. Maybe I’m naïve but to me it seems like this is something that’s been building for a while and the timing for this record was just right for her to express how she feels about a very frustrating issue. She has a young child so I could see that changing her priorities. Who knows?
Jennifer
I genuinely don’t understand this argument.
Let’s say you are right and, for Beyonce, profit and sales is the top priority, always. So what? In what way does this make her not black enough or, as on other occasions, not feminist enough? She’s American. She is a businesswoman in the world’s most capitalist country! I don’t understand why suggesting that profit matters most to her is a bad thing? I see a successful young woman, consciously engaged in cultural reproduction, aware of her power and leveraging it to create individual success and social message simultaneously.
I find that pretty great and I speak as a fully-fledged leftist anti-capitalist who has no interest in performer-as-product and therefore, as a rule, take little-to-no notice of the Beyonce machine.
Because if there’s anything that’s a strong money maker right now it’s black people embracing messages that make white audiences uncomfortable.
I said it’s not what I think or how I feel, but from everything I’ve read and heard, I was merely clarifying why the Black Panthers costumes created a raukus. Of course, I realize there is a power imbalance and I don’t think there’s going to be a riot where black people are just out killing police. I never said Beyonce isn’t black enough. I only said, this was a hype move and it worked. She can be proud to be black or genuinely align with the Black Panthers while still using it as a marketing ploy. She probably does have sincere concern about the current race issues and she probabl uses them to her advantage business-wise. I don’t get what’s so offensive about that. And I don’t see how anything I said constitutes you thinking I think she’s not black enough. Where did that come into play? You’re making it sound like she would never use anything available ro current to boost her sales or relevancy and that’s not realistic in this day and age. My opinion is she is both sincere while profiting off it. I suspect she timed her record to come out to coincide with her performance at the Super Bowl so it was all marketing, but again, so what? Doesn’t mean she’s lyinig or putting on a front. And it doesn’t mean she shouldn’t be able to. She can do what she wants. I, for one, see it as opportunistic.
@JenniferJustice: But you did reduce it to being “ALL” about attention, record sales, and publicity in your first comment, so that made it sound like you were saying someone like Beyoncé could care about issues like racism and sexism OR want to boost album sales, but not both. So I understand the reaction.
@Sixer: I totally agree with you.
Yes. That’s exactly what some white people are offended about. If you think back in history slaves were often punished for singing, reading, passing down stories of their heritage. This is just the 2016 version. Because you can’t be pro-black without hating white people. Just like you can’t hate police brutality without hating cops.
Its mind numbing the stupidity.
I’m just surprised we haven’t had people lose their sh*t over Kendrick’s performance at the Grammys
Because if it’s not about or for them, it’s against them.
so many nuances of it in February alone. it can be fierce like Beyonce’s Superbowl, charged and poignant like Kendrick Lamar’s Grammy, and oh so smoooth and genial like Stevie Wonder weaving in Black Lives Matter into That’s the Way of the World…. they protesters just don’t stand a chance in the face of such awesome power.
Tonight’s episode of Blackish will address the police violence, in a comedic way of course, but still. I can almost hear the collective heads exploding in regard to all of this blackness during this particular Black History month.
And…we still have half the month left…
A little history – I lived through the Black Panther movement and remember the fake demonization by Hoover and the FBI about what amounted to simply wanting to end police brutality in the black community. The Party was formed for the same reasons that created the Black Lives Matter movement – the beating or killing of blacks by police under suspicious circumstances and for which they were never punished. The good Panthers did far outweighed their bad reputation – free medical clinics, free breakfast programs for poor kids that fed 20,00 a week, involving women as equals in the movement, etc. etc.
Moreover the Panthers tended to use words as weapons, not just guns, because they understood the power of the written word. Eldridge Cleaver wrote a best-selling memoir, “Soul on Ice.” Huey Newton eventually earned a doctorate in law even though he was functionally illiterate at the start of his Panther career.
So I really don’t understand the backlash against Bey’s performance – it is timely because the unnecessary killings are still going on 50 years later. I applaud her and Kendrick Lamar for their Grammy performances – it’s time to use public platforms like the Grammys to focus much needed attention on an ugly reality.
Yes. Thank you.
Aside from your personal perspective, a simple Google search will give people a more comprehensive understanding of the Black Panthers. There seems to be a lot of misinformation floating around these threads.
Apparently some people were either taught or told that the Black Panthers were “anti white” and called for violence against white people. Someone tried to tell me that their rallying cry was “kill the pigs” and said if Beyoncé can have her dancers dress like the Black Panthers that a white artist should be able to carry the Confederate flag and have dancers in white hoods. I just shook my head and walked away.
If she really wants to make a difference she needs to protest black people killing their own.
Statistically, blacks are killed most often by other blacks, not cops… Black-on-black murder is a tragedy and needs to be addressed by someone famous like Bey.
Or… we can keep our focus on the collective fear that has increase tenfold in the black community over the past few years as we are inundated with stories of unarmed young, black males being targeted and killed by those who are supposed to protect them. Just a thought.
Black-on-black crime is a problem, but so is this. Let’s not attempt to minimize or redirect this situation that also needs everyone’s attention.
You know which group white people suffer most of their crime and violence from?
White people.
Know which group murders Hispanics the most?
Other Hispanics.
It’s weird isn’t it? Almost like violence peaks when it’s among like members of the same community living in the same area. Hmm.
I’m gonna tell singers to start protesting against white on white violence.
Thank you!
I was going to post the same damn thing.
While we’re at it can you also protest the mass killings that are almost exclusively done by white males? No? Then have a damn seat
Don’t come thru with Facts Eternal, we know how that falls on deaf ears
Also, what people fail to understand, is that most of the time people are held accountable for these crimes and/or murders and that many times the cops are not indicted.
Mmhmm. White people also need to stop killing their own. Statistically most whites are most often killed by other whites. White-on-white murder is a tragedy that needs to be addressed by someone famous like Taylor Swift.
Yeah, you tried it. But thanks for playing racist bingo.
LOL @ racist bingo
There Is always a Turd in the Punch bowl, isn’t it
I bet you show up to the cancer ward yelling AIDS KILLS PEOPLE TOOO! , dontcha??
It never ceases to amaze me how absolutely tone deaf and belligerent the NYPD powers that be get when faced with criticism.
+1000, that tells you everything you need to know right there.
I think that the song also is directed towards a certain group of people who think she isn’t black enough. That her child’s hair should be straight and Jay isn’t attractive, and she’s ahead because she is lightskinned. As a lightskinned, afro wearing person living in Houston today, I get all kinds of crap. I embrace who I am. Beyonce is doing the same.
So I have been one of those people who really likes alot of Beyonce’s music for fun purposes-working out, hanging out, doing major housework-it’s dancy fun. I also have criticized her in the past for being coy, sometimes fake, sometimes annoying. But on the whole, I’m just like “Eh” I like some of her music. When I saw “Formation” I saw a whole new Beyonce, a 360 person, someone who was showing who she is, telling things how they are, and talking about the love and pride she has for her community. That video and that song hit me with a hard, joyous punch. As a woman, I also felt that it was a really strong feminist statement, and it was thrilling. So, if some people feel threatened or think she wants to harm white people, they are stupid. I’m white, and I don’t feel threatened at all. I feel happy-someone who I never thought would speak so strongly and yet be clever and sexy..it’s my feminist dream. Also, the writing in the video says “Please stop shooting us”. Is that so much to ask, FFS?! Give her all the respect for this work. She deserves it.
Lawwwwd this can’t be a real comment… I hope my eyes are deceiving me 😩
Edit: This was in response to Itdoesntreallymatter’s comment
LONG LIVE AND PROSPER QUEEN BEY!!! 🙂
So I haven’t read the comments yet, and I’m late to commenting on here as usual (I always miss the good discussions) but I wanted to share something.
I am originally from Joppatowne, Maryland. Not very far from there, one week ago, a woman saw her long estranged ex husband in a Panera bread near her home. She said he had been unstable and abusive during the marriage and came to Maryland to stalk her and she believes he shot her (although he ran and there were no witnesses). She was fearful and convinced that he was in the area to hurt or even possibly kill her, so she called the police. For some reason, the police didn’t have the information about her being shot and he being the prime suspect. A deputy in the area, who wasn’t a beat cop but worked with community outreach, volunteered to go to Panera to talk to the man. He walked in and sat down at the table next to the man and asked him how his day was going and suggested that he move along. The man pulled out a gun and shot the deputy in the temple and then fled on foot. He was found in a car in the senior living apartments across the street about 15 minutes later and shot and killed another deputy before being killed himself. The county I grew up in is in mourning. I still go there several times a week because my mom watches my kids sometimes and I still have friends living there. There is a shrine to the fallen officers at the Panera and the Sheriff’s Department, blue lights everywhere, thin blue line flags everywhere, flags at half staff, signs saying Harford Strong, I Support the Police etc, people are wearing blue ribbons, changing their facebook profiles to the Sheriff’s shield all kinds of stuff.
So why I am I telling you guys this? Well even though it’s nice to see the community come together, BLM, Beyoncé and now Kendrick Lamar have all become persona non grata around here. In fact, I’d say BLM may be public enemy number one. Because of the timing people are actually blaming Beyoncé’s halftime show for inciting violence against the police and saying she should be sued and the police should refuse to protect her. They are calling her every name in the book. Kendrick Lamar is being called a thug. People are calling for a boycott of their music. Of course everyone is angry with President Obama because he hasn’t spoken out on the deaths of 8 slain officers but he spoke out about Michael Brown and Freddie Gray and the ensuing protests. We basically live in a time where if you speak out about police brutality and corruption you are labeled anti police. I can absolutely mourn those officers and still support BLM and be against police corruption. Beyoncé and Kendrick can speak out about it as well and still expect to be able to go to the police if they have to. I don’t really see any hypocrisy there like everyone is saying. Beyoncé is black (loved the SNL sketch) and is more than allowed to be proud of that and use BLM and Black Panther imagery. I’m so tired of those who speak out about police brutality being labeled anti police. My heart still breaks for the officers killed and their families, I wish the right would stop causing all this controversy out of nothing!
An earlier story in RawStory about this TN sheriff was that he heard the alleged noises from the shots, but there was none at his house and iirc, no shells near his home. So basically, he’s just wildly speculating about the whole situation and just using the alleged noise as some sort of martyrdom when there’s no evidence that he and his house were the target of anything. Apparently, he’s just using the publicity as his way of complaining about people of color protesting against violence from cops. It’s a non-story.
It frustrates me that ANY sort of criticism of police, no matter how valid, is considered being anti police. Police absolutely put their personal safety on the line to protect their communities, but that does not make them above the law, and violence is not simply the price of doing business.
Every single word you said I agree with. It’s pitiful that people are blaming Beyonce for the same animosity and issues that have been around for decades. But it’s easier I suppose, they plug their ears and refuse to hear so they can feel safe.
Yes to everything you and Bridget said. NOBODY wants to see officers shot and killed in the line of duty, but that’s a whole other topic- has nothing to do with BLM.
All of this is a false choice (conservatives love a logical fallacy). Like we have to choose between 1) police brutality against black Americans or 2) not wanting to see cops killed?
So many problems with this, starting with causality. The implicit assumption we’re supposed to make is black people kill cops, so police brutality is justified. And that’s why you have to choose. False choice.
She can’t be celebrating her blackness if her video says otherwise and let’s not forget that horrible super bowl performance that somehow slipped their minds when they let her perform. Once again…she’s adding more fuel to the fire. When will a black leader come forward to promote peace. That’s what we need right now..a black leader to promote peace.
What do you think they’re promoting? Or when you say “promote peace” do you really mean “shut up and sit down and not rock the boat anymore”?
No, what you want is an Uncle Tom to do a little dance for you.
Perhaps the peace you so desperately seek, where people are quiet and compliant and good while they are murdered and raped, is dead.
Perhaps you’ll have to adapt and change or be left behind.
@ The Eternal Side-Eye
::slow clap::
Haha, nailed it.
Yeah, we had a guy who tried to do that. You may know him. His name was Martin Luther King Jr.
He got shot in the head.
Love the protesters but not Beyoncé. Kendrick had the balls to perform a great song with a great message at the Grammys. Beyoncé has had a platform for many years and never once thought to do anything like formation before. She is bandwagonning. Even in her video she’s doing her Beyoncé thing in the midst of very painful images. She doesn’t give it the respect it deserves for me she’s the black gaga it’s all about her.
Any forms of authority / law / justice including the police are open to criticism and should be taking the time to correct and check themselves rather than making it sound like your with them or against them. They need to deal with the fact they have major issues and problems rather than making it into an anti police stance.
funny how cops are getting killed because of Beyoncé and not, you know, because of anything they may have done. Or because the work is dangerous, by nature. No, a halftime show full of references that would’ve gone over most ppl’s heads if Fox hadn’t blown this up exponentially is the cause for it all.
I watched Beyoncé on the Super Bowl show. I couldn’t understand a word she was singing and her pseudo military garb and power woman stomping around was just more of the same schtick she has done in the past. I thought Coldplay and Bruno Mars were more entertaining. I finally read the lyrics to the song Formation to see what all the hooha was about. The lyrics are either nonsense or ego tripping bitchy foolery. It’s kind of tacky to be using BLM to promote yourself.
This is actually them leaving a show athat the Viper Room I think?
Eff Beyoncé!