We don't have to agree on everything--or anything for that matter,
but I will respect your commentary as long as you respect mine.
In other words: Watch it, sucka.
George Floyd’s younger brother Philonese Floyd said today that Emmett Till was the first George Floyd. I would just like to add the words “THAT WE ARE NATIONALLY AWARE OF.” Same racism; different century. The only thing new is the cameraphone located in everyone’s pocket.
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Corinne Magoveny Terrone, calling a Black man nigger in front of small children.
Despite the fact that they’ve benefitted from white supremacy and systemic racism for the past 400 years, navigating through life with the assistance of privilege and power, white people are STILL MAD about Black people who dare to walk around freely existing as human beings in this country. Still. STILL. How do we know they’re mad? They demonstrate it daily when they choose to take on the behavior of their forefathers and call Black people niggers. Our latest example (of MANY) hails from the northeastern state of Connecticut, where they vote blue but think red. (You didn’t think racism stopped above the Mason-Dixon line…did you?)
Corinne Magoveny Terrone, a former employee of Hamden Public Schools, was caught on camera unleashing a racist tirade at a Black man and Black woman in an East Haven, CT grocery store the evening of Friday March 15th. According to the 911 call she placed (you already KNEW that was coming…even though SHE was the attacker…), Magoveny Terrone stated: “The man in his little, um, scooter said, ‘Are you talking to me bitch?’ And I said, ‘No nigger, I’m not’ because he called me a bitch, I called him a nigger, then he continued to get up and threaten me, so there was spitting going back and forth. He spit on the back of me and I am pressing charges.”
However various videos of the incident, which pick up in the middle of the altercation, tell a much clearer story. The videos start with Magoveny Terrone being plainly heard over all other noise calling the man “motherfucker,” and shouting about he and his companion being “…niggers that’s why, they’re fucking niggers in East Haven…” Here, the man starts walking toward the supermarket supremacist, amid the other customers chants of “noooo, don’t do it…” imploring him to stand down. As his female companion attempts to hold him back from approaching the racist, Cocky Corinne begins taunting the man by saying “…put your hands on me, come on, put them on me…” and then engages in the highly disrespectful act of spitting at the man. It is unclear if the “back and forth” she referenced in her 911 call actually occurred, but from the video it seems she was the first and only spitter.
The internet wasted no time in finding out Magoveny Terrone’s identity and place of employment, and by Saturday morning, she had “resigned” from her post, amid the investigation. It was also reported that the Department of Children and Families had to be called, since her two small children were witness to the incident. The DCF released a statement, saying “The Department does investigate reports that a parent or other person responsible for a child’s care is acting erratically or in an impaired fashion that puts a child’s safety at risk or is injurious to their well-being.”
So…let’s unpack this.
On a Friday night, while doing something as innocuous as grocery shopping, a white woman got agitated/irritated/disgusted enough with the presence of Black people in her town and grocery store to call them what is universally accepted as literally the worst thing a white person can call a Black person. This act of aggression was performed publicly, numerous times, in front of her (and other people’s) children, while she was well aware she was being recorded, and after numerous people tried to diffuse and deescalate the situation. At this point, any and every notion of her “getting caught up in the moment” or “not being able to control herself” should be abandoned. Why? Because she meant that shit.
White people know EXACTLY what they’re doing when they call a Black person nigger. They not only know the history and power of the word, they know the vitriol and venom it contains. They say it when they mean “I’m better than you.” It’s their favorite synonym for “You are less than human.” They whip it out whenever they want to remind Black people “We once OWNED you, RAPED you, and KILLED you AT WILL with NO REPERCUSSIONS!” When white people say nigger, it’s saying “Black thing, you don’t belong.” It is an attack on a Black person’s humanity, and not in a hyperbolic way. When white people call Black people nigger, it is their clarion call for Making America Great Again; That time where, less than 60 years ago, you could hang a Black body up in a tree just because you wanted to. For kicks, you could cut off their genitalia or cut out the baby growing inside them. You could take a picture of all this, and send it across the nation to your white relatives as a keepsake or as a postcard, inviting them to join you the next time. It was common practice. It was accepted. It was supported by law enforcement. It was encouraged and championed. And when a white person hurls the word nigger at a Black person in the year of our Lord 2019, it is demonstrative of their innate desire to go back to the days where Black people were disposable commodities and white people were the only “people”. When they call you nigger, they mean to strip you of your worth. Thankfully with video evidence, numerous witnesses, and the self-snitching she employed, the only thing getting stripped in Connecticut is Corinne Magoveny Terrone’s job and earning potential.
Dear America: when will y’all start giving everyone else the same amount of credit/benefit of the doubt/empathy and/or sympathy you give racist white boys? Before you reply “Well, whatsoever do you MEAN?!?”, take into consideration the latest egregious examples of freely issued RHP™ (Racist Hall Passes™) white boys have gotten so far in the year of our Lord, two thousand and nineteen.
PS? It’s only February.
First, we have the MAGA hat wearing, cocky sneer projecting, destined to grow up and be a mediocre white boy failing forward Nick Sandmann; the Kentucky high-schooler who alleges the viral video of him in confident Caucasian confrontation with a Native American elder was misinterpreted by everyone who saw it. Sandmann claims he was “trying to diffuse the situation” through “silent prayer,” and that he and his friends did absolutely nothing to provoke anyone out there on the mall (insert picture of White Jesus with halo here). It was also widely claimed that video of an encounter with Black Hebrew Israelites proves that the teen and his group of future klansman comrades were attacked FIRST, therefore rightfully deserved to counter attack the Native Americans…who had absolutely nothing to do with the Black Hebrew Israelites. *blank stare*
Now, if you don’t live in a major metropolitan area where public transportation is the main mode of travel, you’re probably wondering “WTF is a Black Hebrew Israelite”? Basically they’re the Westboro Baptist of Black religion without the professionally printed signs (Seriously, they need to step their signage game up. Crooked letters taped to flimsy poster board is not a very convincing argument that you are *the* chosen people). They are usually dressed in costumes made with shiny lame fabric (yes, it looks lame but it’s pronounced lah-may), or in traditional-ish Middle Eastern garb, or padded breastplates and kneepads looking like they just finished laser tag, or in regular clothes…there’s really no consistency in their attire. BHI’s stand near the entrances of subways or in public gathering spots (like the National Mall), yelling their insanity beliefs into a karaoke machine and hurling insults at just about anyone that confusingly looks their way—especially white people. Seriously, WHO AMONGST US has not been verbally assaulted by Black Hebrew Israelites, no matter our race? If anything, they should be lauded as Equal Opportunity Offenders. With a surface level google search, you will find numerous accounts of BLACK people detailing their aggressive and abusive encounters with BHI’s. In Sandmann’s case, according to the video at least, the level of harassment they experienced was like a 3 on a scale of 1 to 10. (You haven’t experienced real harassment of the BHI until you’re standing at the Chinatown train station in DC, waiting at the crosswalk for the light to change, and that speaker is blowing your eardrum out calling lighter skinned Black women “demon possessed mongrels,” yo.) Being called “dusty crackers” from 10 yards away pales in comparison to their regularly employed insults.
Even still, Sandmann (and his PR team) decided to blame BHI’s for the disrespectful standoff with elder Nathan Phillips, and not Sandmann’s own inherent racism, as demonstrated by his choice to purchase and wear a bright red hat emblazoned with the official slogan of Trumpian bigots. Rather than examining the racist irony of a white kid smugly staring down a NATIVE American in a “Make America Great Again” hat, the media decided to give him a chance to “explain himself”. Folks like Savannah Guthrie of NBC’s Today Show offered Sandmann a huge platform to create a scapegoat, disingenuously portray his actions as an innocent attempt to heal the racial divide, and actually scold people for “jumping to conclusions.” (White women can always be counted on to uplift, protect, and preserve the virtue of white boys and men, can’t they? *eye roll*) As soon as Sandmann and his mendacious, mouth breathing countenance hit the air waves? Boom. America gave him a RHP™.
Next up we have Tom Brokaw who, for decades, was a respected journalist on NBC Nightly News (Wait…NBC again? What kind of conversations are happening in y’alls breakroom?!?). Recently, good ol’ Thomas was pontificating on immigration and allowed his true feelings on the matter to slip through his seemingly objective, thin lipped visage. He stated: “And a lot of this, we don't want to talk about. But the fact is, on the Republican side, a lot of people see the rise of an extraordinary, important, new constituent in American politics, Hispanics, who will come here and all be Democrats. Also, I hear, when I push people a little harder, "Well, I don't know whether I want brown grandbabies." I mean, that's also a part of it. It's the intermarriage that is going on and the cultures that are conflicting with each other. I also happen to believe that the Hispanics should work harder at assimilation. That's one of the things I've been saying for a long time. You know, they ought not to be just codified in their communities but make sure that all their kids are learning to speak English, and that they feel comfortable in the communities. And that's going to take outreach on both sides, frankly.” Ooof. Tell ‘em why you mad, Tom, TELL ‘EM WHY YOU MAD!!! But, like…only in English, I guess? Brokaw has since apologized for this colossal gaffe, and since his track record doesn’t lend itself to racism, one could argue he earned his RHP™. But let’s be clear: the incident is going into his file, permanently (alongside this). NBC has also offered a statement saying Brokaw’s comments were inaccurate and inappropriate and they are glad he apologized. (Maybe y’all need to hold a cultural sensitivity workshop over at 30 Rock…just saying.)
Most recently, Virginia’s Moonwalking Governor Ralph Northam was accused of appearing in a very racist yearbook picture unearthed from his Medical School days. There are only two people in the picture—one in a shit-ton of offensive blackface paint, the other in a hooded KKK uniform. The picture appears on a personal, “about me”-type page in the 1984 yearbook, alongside other fully recognizable photos of the Governor, with his full name emblazoned across the top. When the pic hit the media on Friday night, he immediately apologized for his actions, and numerous legislators called for his resignation. But in a privilege peppered PLOT TWIST: Northam called a press conference Saturday afternoon to say “J/K you guise!! That actually wasn’t me in that picture I took responsibility for yesterday and yes this is ABSOLUTELY the truth.” While denouncing one blackface incident, Northam strangely confesses to participating in a DIFFERENT blackface incident—a dance contest where he imitated Michael Jackson doing the moonwalk in just a tiny bit of blackface (because shoe polish is hard to get off, he only used a tiny bit. Yes this was the explanation he gave.) For around 45 minutes, everyone not only entertained his earnest and seemingly sincere switcharoo, the press mostly softballed him on the question front. I was waiting for someone to ask “Governor, are you high? Well, were you high yesterday? Was your yearbook editor high? Sir, do you think we are high?” As of the time of this writing, Northam is still refusing to resign, but a staff meeting was called Sunday night to discuss the future of his administration. That there is a possibility he will remain Governor of Virginia beyond Monday morning shows that he already has a temporary RHP™, and the probability is high that his permanent one soon come; This “unfortunate incident” will be considered an attack on him rather than exposing his past wrongdoings and bad judgement. He will be victimized and called a victim of political correctness. Never mind that he literally admitted to wearing blackface before.
If these same courtesies and allowances were offered toward minorities, maybe they wouldn’t feel so racist. If Black and Brown people got the chance to explain themselves when they were innocent, let alone when they are caught in questionable situations, maybe the world would feel a little more fair. If someone took the time to offer them a platform to maintain their humanity, minorities might actually trust that justice exists. As it stands, the only people given a pass in matters of race are the ones who offend minorities.
Today is the day we, as a nation, observe the birthday of Civil Rights Icon Martin Luther King, Jr. (who was born on January 15, 1929). Today is also the day lots of white people with selective memories shape shift like decepticons into progressive, social justice allies. History, their voting patterns, and their comment sections indicate that they probably loved the good Reverend Doctor then about as much as they love Colin Kaepernick now. But once a year, to show how much they’ve always stood for equality and justice for “The Blacks,” they will trot out some of MLK’s more famous quotes and plaster them on their social media pages, complete with fancy filters and fonts. If they’re feeling particularly introspective, they may mention something contained in his “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” circa 1963. Most times they stick to excerpts from King’s 1963 “I Have a Dream” speech, (which even he decried as superficial “optimism” that needed to be “tempered with solid realism” later in life). Rarely do they venture into the world of King from 1965-1968.
(Wait…y’all do know King didn’t get assassinated right after the Lincoln Memorial speech, right? I mean, I realize history conveniently leaves out MOST of his orations and writings in order to paint a defanged picture of him—especially the ones with stern language condemning America for its continued economic injustice toward minorities and poor whites, after Civil Rights Legislation had been signed into law. History would also LOVE for you to believe that this speech was the end of his social justice career…but nah. His vision advanced beyond the “dream” to his involvement in the Poor People’s Campaign...which ultimately got him murdered by a lone racist named James *cough* the government *cough* Earl Ray.)
When trying to convince people to do something, using the words of a prominent historical figure has been known to influence the masses and drive the point home. No matter the context of the original quote, if just one sentence fits a particular situation it will get chopped and screwed into a remix of “wise words.” King’s words are no exception to this rule, suffering an ironic twist of fate: the ones on tolerance and non-violence are often the tools white people use to try and silence the cries of injustice and intolerance from the very people King was fighting for.
On Sunday, during his vacation from the Hollow Tree Factory, Keebler Elf Mike Pence was the latest abuser of King’s Dream speech. During a “Face the Nation” interview with Margaret Brennan, Pence had the unmitigated gall to not only misrepresent Martin Luther King’s words, he compared King to the bloated Big Mac with sentience currently running our country, Donald Trump. (If you would like to take a second to rinse out your mouth, go right ahead. I threw up a little when I heard it too.)
Michael Pence, the sitting Vice-President of the United States of America, decided that the best way to make a point about the need for a xenophobic wall—which his party is currently holding the country hostage over (the government has been shut down 31 days and counting), was to quote a man who stood for equality among races. WHUT?
I don’t know what kind of product Mike uses to keep that dusty white hair helmet in place, but it must have toxins that are seeping into his pores, through his skull and affecting his brain. Pixie cut Pence stated, with a straight face mind you: “Honestly, you know, the hearts and minds of the American people today are thinking a lot about it being the weekend we are remembering the life and the work of Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. One of my favorite quotes from Dr. King was, ‘Now is the time to make real the the promises of democracy…’ You think of how he changed America, he inspired us to change through the legislative process, to become a more perfect union, that’s exactly what President Trump is calling on the Congress to do, come to the table in a spirit of good faith.”
If you don’t get your intellectually dishonest ass up out of here, Michael.
To start, when people talk about “One of my favorite quotes”, they usually don’t have to stare down at a piece of paper to repeat it. If it’s a “favorite,” you can usually recite it from memory, no? Yet in the video, you notice Pence looks down to READ his favorite MLK quote off of a document in front of him. Interesting. Maybe he had a memory lapse because the quote is so out of context. You see, when Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke of the promises of democracy, he was speaking about giving people equal rights. Here is the full text:
“We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God’s children.” Yet y’all want us to detach from reality and common sense…to the extent of believing…MARTIN LUTHER KING, JUNIOR would have DESIRED us to perpetuate the current RACIAL DISCRIMINATION toward Latino/Latina peoples through the democratic action of…FUNDING A COMPLETELY UNNECESSARY WALL TO SHOW HOW MUCH THEY ARE NOT WELCOME…IN THIS COUNTRY OF IMMIGRANTS? Ok.
While true that King inspired us to “change through the legislative process,” the change he sought is one that today’s Republican party actively fights against. We are nowhere near a more perfect union, and this administration is currently flying a raggedy looking Trump plane in the complete opposite direction. What Pence and his ilk are doing is completely adverse what King wanted, needed, or instructed us to do…yet they invoke his name in an attempt to get people on board with their bigotry and hatred. This commonplace perversion of his words is exactly the reason why lauded Chicago writer and public servant Leslé Honoré wrote the poem “my king” in 2017 (her entire book is amazing and poignant in our current social climate, and can be purchased here):
Somebody needs to tell Pence and those like him to get their hands and minds right… right off of the words and legacy of Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr. They didn’t respect their magnitude and meaning then, and they surely don’t now. If you’re not about his mission? Keep his name out your mouth.
Oh boy. Another well meaning white woman has placed her pretty, porcelain-toned foot in her mouth again. And…it’s one I actually like. Help, Fatha. *facepalm*
Bette Midler, who has earned much deserved praise for being a national theatre treasure and a sassy-as-can-be critic of Mango Mussolini, committed a giant misstep last night when she resurrected Yoko Ono’s 1969 trash-ass quote “Woman is the ni**er of the World.” I could write 5,674 paragraphs on how this is one of the most asinine, offensive comparisons ever made, but I’mma save my breath. Because it doesn’t make a difference. Because when Yoko Ono got flamed for it back then, she and John Lennon just doubled down and made a SONG out of the s#!t three years later. Yes, Beatle John Lennon. Yes, “Imagine” John Lennon. Let’s face it: No matter their race, most (if not ALL) of our faves are problematic AF.
Bette wandered into this minefield while attempting to make a point about the blatant disrespect and oppression women across the planet have experienced, in light of the travesty happening on the hill re: Brett Kavanaugh. Her tweet went on to say: “Raped, beaten, enslaved (‘scuse me? Um…I’m still trying to figure out what woman of European background was “enslaved”, but I’mma let you finish), married off, worked like dumb animals; denied education and inheritance (or reparations…but go ‘head….); enduring the pain and danger of childbirth (Black women 3-4 times MORESO than any other race of women, but still…keep on talking…) and life IN SILENCE for THOUSANDS of years[.] They are the most disrespected creatures on earth [sic].”
People came in hot and fast, letting Ms. Bette know she was on that bullshit. Did she stop, *slide biggity bounce* pause, *shiggity wash it twerk it* and look at God, while contemplating why she was wrong?(My Louisiana people know that reference.) Nah, not at first. She did what any self-righteous tweeter in 2018 does when they are called out: made the situation worse by trying to explain why they were indeed, right the first time. Her follow up tweet read: “I gather I have offended many by my last tweet. ‘Women are the…etc’ is a quote from Yoko Ono from 1972, which I never forgot. It rang true then, and it rings true today, whether you like it or not (ORLY BISH?!?!). This is not about race, this is about the status of women; THEIR HISTORY."
Bette. Ma’am. How you gon’ say something *isn’t* about race when CLEARLY you used race as a descriptor in trying to emphasize and support your claim?!? That’s not how this works. THAT’S NOT HOW ANY OF THIS WORKS. Folks tried again to help her, some even pointing out the obvious, that BLACK WOMEN ACTUALLY STILL EXIST (therefore this wrongheaded comparison shouldn’t…), but good ol’ Bette wasn’t having it. Mama's talkin' loud. Mama's doin' fine. Mama's gettin' hot. Mama's goin' stong.
Next, she tweeted a snippet of Jane Mayer and Ronan Farrow’s New Yorker article detailing the humiliation of Kavanaugh supporter and subject of lascivious limericks, Renate Dolphin, captioned: “SEE WHAT I MEAN??” No Bette. We don’t see it. You know what we see? “From a distance, you look like my friend”, but lady we just cannot comprehend WHY YOU WON’T STOP AND LISTEN TO WHAT WE ARE SAYING! Is the wind beneath your wings that hazy and dense?
After HOURS of people attempting to explain why the FIRST tweet was inappropriate, the SECOND tweet was unacceptable, and the THIRD tweet was damn near abominable, Bette offered this olive branch, in hopes of correcting her course: “The too brief investigation of allegations against Kavanaugh infuriated me. Angrily I tweeted w/o thinking my choice of words would be enraging to black women who doubly suffer, both by being women and by being black. I am an ally and stand with you; always have. And I apologize.”
Now, because I am a reasonable person, and tend to take people at their word (when they don’t have a track record of being completely obtuse), I accept Ms. Midler’s apology. I realize that she is a woman of a certain age, who may or may not be well versed in how to conduct herself on social media with the caution and care necessary in today’s reactionary times. (Bette wasn’t ready for the furor that is Black twitter, y’all. They have #Canceled her…even though 65% of them didn’t even know who she was in the first place TO cancel. LMAO) Look—we’re human. We make mistakes. And the most accurate measure of a person’s maturity and willingness to learn is their being able to admit said mistakes and earnestly apologizing for them (even if it takes a few hundred tweets explaining why you’re wrong, and a few hours for the realization to kick in…*sigh*). Bette’s past actions and commentary lead me to believe she is a genuine ally to minorities, who deserves a second chance. She earnestly didn’t know why she was wrong. Now she does. Let’s move forward…but keep this in her file for reference. *side eye*
As a hardline, general rule? White women, lissen. Listen to me. Please.
Don’t you EVA *clap* NOT *clap* NEVA *clap clap clap* compare yourselves to another marginalized group in order to prove you’re oppressed. There is ENOUGH injustice to go around, and we don’t need qualifiers. Y’all are still #2 on the totem pole of world domination, and at least 53% of you in this country are fighting tooth and nail to maintain said position. Yes, women are ABSOLUTELY being maltreated in every corner of the globe. But what we’re NOT finna do is act like being considered a “ni**er” AND a woman isn’t a herculean load to carry for BLACK WOMEN. The irony of saying and thinking people treat “ni**ers” SO bad in this country, that women can be classified as “the ni**ers of the WORLD” isn’t lost on me. The problem is, ni**ers are still treated as ni**ers all over the world too, madam. Whether YOU like it or not, the oppression olympics is one contest you will never win.
Rose, the iconic character Bette portrayed in the musical “Gypsy,” laments in her final number: “Why did I do it? What did it get me?” I hope Ms. Midler is somewhere reflecting on this faux pas and pledging to do better in the future, and that white women who claim to be allies use this as a cautionary tale. Yes, you have every right to lament about your oppression, just not at the expense of other people who have it as bad as, if not WORSE than you. Measure your words carefully, and proceed with caution. Phone a minority friend before you tweet if necessary. Be thoughtful, not harmful. If you choose otherwise, we’ll all be singing another line from that song: “Thanks a lot and out with the garbage.”
The shooting death of 26 year old Botham Shem Jean by Officer Amber Guyger is a study on how police may be incapable of seeing one of their own as a criminal. When the events of Thursday, September 6th were made public, most people were left with more questions than answers. Unfortunately, the public seems to be the only ones openly questioning Officer Guyger’s claims and viewing her actions as criminal. Between her strange, varied accounts of the incident and subsequent kid-glove treatment, there is speculation that Botham Jean’s family may never see proper justice.
Guyger states she mistook Jean’s apartment for her own, even though she lives on a different floor and the unit numbers are clearly marked. Now, those of us who have lived in apartment buildings are aware that they can be cookie-cutter in appearance, but there are certain things which usually clue you in to the fact you are on a different floor from your own. Noises, smells, and the exterior decorations neighbors choose to display—be it a wreath or doormat—differ from floor to floor. One glaring difference between Jean’s apartment and Officer Guyger’s is that he had a bright red doormat in front of his door; it is reported that Guyger has no mat at all in front of hers.
Guyger’s latest claim is that she entered the home with her key, but that the door was slightly ajar. One would think as a trained law enforcement professional, this would have alerted Officer Guyger to assess her surroundings and come to the realization that something was off before she entered the unit. Yet, she opened the door to what she describes as a dark room, perceived the lawful occupant of the unit as a burglar, gave verbal commands, and fired when they were ignored. It was not reported as to whether or not she, as a person sworn to protect and serve, rendered aid to Jean once she turned on the lights and realized she was in his home, not hers.
When Officer Guyger called the emergency response team, they responded to what they thought was an officer involved shooting so, understandably, she was not immediately taken into custody. The Dallas Chief of Police invited the Texas Rangers to run a separate investigation as they worked alongside the DA’s office, seemingly to avoid conflict of interest. However, from this point on, Guyger was not treated the way a suspect who just killed someone is usually treated.
The incident happened on Thursday night around 10 PM. Early reports highlighted how she was “visibly distraught” over the shooting, and there was no word of her being arrested or charged with a crime. On the morning after the shooting, a search warrant was issued to investigate items in the victim’s home, and the DA’s office recently allowed information pertaining to the results of that search to be released to the media, highlighting that a small amount of marijuana was found in Jean’s apartment. Interestingly enough, no warrant has yet been issued to search Guyger’s home or vehicle. Furthermore, Officer Guyger did not have a warrant issued for her arrest until Sunday, September 9th—three days after Botham Jean was killed. She was taken into the Kaufman County Jail, which is a separate county from where the incident occurred, and posted bond hours later. Throughout all this, she remained (and still remains) on administrative leave, meaning she is still gainfully employed by the Dallas Police Department.
Guyger and her story have been handled with what seems to be the assumption of absolute innocence, even though it is irrefutable the bullets that killed Botham Jean were fired by her own hand. On the contrary, Jean is now being presented as a lawbreaker for having marijuana in his domicile, corresponding with the routine occurrence of smear campaigns carried out in the media on people of color killed by law enforcement. No matter the circumstance, no matter the evidence, cops have escaped the label of “murderer”, as though their uniforms were made of a special blend of crime-resistant polyester. They shoot bullets into Black bodies while dodging the bullet of a guilty verdict. This begs the question as to whether or not police can ever be perceived as criminals in this country, especially when the crime they commit is the execution of a person of color.
Vince Vaughn needs to stay. in. his. ghatdamb. lane.
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If the US is so concerned about terrorism...why have Black, Brown, and Red people been constantly and consistently terrorized on it's shores for centuries?
Oklahoma Black man (wait...ALLEGED Black man...he needs way more people, son) leads presidential protest by waving Confederate Flag. Bless his ignorant heart.
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