1. #Ferguson. #MikeBrown #EricGarner. #TrayvonMartin #BlackLivesMatter. #BlackLivesMatter. #BlackLivesMatter.
– Philip Nel (@philnel) December 3, 2014
2. We can tweet #BlackLivesMatter all day. And we should. And we should ask why killing a person of color doesn’t even warrant a trial.
– Philip Nel (@philnel) December 3, 2014
3. There’s actually video of #EricGarner saying #ICantBreathe while Daniel Pantaleo chokes him to death. https://t.co/QxsXsKOOvG VIDEO! – Philip Nel (@philnel) December 3, 2014
4. And, again, grand jury decides this doesn’t even need a trial. That’s what gets me. One man kills another. No trial. Just like #MikeBrown – Philip Nel (@philnel) December 3, 2014
5. It’s “rare for a grand jury not to return an indictment. Except when accused is a police officer” @FiveThirtyEight http://t.co/bNwvKwOaO2 – Philip Nel (@philnel) December 3, 2014
6. And structural racism allows white cops to get away with murder. Literally. http://t.co/LFjeY2Dhlm @colorlines pic.twitter.com/pbbZnGFPWk – Philip Nel (@philnel) December 3, 2014
7. But when we’re tweeting #BlackLivesMatter or protesting, is anyone in power really listening? @BarackObama? Eric Holder? – Philip Nel (@philnel) December 3, 2014
8. If video of Pantaleo killing #EricGarner doesn’t even merit a trial, how will mandatory police body cameras help? http://t.co/z7HWfqpA03
– Philip Nel (@philnel) December 3, 2014
9. It’s good that @BarackObama is proposing action, yes. But we need equal justice under the law. We need liberty and justice for all.
– Philip Nel (@philnel) December 3, 2014
@philnel @Colorlines cop was indicted for using a choke hold resulting in death – back in 1995. http://t.co/HZWk5at2Xk – Jill Tatara (@jilltataraworld) December 3, 2014
10. ALL white people need to see people of color as human. Not as “demons.” Not as “it.” See @southsouth‘s excellent http://t.co/2aUoxpwUKV – Philip Nel (@philnel) December 3, 2014
11. I realize that’s an obvious thing to say. As is #BlackLivesMatter. But it continues to need to be said.
– Philip Nel (@philnel) December 3, 2014
12. Structural racism is the problem. Individual racism is, too. Weirdly, some contemporary whites even seem proud of their racism.
– Philip Nel (@philnel) December 3, 2014
13. As @kristenschaaled noted: pic.twitter.com/nGBVw8cAvJ – Philip Nel (@philnel) December 3, 2014
14. And RT @NefariousNewt @sarahkendzior Rodney King was supposed to be the turning point. It was: we turned in a circle. @Nettaaaaaaaa – Philip Nel (@philnel) December 3, 2014
15. Indeed, under @BarackObama’s presidency, racists seem to find more ways to justify racism. #RacismWithoutRacists http://t.co/dvaAU9Rvcu
– Philip Nel (@philnel) December 3, 2014
16. The progress of the few (the Obamas, say) should not be read as the progress of the many. https://t.co/HgRVVN0Wx0
– Philip Nel (@philnel) December 3, 2014
17. #Ferguson & #EricGarner make me, by turns, angry & depressed, furious & despondent. But, because I’m white, I’m not afraid for my life. – Philip Nel (@philnel) December 3, 2014
18.MT @jazzedloon White people: yr privilege lives in fact that you can be outraged, horrified, & upset about tonight.But you are not afraid – Philip Nel (@philnel) December 3, 2014
@philnel It should also be noted that, while agitated, Eric Garner is not aggressive.
– Keegan Lannon (@KeeganLannon) December 3, 2014
19. This, in turn, makes me feel guilty – which it should. As beneficiaries of white privilege, we whites are all complicit, like it or not.
– Philip Nel (@philnel) December 3, 2014
20. White guilt isn’t the answer, but if whites acknowledged their (our) complicity maybe they’d (we’d) listen better to people of color. – Philip Nel (@philnel) December 3, 2014
21. That would be a start. It wouldn’t be enough, but acknowledging racism’s pervasiveness is 1st step towards ending it. #BlackLivesMatter – Philip Nel (@philnel) December 3, 2014
22. Racism is a white problem. As @chrisrock observed, http://t.co/TYywQft1uN pic.twitter.com/XrtkfiXjGt
– Philip Nel (@philnel) December 3, 2014
23. I’m sure that more perceptive people could have written something better than what I’ve offered here.
– Philip Nel (@philnel) December 3, 2014
24. But I want to keep speaking up. I want white people to listen, to be less crazy, to be better. I want justice. Now. #BlackLivesMatter – Philip Nel (@philnel) December 3, 2014
I’ve also posted this over on Storify, for those who prefer that.
Related posts:
- Ferguson: Response & Resources (24 Aug. 2014)
- “The Boundaries of Imagination”: or, the All-White World of Children’s Books, 2014 (17 Mar. 2014)
- On Reading the Expurgated Huck Finn; or, Why We Should Teach Offensive Novels (17 Oct. 2014)
- Was the Cat in the Hat Black? (22 Jun. 2014)
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