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You are here: Home / Organizing & Resistance / Fables Of The Reconstruction / Gray Matters

Gray Matters

by Zandar|  May 28, 201511:02 am| 39 Comments

This post is in: Fables Of The Reconstruction, All we want is life beyond the thunderdome, Blatant Liars and the Lies They Tell, Flash Mob of Hate, Sociopaths, Somewhere a Village is Missing its Idiot, Stuff About Black People Written By a Black Person, WIN THE MORNING

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Rich Lowry, in WIN THE MORNING Magazine, with the candlestick, on #BlackLivesMatter.

Let’s be honest: Some black lives really don’t matter. If you are a young black man shot in the head by another young black man, almost certainly no one will know your name. Al Sharpton won’t come rushing to your family’s side with cameras in tow. MSNBC won’t discuss the significance of your death. No one will protest, or even riot, for you. You are a statistic, not a cause. Just another dead black kid in some city somewhere, politically useless to progressives and the media, therefore all but invisible.

The same Memorial Day weekend during which there were nearly 30 shootings and nine mostly young people were murdered in Baltimore, demonstrators were out in force, blocking traffic — not to protest the shootings, of course, but the state of Maryland funding a youth jail in a city that rather desperately needs a youth jail.

When April Ryan of the American Urban Radio Networks asked White House spokesman Josh Earnest on Tuesday what can be done about violence in places like Baltimore, Earnest first suggested passage of more gun-safety laws — even though Baltimore already has some of the strictest gun-control laws in the country.

When Ryan followed up with a query premised on more summer jobs and rec centers as a short-term answer to the shootings, Earnest referred her to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, as well as those of Labor and Education. It was the blind questioning the blind.

Le sigh, le moan.

Race-derailment-bingo

 

Pretty sure Starburst Rich here has the full card covered by the halfway point in the tirade, but then again, I think that was his point.

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Reader Interactions

39Comments

  1. 1.

    mai naem mobile

    May 28, 2015 at 11:09 am

    There are so many conservatives who.need to come back in their next lives as black women in some dirt poor area in Africa, controlled by Al Shabaab. They have no clue. Also too, Rich Lowry has one of the most punchable faces – smug frat boy with the doughy looking textured complexion with the smirk.

  2. 2.

    greennotGreen

    May 28, 2015 at 11:10 am

    If you are a young black man shot in the head by another young black man, almost certainly no one will know your name.

    Oh. God.

    Maybe if a young black man sprang from the earth overnight like a mushroom no one would know his name, but more realistically, that young black man had a family and friends who will mourn him.

    What happened to a young Rich Lowry that robbed him of his heart?

  3. 3.

    scav

    May 28, 2015 at 11:12 am

    So, are we persuaded by his underlying assumption that the actions of uniformed police officers on official business are indistinguishable from the actions of unorganized criminal “thugs” and thus nothing to get seperately in a lather about?

  4. 4.

    SFAW

    May 28, 2015 at 11:15 am

    @scav:

    Only if they shoot (or otherwise murder) white kids, silly. Must I a-splain everything?

  5. 5.

    gene108

    May 28, 2015 at 11:17 am

    @scav:

    I think that’s the gist of it.

    If you can’t stop blacks from killing blacks, how can you expect the police to refrain from killing blacks? How can we expect better behavior from police, when we have such a lousy class of criminals?

    I mean look at the bad example the criminals are setting for the police.

  6. 6.

    Phil Donahue

    May 28, 2015 at 11:22 am

    So, we can’t hold police to a higher standard than criminals because….that wouldn’t be fair? OK then.

  7. 7.

    SFAW

    May 28, 2015 at 11:22 am

    And, re: Lowry: what a clueless fucking moron. I realize there’s Wingnut Welfare throughout the land, but how did this moron get to any position of responsibility requiring an IQ higher than that of kelp?

    Maybe there’s a new test? Terman, Stanford-Binet, and now RRA (Racist-RightWing-Asshole), where a 140 on their scale translates to a 14 on either of the other two.

  8. 8.

    SFAW

    May 28, 2015 at 11:23 am

    @Phil Donahue:

    So, we can’t hold police to a higher standard than criminals because….that wouldn’t be fair? OK then.

    Because that would be reverse discrimination.

    Thanks, Obama!

  9. 9.

    Jamey

    May 28, 2015 at 11:26 am

    @greennotGreen:

    What happened to a young Rich Lowry that robbed him of his heart?

    Humiliated by a birthday party clown.

  10. 10.

    Eric U.

    May 28, 2015 at 11:27 am

    @mai naem mobile: I only hope that Clarence Thomas will be radicalized by something and realize he has been wrong about everything so far. Seems like it isn’t that unlikely, really

  11. 11.

    Frankensteinbeck

    May 28, 2015 at 11:28 am

    @scav:
    The underlying argument is that black people are so naturally criminal, discussing police violence towards them is pointless. Only when black people stop being violent animals who deserve being shot should we question if too much violence is directed at them. To anyone even mildly racist, this is a very convincing argument. They want very badly to shift the blame to blacks so that they’re immune to accusations (even in their own thoughts) of racism. Arguments like this are incredibly easy for them to believe, because they look at young black men and see scary gang members. They don’t think it’s because of skin color. That’s just the emotional impression they get.

    EDIT – @Eric U.:
    I doubt it. It would be nice, but like Ben Carson he gets constant ego stroking and material gain from casting himself as one of the few blacks who wasn’t lazy and lifted himself up by his bootstraps.

  12. 12.

    Capri

    May 28, 2015 at 11:33 am

    It’s sort of like how the brave Americans who were killed when an Amtrack train crashes have no names and are ignored while those killed in Benghazi are given no end of attention from the media.

  13. 13.

    scav

    May 28, 2015 at 11:37 am

    There’s also the underlying assumption that an individual doesn’t have a name, doesn’t a distinguishable identity, let alone have meaning unless picked up, mentioned and used instrumentally by some white middle-or-better class (even if on misguided principles) and “named” in a media or political setting. To restate the obvious.

  14. 14.

    srv

    May 28, 2015 at 11:39 am

    Will Hillary knock out her Sister Souljah Moment early or wait until next year?

  15. 15.

    SFAW

    May 28, 2015 at 11:57 am

    @Eric U.:

    I only hope that Clarence Thomas will be radicalized by something and realize he has been wrong about everything so far.

    The problem is, his radicalization would likely be in a direction other than the one you wish. And not in a good way.

  16. 16.

    brendancalling

    May 28, 2015 at 11:57 am

    @mai naem mobile: why stop with punching. To paraphrase that old punk band the Crucifucks, let’s get out the gas and set him on fire.

  17. 17.

    Sherparick

    May 28, 2015 at 12:01 pm

    Where are the protests about white on white violence in Waco, Texas, By the way, there have been countless protests in the Black Community about inter-community violence and stories written about violence African American neighborhoods. It is just that ol’Rich has never read them because they are in the Nation or some other “commie” publication. Nor did apparently get around to reading this piece by Mr. Coates. http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/04/ta-nehisi-coates-johns-hopkins-baltimore/391904/

  18. 18.

    Elie

    May 28, 2015 at 12:02 pm

    To me, its not just the racism of the cops. What has been flagged in the extreme abuse of power against blacks is the deep down nagging fear that this abuse could happen to ANYBODY.. and has. When you have dysfunctional police in a dysfunctional and inaccessible power structure, they are of course going to abuse the powerless first — but it won’t stop there. The big “talk down” by the media and right wing is to disabuse people of the increasing awareness that abuse of power and corruption by the police will affect everyone in the end. A police officer who will abuse his/her professional ethics will do it not just against blacks and browns. Their world view holds that ALL powerless (and that can be just regular white Joe Dokes in a given situation) not only can be abused, but should be put in their place. God help that you disagree with one of them or question them in any way. God help you if you can’t ‘splain yourself right away to their satisfaction.

    Yeah, abuse of blacks by police is rampant and horrendous — but black people are the canary in the coal mine. Believe THAT.

  19. 19.

    srv

    May 28, 2015 at 12:14 pm

    @Sherparick: Clearly, you haven’t been paying attention, cops did all the shooting.

    You probably don’t even know 115 of the arrested have no criminal records. But it’s ok, they’re bikers.

    Alas, they have a public rehabilitaion plan already in the works:

    Armed Bikers Plan to Draw Cartoons of Mohammed Outside a Mosque in Arizona

  20. 20.

    Kathleen

    May 28, 2015 at 12:15 pm

    @greennotGreen: He never had one to begin with?

  21. 21.

    Boots Day

    May 28, 2015 at 12:38 pm

    Rich Lowry’s life doesn’t matter.

  22. 22.

    Woodrowfan

    May 28, 2015 at 12:52 pm

    yeah, Al Sharpton is an ambulance chaser, but maybe we should be asking why there are so f-ing MANY ambulances for him to chase!!! When there’s a constant stream of ambulances driving past maybe there’s a problem other than the people pointing to all the ambulances!!!!

  23. 23.

    Shakezula

    May 28, 2015 at 12:56 pm

    I guess 5 seconds have passed since someone trotted out the criminals = cops nonanalogy. Starbursts is just keeping the magic alive.

    demonstrators were out in force, blocking traffic — not to protest the shootings, of course, but the state of Maryland funding a youth jail in a city that rather desperately needs a youth jail.

    Those ingrates! How dare black people not want another place the state can warehouse their children??

  24. 24.

    Archon

    May 28, 2015 at 1:01 pm

    Nothing shows the current intellectual bankruptcy of conservatism then when they try to make analogies to prove a point.

    I remember conservatives comparing uniformed soldiers killed in action in Iraq to people murdered in Chicago to show that Iraq was no more dangerous then an inner city in America.

  25. 25.

    scav

    May 28, 2015 at 1:02 pm

    Structurally, this is the same argument used to legitimize the use of torture and related tactics in the military. So long as it has been done by the worst opponent, ever, then it is licit for US troops to do the same. Not surprising to see it picked up by our militarized police. America! Just as bad as our worst nightmares, only with the proper uniforms so worthy of automatic respect.

  26. 26.

    Paul in KY

    May 28, 2015 at 1:05 pm

    @Eric U.: That would be crazier than Bruce Jenner becoming a woman & Ricky Satanum being the 2016 nominee & UK winning the SEC East in football.

  27. 27.

    Woodrowfan

    May 28, 2015 at 1:05 pm

    @Shakezula:

    I guess 5 seconds have passed since someone trotted out the criminals = cops nonanalogy. Starbursts is just keeping the magic alive.

    demonstrators were out in force, blocking traffic — not to protest the shootings, of course, but the state of Maryland funding a youth jail in a city that rather desperately needs a youth jail.

    Those ingrates! How dare black people not want another place the state can warehouse their children??

    remember, helping people buy health insurance on the open market is COMMIE TYRANNY! Suggesting that maybe gun owners might lock up their guns to keep them out of the hands of kids is cause for revolution! Deciding that your lowest priority for deportation of “illegals” is the high school kid who came her as a baby and just graduated at the top of his/her class? GENOCIDE OF THE WHITE RACE! But building more prisons? Why that’s freedom!! AMURICA! F YEAH!

  28. 28.

    Villago Delenda Est

    May 28, 2015 at 1:13 pm

    I know of one white man whose life not only doesn’t matter, it’s also beyond worthless.

  29. 29.

    burnspbesq

    May 28, 2015 at 1:15 pm

    Anyone who harbors any lingering doubts that police mistreatment of young African-American males is systemic has to explain why the Durham cops pulled guns, during what by all appearances was a routine traffic stop, on an instantly recognizable, beloved-by-all former Duke basketball player. Nolan Smith is a threat? C’mon,y’all, get real. #DWBisathing.

    http://www.sportingnews.com/ncaa-basketball/story/2015-05-28/nolan-smith-durham-police-cops-pulled-over

  30. 30.

    Villago Delenda Est

    May 28, 2015 at 1:15 pm

    @Elie: Do you know who else had a dysfunctional, militarized police force?

  31. 31.

    burnspbesq

    May 28, 2015 at 1:19 pm

    @SFAW:

    Justice Thomas is already a radical, and has been from the moment he arrived at the Court.

  32. 32.

    SFAW

    May 28, 2015 at 2:19 pm

    @burnspbesq:

    No argument, although (technically) my comment did not preclude that.

    But is he truly a radical if all he does is be a sock-puppet for Perhaps The Greatest and Most Brilliantest Legal Mind Ever To Sit On The Supreme Court EVAH (So Screw You, Oliver Wendell Holmes!), i.e., Fat Nino?

    ETA: In any case, perhaps I’ll make it “increased radicalization” the next time I have call to use it. Which I hope is never.

  33. 33.

    fuckwit

    May 28, 2015 at 2:35 pm

    I have to keep going back to the well on this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdSsBYO1oNI

    Nothing beats that yet.

  34. 34.

    Valdivia

    May 28, 2015 at 2:40 pm

    there were so many threads today I didn’t even see this. Politico is really just expert at publishing despicable things.

  35. 35.

    Tone in DC

    May 28, 2015 at 3:16 pm

    I knew Politico was worthless, but this is a new low (at least in recent memory).
    Lowry and his fellow grifters (George Will, Chuck Krauthammer, David Duke, Joe “You Lie!” Wilson and so many others) still subscribe to the POV of the Laffer curve and the Closing of the American Mind.

    I’m glad I don’t waste my time reading the Kaplan Post and Politico. I’d rather give myself a root canal, or three.

  36. 36.

    SFAW

    May 28, 2015 at 3:57 pm

    @Tone in DC:

    Lowry and his fellow grifters (George Will, Chuck Krauthammer, David Duke, Joe “You Lie!” Wilson and so many others) still subscribe to the POV of the Laffer curve and the Closing of the American Mind.

    You can add Kirsten Powers, raising “both sides do it, but liberals are much worserer” to an exalted position, to that pantheon of dummi-gods.

  37. 37.

    rikyrah

    May 28, 2015 at 4:53 pm

    @Elie:

    To me, its not just the racism of the cops. What has been flagged in the extreme abuse of power against blacks is the deep down nagging fear that this abuse could happen to ANYBODY.. and has.

    The distrust of the police by Pookie and Ray-Ray is to be expected.

    But, when a law-abiding citizen like myself doesn’t trust the police and would never, and I mean EVER, give the police the benefit of the doubt if I ever got onto a jury…

    that’s a problem.

    if you don’t recognize why that’s a problem….

    oh well.

    sigh

  38. 38.

    Visceral

    May 28, 2015 at 6:06 pm

    The implication is that if a young black man is killed by another young black man, the only way for Sharpton and the rest of the Left to play Six Degrees of White Supremacy is with convoluted, esoteric arguments that most Americans either can’t follow or will simply reject because nobody wants to be guilty of original sin.

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