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Diamond Member
- Sep 15, 2010
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Donna Edwards: Media treats white militants better than black activists
“I am deeply troubled by the media portrayal of the events in Oregon and the armed takeover of a federal wildlife refuge,” Edwards said in a statement. “Since the beginning of the Black Lives Matter movement, activists . . . have been referred to variously as ‘thugs,’ ‘criminals,’ and ‘drug users.’ To the contrary, most of these protests and protesters have been peaceful, and organizers have sought and obtained permission to peaceably assemble in exercise of their Constitutional rights. But in Oregon, a group of armed men illegally occupying a federal building have been referred to as an ‘armed militia,’ or simply ‘occupiers,’ as though that behavior is acceptable in a nation of laws. What is happening in Oregon is not protest sanctioned by the Constitution, it is lawbreaking.”
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She also argued that a nonwhite group would never be allowed to seize control of government property in this way. “One could not imagine a group of armed black men taking over an unoccupied federal building in one of our nation’s cities as they have in Oregon,” she said. “It is time to tell that tough truth.”
Asked for specific examples of media bias, Edwards spokesman Benjamin Gerdes cited a comment by CNN’s Don Lemon during Black Lives Matter protests in Ferguson, Mo., that “obviously there is the smell of marijuana in the air.” He also described Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly comparing Black Lives Matter activists to Nazis and remarks by otherFox News hosts who called the protesters “criminal” and “a hate group.”
Gerdes also referred to the repeated use of the word “thug” to describe rioters in Baltimore after the death in police custody of 25-year-old Freddie Gray last spring. The mayor of Baltimore used the word, although she later apologized. In addition, Gerdes pointed to news stories by a variety of outlets that connected a rise in murder rates in several cities with Black Lives Matter protests.
“I am deeply troubled by the media portrayal of the events in Oregon and the armed takeover of a federal wildlife refuge,” Edwards said in a statement. “Since the beginning of the Black Lives Matter movement, activists . . . have been referred to variously as ‘thugs,’ ‘criminals,’ and ‘drug users.’ To the contrary, most of these protests and protesters have been peaceful, and organizers have sought and obtained permission to peaceably assemble in exercise of their Constitutional rights. But in Oregon, a group of armed men illegally occupying a federal building have been referred to as an ‘armed militia,’ or simply ‘occupiers,’ as though that behavior is acceptable in a nation of laws. What is happening in Oregon is not protest sanctioned by the Constitution, it is lawbreaking.”
snip
She also argued that a nonwhite group would never be allowed to seize control of government property in this way. “One could not imagine a group of armed black men taking over an unoccupied federal building in one of our nation’s cities as they have in Oregon,” she said. “It is time to tell that tough truth.”
Asked for specific examples of media bias, Edwards spokesman Benjamin Gerdes cited a comment by CNN’s Don Lemon during Black Lives Matter protests in Ferguson, Mo., that “obviously there is the smell of marijuana in the air.” He also described Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly comparing Black Lives Matter activists to Nazis and remarks by otherFox News hosts who called the protesters “criminal” and “a hate group.”
Gerdes also referred to the repeated use of the word “thug” to describe rioters in Baltimore after the death in police custody of 25-year-old Freddie Gray last spring. The mayor of Baltimore used the word, although she later apologized. In addition, Gerdes pointed to news stories by a variety of outlets that connected a rise in murder rates in several cities with Black Lives Matter protests.
