Van Jones criticized for op-ed claiming cops who ‘killed’ Tire Nichols may have been ‘driven by racism’
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CNN commentator Van Jones provoked backlash for suggesting that the all-black police officers who beat and ultimately killed Tire Nichols might have been “driven by racism”.
He video posted on friday The night shows Nichols, 29, crying for her mother multiple times during the brutal assault on January 7, which took place just a few blocks from her home. He died shortly after.
Jones, one of CNN’s star liberal commentators, wrote Friday that blacks are “not immune” to the effects of anti-black racism and that narratives of police violence should never be as simple as “a white cop kills an unarmed black man.”
“Society’s message that blacks are inferior, unworthy and dangerous is pervasive,” Jones wrote. “Over many decades, numerous experiments have shown that these ideas can infiltrate both black and white minds. Self-hatred is a real thing.
CNN commentator Van Jones provoked backlash for suggesting that the all-black police officers who beat and ultimately killed Tire Nichols might have been “driven by racism”.
He said this kind of thinking could lead a black store owner to ‘respect customers of the same race’.
“Black people can harbor anti-black feelings and can act on those feelings in harmful ways,” Jones added.
He went on to suggest that the problem is that black police officers are “socialized” into police departments that treat neighborhoods like “war zones,” and that police officers of all races “internalize” the notion that few officers are punished. for acts of brutality.
He then quoted the NWA rap group’s lyrics from ‘F**k tha Police’, who share similar sentiments about black officers.
“At the end of the day, it is the race of the victim who is brutalized, not the race of the violent police officer, that is most relevant to determining whether racial bias is a factor in police violence,” he said, suggesting that it is “difficult to to imagine’ a white person being beaten to death by the police.
Many voices from different political persuasions were outraged by the attempt to divide people on this issue.
Patrick Bet-David, podcast host and author, wrote: “Every opportunity CNN has to divide America, it seizes it. It is a pity. Why not try to unify once and for all? This was a tragic event. What those 5 officers did to Tire Nichols was appalling to say the least. My heart goes out to all of his family.
Jones, one of CNN’s star liberal commentators, wrote Friday that blacks are “not immune” to the effects of anti-black racism and that narratives of police violence should never be as simple as “a white cop kills an unarmed black man.”
“Society’s message that blacks are inferior, unworthy and dangerous is pervasive,” Jones wrote. “Over many decades, numerous experiments have shown that these ideas can infiltrate both black and white minds. Self-hatred is a real thing’
Columnist Thomas Chatterton Williams added: “What if, stick with me, these five men were actually agents responsible for their own reprehensible actions and not simply hapless puppets manipulated by the invisible hand of the inescapable and omnipotent white supremacy?”
Connor Boyack responded: “The most racist people in our society seem to be the people who inject racism into every conceivable circumstance.”
“It’s racism, with CNN being the racist,” said Olivier Janssens.
The Memphis Police Department has released harrowing body camera footage of five police officers fatally beating Tire Nichols following a traffic stop for alleged reckless driving.
He video posted on friday The night shows Nichols, 29, crying for her mother multiple times during the brutal assault on January 7, which took place just a few blocks from her home.
‘Breast! Breast!’ Nichols yells as officers pin him to the ground, pepper spray his face, kick and punch him in the head, and beat him with a metal baton.
Video shows police threw at least nine punches at the FedEx worker as he yelled profanity during the nearly four-minute altercation.
Even after paramedics arrived, a handcuffed Nichols lay on the pavement for nearly half an hour without significant medical intervention.
The five officers involved in the murder were charged with second-degree murder, with the district attorney saying that although they all played different roles, “everyone is responsible.”
Still, police across the country were bracing for possible violent riots as protesters gathered to express their outrage in response to the graphic and highly disturbing images.