Breitbart posts flagrantly racist headline on Virginia shooting, edits it to be only slightly less racist

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This morning, reporter Alison Parker and cameraman Adam Ward were murdered on live television. The suspect, Vester Flanagan, who also goes by the name Bryce Williams, has reportedly shot himself after a lengthy police chase, but as of noon today law enforcement officials were saying that he did not die from his self-inflicted injuries.

Flanagan had previously worked with Parker at the same news station, and was let go two years prior. In addressing the shooting, Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe described him as a “disgruntled employee.”

Alison Parker and Adam Ward

As news of the events unfolded, America began to go through its familiar cycle for handling shooting tragedies. We were told to pray for the victims’ and their families. We were warned not to politicize the tragedy (and then we were warned that we would be warned not to politicize the tragedy). Journalists debated the ethics of watching or sharing footage of the shooting.

We also learned that last night, ABC received a 23-page fax from someone named Bryce Williams, which is being described as his “manifesto” that may or may not include his motive for the shooting. That document has been turned over to the authorities, and has not been released to the public. In other words, we don’t know why this shooting happened yet.

That is, with the exception of Breitbart, who had all the information they needed once they found out that Flanagan is black:

After realizing that this headline may have been in bad taste, Breitbart edited it. It is now only slightly less racist:

 

I guess anyone can write “racial motive suspected” and have it be true if the person writing the headline is the one doing the suspecting, but Jesus Tapdancing Christ, what the actual hell? These are the same conservatives who remind us that America needs a cooling off period to pray and reflect before it’s appropriate to discuss shooting tragedies — and given the rate at which they happen, a one-day cooling off period is just long enough to wait until the next one happens. But as soon as the suspect in said tragedy is black, the culture warriors at Breitbart are magically cooled off and ready to politicize away.

Except their political issue isn’t fewer gun deaths; it’s racial animosity. Because why misdirect about mental health and violent video games when you have skin color to work with?

 

 

 

from AMERICAblog News http://ift.tt/1fGkE3K