Matt McGorry has caught a lot of flack on Twitter lately for actions that his OITNB character took this season. It’s amazing the guy still logs into his account, but he’s a huge social media fan. The guy tweets and retweets his followers all the time, and he seems to genuinely appreciate his sudden success on two television shows. I wasn’t a huge fan of how he hopped on the #FreeTheNip bandwagon because the cause doesn’t seem worthy to me. But McGorry has other, more substantial battles on his mind. He invested a lot of Twitter real estate to the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag and called out the uselessness of the #AllLivesMatter hashtag:
(1) For people who think they are being more inclusive by saying #AllLivesMatter in response to #BlackLivesMatter, they are in reality
(2) (un)consciously undermining the purpose of the movement because THIS particular movement is about SPECIFIC issues, as any decently
(3) effective movement is. For example, it’s hard to have an effective protest that’s about gender equality, animal rights, racial equality,
(4) and saving the environment because that’s not how getting sh*t done works. But I’ve never seen #AllLivesMatter promoted by someone who
(5) actually fights for social justice. So someone getting up in arms bc of #BlackLivesMatter while they sit on the sidelines and do little
(6) to nothing for Black lives or anyone’s other than their own is probably not actually promoting that “All Lives Matter (Equally)” as
(7) much as they’re trying to take down the idea that #blacklivesmatter” and denying its necessity and value. So. Show me the person who
(8) spends their life fighting for all lives ACTUALLY mattering and who says #AllLivesMatter and I’ll show you a world where people are
(9) treated like they actually do (neither of those things as far as I’ve seen). Now I don’t know much about all of this but I know enough
(10) to not consciously or unconsciously undermine a very needed movement that promotes EQUALITY. #BlackLivesMatter #EricGarner
(11) #BlackLivesMatter doesn’t mean other lives don’t. Like people who say “Save The Rainforests” aren’t saying “F*** All Other Types of Forests”
[From Matt McGorry on Twitter]
McGorry has done his homework on the subject, and he’s clearly studied the movement’s website: “#BlackLivesMatter is a call to action and a response to the virulent anti-Black racism that permeates our society.” The hashtag spread like wildfire in 2012 after the death of Trayvon Martin and subsequent acquittal of George Zimmerman. The movement will continue long after the #AllLivesMatter trolls lose interest. In the meantime, McGorry treated the trolls to a heaping dose of critical thought, and it sounds like they tried to turn the discussion around on him. This was his excellent follow-up response: “Strange. I can’t hear your bigotry over the sound of you being blocked.”
Photos courtesy of WENN
I don’t know this guy, but that was perfectly explained.
Perfect.
He’s an actor on Orange is The New Black. If you saw the #freethenip post about him a few weeks ago, then you would have seen him come under a lot of scrutiny for perceived mansplaining of feminism.
I don’t know… I just can’t get mad at this dude because I truly believe his heart is in the right place. Seems like a solid guy to me.
Solid as rock.
Hear, hear!
@ Kitten exactly. I have met too many White males that occupy a place of privilege and can’t be bothered to educate themselves on anything that doesn’t affect them as a White male whether it be gender and racial issues or whatever. I think it’s great he has done so. Kudos to him. His response showed that he bothered to understand the issue and I applaud everything he wrote. Why be mad at someone for doing that?
Agree completely!
Aye. He isn’t perfect but then: who is? He makes an effort and seems to be a decent and smart guy. So you go Matt! And shake that perfect bubble butt of yours on the way!
“Like people who say “Save The Rainforests” aren’t saying “F*** All Other Types of Forests””
This. Done. Everyone else can go home. I wish every single person on my Facebook feed that keeps sharing links like, “Oh, you think Caitlyn Jenner is a hero? Oh well that means you SPIT IN THE FACE of this army veteran and this army veteran and this army veteran…” could read that statement. So on point, and so relevant to so many of today’s social issues. I’m so sick of seeing people playing the cause comparison game. We can show compassion to more than one group of people at once!
I’m so sick of seeing people playing the cause comparison game.
Girl preach! McGorry’s comment was the perfect mic drop. Never seen this guy in anything but he’s A-okay in my book.
Yes, ladies. Amen.
He clearly actually has valuable ideas to contribute. He’s not just talking for the sake of talking. That analogy is quite brilliant.
… he still shouldn’t have DONE THAT TO DAYA THOUGH. 😀
How To Get Away With Murder.
Ohhh! I didn’t realize that was him! Love that show too! Hahaha where have I been and why did it never click that is was the same guy?!?
I don’t think it clicked with me that he was that guy either. Ha.
I love everything he said. The analogy of the rainforests vs. other forests was a nice way to end it, so succinct. I wished I’d had a comeback like this to all the people on FB who kept putting up stuff in defense of cops in the wake of Ferguson, Baltimore, etc.
It seems to me that he wasn’t very interested in social justice prior to being famous but instead of answering ignorantly when asked questions, he actually did some research and found that he became invested.
After seeing how many celebrities have gotten questions about feminism, #blacklivesmatter, etc., and have completely botched their responses, I welcome this approach.
Very tangentially, did celebitchy cover the JGL video about sexy moms? Because it’s amazing.
Seriously. Almost forgot books and Internet were available to celebrities based on how clueless they were about everything. I can see why the smarter bunch seem to be the ones barely involved in the Hollywood scene. It must be like being around adult babies.
Great answer. I hulk up everytime a movement is on, and someone comes to say “we’re all humans, stop discriminating!” I’m not a violent person, but at times like that I feel like squeeze someone’s neck.
Why? Because those people actually want equality in this? Because those people have actually grown past this, maybe were even raised not to see a divide at all? It’s not a bad thing that some people don’t see the same disparity. It’s called progress.
For those that are dying as a result of hate, that’s the horrible exception to the rule. Making it appear as though it’s the norm all over the place (maybe it is to some and the circle that they associate with but that is not everyone’s life experience) – it doesn’t fix the problem but actually makes it worse.
For one thing, it’s inadvertently placing blame in the laps of people out who do not actually think this way. It makes people resentful.
But Mytbean, there IS a divide. If you don’t see it then it means you probably aren’t directly affected by it.. Or that you just don’t want to see it.
If you don’t see those kinds of disparities in your own personal life you live a privileged life. Good for you. But if you are unable to comprehend that this isn’t the reality for a lot of disenfranchised groups, then you are a moron.
It isn’t a horrible exception and the all lives matter isn’t people who have evolved beyond racism is are people who don’t want to admit their is white privliage and a serious issue of systematic racism in this country. This is backed up but facts and pretending it doesn’t and denying there is a problem is condoning these systems and murders. It is saying black lives don’t matter. Admitting there are problems in this country doesn’t mean you’re racist it means there are issues we need to address to grow to the idealized world your talking about.
Simply put, it’s willful ignorance if you don’t see the disparity. It’s privilege, not “progress” that makes a person blind to the marginalization and mistreatment of others.
Progress is recognizing the inequalities that others suffer and speaking out about it. Progress is making a stand against the injustices that may not directly affect you. Progress is NOT sticking your fingers in your ears and pretending that everything is kumbaya. That’s not how change happens.
Mythbean – the point is that, as things stand, black lives matter LESS. That’s a disgusting state of affairs and it needs to change.
That all lives matter is a charming sentiment and a true one, but it’s a completely different topic. Used as it is, in conjunction with #blacklivesmatter, it’s distracting attention. Changing the topic. And the result of that is that black lives will continue to matter less because the topic has changed. This campaign needs impetus and fuel. It doesn’t need to be hijacked.
I feel truly saddened for the people who are resentful that they are being informed of inequities. It’s a heavy burden.
just in case: /s
4 comments in before the #AllLivesMatter #colorblind crew showed up *sigh*
even entertainment internetting has become too much for my weary self
I think the ladies here answered very well, but you know, equality comes when we fight against disparity. But if you can’t even name your enemy, how are you supposed to have a chance against it? Unfortunatelly, where I live is the same thing, black people die more and people act like it’s just a tragedy, no social issue involved. It’s not a progress if some people can’t see it, it’s just that they don’t want to bother.
Let me guess you show up at the Walk for Breast Cancer protesting But But … there are other illnesses as well I mean what about heart diseases .Lets get some equality in this !
People who like to brag about not seeing a divide think it makes them more evolved when its actually callous indifference, you don’t really care that race impacts the day to day experiences of a lot of people who arent white, from getting a job, getting a loan, how they are treated in stores , whilst driving their car, interactions with the police etc just as long as no one does or says anything that may hurt your fee fees
Funny thing…the Black Lives Matter group ALSO want equality. We just don’t have it. And if you don’t see it you either 1. are privileged or 2. choose to ignore it.
We aren’t saying that all lives don’t matter but black americans often HAVE to build themselves up because we grow up in a world where our blackness is a problem from birth. We learn to work twice as hard for less. How to deal with cops. How you shouldn’t hang out with the wrong friends because chances are you’ll be arrested or suspicious first compared to your white counterparts. My black hair is messy and black skin is ugly but white people want to jack every facet of our culture and pimp black girls in videos.
I could go ON AND ON for days. So yes until the world learns not to fear us and beat us down we have to build ourselves up and fight for equality in a country we literally built on our backs. Please look at Amandla’s videos or even videos Lupita has done…it will explain a lot.
This is basically the race version of #NotAllMen. Are all men rapists? No. Is there a power and privilege imbalance between men and women? Yes. Are all whites racists? No. Is there a power and privilege imbalance between whites and blacks? Yes. Most definitely yes. I’m white. I grew up in a very white state; there was one black person in my graduating class. It took me a long time to start to see structural inequalities, but my god – once you see them you can’t stop seeing them.
“People who like to brag about not seeing a divide think it makes them more evolved when its actually callous indifference, you don’t really care that race impacts the day to day experiences of a lot of people who arent white, from getting a job, getting a loan, how they are treated in stores , whilst driving their car, interactions with the police etc just as long as no one does or says anything that may hurt your fee fees”
This. You’re not impressing or convincing anyone you’ve grown past this myt, what you are doing is confirming that one who chooses not to see a problem is someone who can not show true empathy or understanding. The problem exists, it is widespread, it has facts and statistics behind it researched by people far smarter than you or I.
You are like someone stubbornly claiming the world is flat because you’ve never seen the edge of it.
Your feelings are not as important as their lives. Seriously.
Don’t extinguish that fire, it’ll tire itself out. Plus, look at all of those mansions on those hills, over there, they weren’t immolated. Fire insurance is just expecting a fire, so, talk about defeatist.
Look, I don’t know what response you thought you’d get, but how couldn’t it have been this one?
Not seeing it, doesn’t mean that racial divide and inequality exists. And for those who are blind to the overall matter, we need people to say “so and so matter.” Of course all lives matter, but we live in a society that doesn’t share the same sentiment as you and others. I believe all lives matter, but I refuse to remain ignorant. For instance, I work in a law firm where women represent more than half the legal team and is paid comparable to the male lawyers. yet I’m not preaching that sexism is over. I know that where I work is not the norm, it’s the exception.
Very excellent points he made, love when people respond with smart and articulate arguments.
Excellent answer.
God love him, that’s what I say.
I love it! #AllLivesMatter is the WORST.
it sounds like he did his research and i welcome this type of discussion and approach to shed light on the issue.
rather than being ignorant or answering in a haphazard “any news is good news” kind of way, if you catch my drift.
one small quibble, these chain tweets is very hard to read on twitter. or maybe i’m not social media savvy enough to compartmentalize, but i thank Bedhead into putting it in one convenient post!
And that is how one explains the importance of a cause while reading people for filth. Excellent job! And completely on point. Forest analogy was so perfect.
And when you have two children and give your energy to one of them the other one completely understands that they are just as wonderful. They just sit quietly, nod and feel happy that their sibling is getting attention. Totally works that way. Not so much.
The response to this movement is human nature. Before all this I thought it was possible for there to be true equality. I was one of those optimistic people who, when encountering someone who was racist I felt embarrassed, sad and ashamed for them. I felt pitty because they were missing out and might never understand but – it was rare enough for me to be surprised. I loved the idea that we were a giant multi-color tribe that was more interesting and beautiful because of it.
But today the divide is larger. I’ve never experienced so much racism and I was a kid who grew up in a very diverse neighborhood. But, today, living near DC, there is so much and it’s going every which direction – white to black, black to white and don’t get me started about other communities.
I support the All Lives Matter because it doesn’t separate people into a group like Black Lives Matter does.
People were already separated into groups by the same people who perpetuate All Lives Matter.
Black Lives Matter isn’t placing black lives above Asian Lives or White Lives or Native American lives or Hispanic Lives. It’s saying that Black Lives matter just as much as other lives and until we acknowledge that, All Lives Matter will mean jacksh*t.
Again, you hit the nail on the head.
Exactly, tifzlan. Well said.
Home run.
Racism, either in the form of police brutality or institutional racism separates people as a group and I believe that’s the point. I would also see Matt’s last point again. Just because they are dealing with an issue specific to them, does not mean that other people’s lives are worthless. Let’s be real, if ‘all lives mattered’ we wouldn’t be talking about this at all.
Exactly. Police brutality effects all races but it predominately effects minorities and with much deadlier effects.
The reality is that I as a white person never have to fear the police, if they even are disrespectful giving me a speeding ticket there are repercussion. Compare the treatment of a black 14 year girl at a pool party vs a white man that walked into church and killed 9 people. That man didn’t have a scratch and got Burger King and the teenage girl was slammed into a side walk, and had that not been filmed nothing would have happened to that cop. Nothing yet officially has. Or the dead 12 year old boy shot and filled playing in the park by the police and the cop hasn’t been tried! If that little boy was white the cop would be on death row by now. This is the reality of our society and it is wrong. And it is why the #blacklivesmatter movement is happening because they are being targeted and not getting justice.
Of course all lives matter no one is saying mine doesn’t, but mine isn’t in danger just because of what I look like.
Thank you for being so informed.
Sadly the ones who push for the ‘All Lives Matter’ also support ‘Blue Lives Matter’ which works hard to get cops who’ve commited unacceptable acts in uniform off with retirement/pension or raising millions for them to live on luxury.
Absolutely. I am well aware of my white privilege as a white, educated professional woman. And I hate that there even needs to be a reminder that “Black Lives Matter.” But it needs to be out there that we cannot continue to marginalize and treat people differently who just happen to have a different color skin.
I had a fairly difficult time early on in my career and during med school for being a woman. I can’t begin to imagine what it is like to be treated like that every single day, every single moment, for my entire life simply because of my color. I cannot comprehend the feeling of constant marginalization and that is why #BlackLivesMatter is so important and #AllLivesMatter is so trivial.
Thank-you.
For those don’t, or pretend that they don’t understand, let me phrase it another way: Black Lives Matter, Too.
The divide has always been there people are just more vocal about it, or maybe you just ignored it. Housing discrimination for blacks and Latinos still continues to this day. Blacks and Latinos still receive harsher punishments for the same crime as whites. Studys have shown black children are looked at like adults instead of the immature kids they are, thus denying them their childhood. And in a time where sandra bland was arrested for not signaling, after an officer did not follow the correct protocol, the chief of that station was previously fired for his racism, then she is found dead in her cell we must be vocal about the things we face. Did you know whites with less income are more likely than blacks with higher incomes to be accepted for a loan? To get our children into better schools you have to live in a better neighborhood, we can’t do that if we can’t live there just based on our color, and not our credit and income. So yes all lives do matter, but we’re speaking on black lives and the problems we face.
Very well said, thank you.
Perfectly said and may Sandra R.I.P. Victim to one man’s ego merely because he had on a uniform that protects him from the law he’s supposed to carry. How convenient a black bag was left in her cell.
You’re more aware of it now because people on both sides are finally openly talking about it. We have the internet and social media so instead of a sanitized version of reality, we’re seeing what people really think which in the long run is for the best -you can’t fight a problem until you are aware if it.
Very well said. Nowadays, discriminated people talk louder than before, and that’s great.
Technology has really been the mvp in getting this issue the attention it needs. When someone is filming and can show the video of a black man getting shot in the back then suddenly all the lies the police told start to lose their automatic trust.
Twitter, iPhones, Instagram. All of it is delivering the reality many lived with for so long straight to the masses.
Your “two children” analogy makes no sense. The better analogy would be you give more attention to one child who has been hospitalized after being hit by a car. The other child still gets attention at different times in different ways and understands this because hopefully your child is not a selfish idiot. The hashtag was in response to a specific problem, a specific issue. Sometimes we have to focus.
In fact, I think it’s more like two adults, one of whom has been hit by a car, and is seriously ill in hospital, and the other one stands in their room, shouting “I matter too!”, and prevents them from getting medical treatment.
THAT’S how effing stupid this discussion is. I’m plum out of patience for bigots lately. 😐
No one is saying black lives are more important. What the movement is saying is that black lives matter. There will be an Mtv docu on white people produced by undocumented immigrant and Pulitzer winner Jose Vargas. It hasn’t been shown yet as of this moment and already people, mostly white are commenting so defensively about it. They are very uncomfortable to confront their privileges. If you do not see color you are defaulting it to white.
You’re an ostrich who’s determined to stick her head in the ground but in response to your comments.
1. Better example. You have two children, one you spend all your time with, shower with gifts and generally care for. Then you have a step-child, lives sort of close by but you don’t see them often. You don’t keep up with what’s going on in their lives, you’re not sure how their grades are or if your lack of attention has effected them. You’ve heard some bad stories but you’re not actually there to witness much so one day you decide you’re going to finally spend a whole day with your child and listen and experience things with them…and your cherished child brows an ugly immature tantrum because for once they aren’t the center of attention and they can’t stand it. They’ve been used to it for so long that the mere absence reveals an awful and selfish side to them you’ve heard others mention but are now finally seeing for yourself.
You say you believed in equality before this and were embarrassed for racists yet you chalk up your refusal to understand as an adult to human nature? It’s funny how many of those racists you pitied likely thought their racism was just normal human nature.
The divide has ALWAYS been large. It’s just for so long the media pretended it didn’t exist so for people like you it was easy to live in an ivory tower and assume we were all getting along because YOU had no problems. Did you know how many black people were killed by police under questionable circumstances before Missouri? Do you know how many were killed just this year?
The answer to both of those questions is no. It’s always been no and it will always be no because dealing with racism makes you uncomfortable. You want to sweep it under the rug and we all go back to pretending everything’s okay.
Perfect, far-more-accurate reworking of the two children analogy. Thank you for this–I was too overcome with anger at the two-children poster’s (deliberate?) obtuseness to form a coherent, effective response.
You did it for me.
I personally believe it’s very deliberate and no problem at all 🙂
If you don’t get the point of #blacklivesmatter, it’s because you willfully choose not to.
Get back to me when you worry every time your teenage son leaves the house because you know there’s a good possibility that he’s not safe from the people who’ve sworn an oath to protect and serve and the color of his skin will almost immediately have him profiled as a criminal. Get back to me when your teenage son is stopped every couple of blocks while walking in his own neighborhood because he ‘fit the description’ of suspected criminals in the area. This was happening to my ex twenty years ago, and on a daily basis, too! He wasn’t dressed like a ‘thug’, either. He’d be wearing dress slacks, and a shirt and tie because he’d just gotten off of work. Twenty years later and things for black people, ESPECIALLY black MEN haven’t really changed that much. In fact, they’ve gotten worse. So spare me your resentment over the fact that we’re tired of being treated like we’re less than because of the color of our skin.
Again, you don’t understand because you don’t want to .
With all due respect, your analogy is stupid.
So… what was the nature of this racism you say you’ve experienced, was it people telling you how counter-productive ‘all lives’ is?
I agree with you, mytbean. I know people are piling onto you here, but this subject tends to get people’s emotions riled as opposed to their logic. People in the US nowadays apparently think that being white automatically makes you privileged, an idea that has watered down the word “privilege,” since many whites are not at all privileged, but people persist in saying they are. Painting an entire race with such a broad brush IS racism, but the people around here by and large refuse to acknowledge this. The cognitive dissonance is staggering.
You can’t have an honest, open conversation about race in this country anymore, because the prevailing assumption is that all white people are privileged and should feel massively guilty, and all black people are unfortunate victims of white people’s cruelty. That’s the only acceptable narrative at this point in time. People on both sides of the debate get angry and resort to personal attacks. It’s pathetic.
I don’t see anybody here getting personally offensive. People use the word privilege because no matter what a White person has more privilege than a non-White person. White people have certain privileges that minorities do not, even when a minority has more financial privilege than a White person. See K’s point. Nobody is saying all black people are unfortunate victims of white people’s cruelty. THIS IS WHY WE CAN’T HAVE AN HONEST, OPEN CONVERSATION ABOUT RACE. Every time we want to, in comes somebody saying we are blaming all white people. THAT’S NOT WHAT WE’RE DOING. You are choosing to miss the point entirely and then gaslighting people. Now THAT’S pathetic.
“People in the US nowadays apparently think that being white automatically makes you privileged”
Because it does, and I say that as a white person who has been on unemployment, been on food stamps, and even (for a blessedly short time) been homeless.
If you don’t see/understand/admit that, you are part of the problem.
YOU–not the entire white race. So, no racism here.
There are a lot of people who think that this mythical conversation should mean not having it at all. If you want to take people’s horror over the murders of innocent Black people personally, fine, do it, martyr yourself, but don’t say I forced you. I didn’t see a thing here about blaming white people for everything, just that people shouldn’t have to live in fear, or be killed on a whim. Your theories of privilege are figments of fantasy, however, and I don’t know how a person can look at all of these Black people being injured and murdered and arrive at the conclusion that everyone is mean to White people.
It’s funny you accuse others of not being able to hold this discussion with logic and then completely misunderstand what Privelage means.
Now ‘Privelage’ doesn’t mean every white person has a million dollars and is riding in limousines. It means that in general whites are treated as a better class of person than people of color. Even in the MOST extreme circumstances. Dylan Roof was carefully and calmly arrested without nary a hair out of place for gunning down people in a church. Sandra was pulled over for an improper lane change, dragged out of her car, locked in a cell without proper checks and then found dead by suicide.
THAT is Privelage. In simplest terms it’s the constant benefit of the doubt whites are given regardless of their build, prison record, or economic background (all excuses that have been used to pin the blame for their death or mistreatment by police on blacks). A white person can casually be around police without being targeted when those same police aim their gun at children.
You shouldn’t feel guilty. You should feel ashamed of the current system and hope it improves. Apparently you do not but do wish to offer a hand to your fellow individual who also doesn’t want to believe in facts that could easily be researched by either one of you.
Privilege should not apply to basic decency and respect, rather it should apply to something grander than that but unfortunately the bar has been set so low in terms of how minorities are treated in America that not being targeted and harassed based on your skin color is a privilege; one that white people do currently generally have and minorities lack.
White privilege has nothing to do with economic status, it as to do with systematic measures that are in place. Compare how trayvon Martin was dicussed in the media vs the man who walked into sandyhook elementary and killed 5 year olds with semi automatic weapon. They did everything to try to make the sweet normal teenager look bad and the monster who killed babies sympathetic and lost- white privliage.
And for the record no one is blaming anyone for it. If you read through this post, I’ve admitted to being white I acknowledge that I know that the police will always help me and give me the benefit of the doubt and will not shoot or kill me- white privilege and at no point has anyone blamed me for this. It’s not my fault I didn’t create the situation.
What would be my fault is if I watched the police slam a teenage girl in a swim suit into the cement, murder a man in broad day light for a crime that in New York warrants at most a ticket and face no consequences and not call out that there is a huge issue.
The list goes on, and no one is saying white people are villains and black people are victims. One I’m not a villain and neither is my family, we don’t support what is happening nor did we cause and have fought discrimination. And not for one single second would I call any friend, ex boyfriend or coworker who is black a victim! I would NEVER belittle or demean them like that, they are dealing with an unequal system but they deal with it with grace, strength and hard work.
Sorry but there are no villains or victims in my life, there are people who are trying to live the best life possible and do the right thing.
“White privilege has nothing to do with economic status, it as to do with systematic measures that are in place.”
This.
Privilege has Latin roots: privus (private) and leg (law). Private law. Rights, benefits, or priority only given to certain people.
Socio-economic/Class privilege certainly exists, but so does racial privilege. And male-privilege, straight-privilege, citizenship-privilege, age-privilege etc., etc. They’re all different things.
I have the biggest crush on him. I can’t take it.
I had a huge crush on him until this past season of OINB. What they did with his character killed it for me.
I haven’t watched the new season yet, but all the comments on the news threads slamming the actor for what his character did, though hilarious, are huge spoilers. Sigh. Not your comment, Kitten. If I hadn’t seen dozens of others I wouldn’t know what yours meant.
Gah! I’m so sorry, Bettyrose. I hesitated before I typed that too.
I’ve had to avoid all the TD:S2 posts around here because I’ve been behind so I know how difficult it is to shut out the spoilers :/
Also, I had no idea that people were that angry at his character. lol For me, my crush because of the character he plays on the show. Otherwise, he’s not really my thing so…
No worries at all, Kitten. Your post didn’t actually give details unlike the many I’ve seen on news sites. I read those articles because I was interested in his Twitter activism, but I guess bashing his character is a thing now. Too bad. I crushed a little on his character too. He’s not my type either but I do like his baby face.
Good for him. And Mytbean, while there are certainly racial problems between all kinds of groups, the truth is that black people still face much more institutional racism than any other group. To deny that is to ignore statistics, facts, and reality. If white people were killed by the police at the rate black people are (police who are then protected by the system that’s supposed to protect the victims), for example, then you could argue that an #alllivesmatter movement was the appropriate response. But the cops, at every level, treat black people differently (eg worse).
He seemed attention seeking in the last post, but I like this response very much. And people are seriously attacking him for his character’s actions? It’s some different kind of crazy. My grandmother’s neighbor once wanted to confess to a guy, who played a priest in her favorite telenovela, and I know there are many people who can’t tell the real-life from the fantasy, but they usually don’t even realize the characters are played by actors. But here – they are reasonable enough (for the lack of a better word) to look for the Twitter account run under his own name, but then get all loony and insult him for what his character did on a show as if he did them? How that makes any sense in their minds – they think he leads two separate lives?
Listen he had to POST a Clarification on Father’s day that he ISNT a father or ABANDONED his baby while his woman is in Jail… Like REALLY
LOL! Oh man..poor guy.
Sorry to threadjack but anybody used to watch Young and the Restless? Back in the day there was a character named Sheila who stole the baby of another character called Lauren. That’s after drugging and having sex with Lauren’s husband. People hated the character so much that the actress Kimberlin Brown frequently got threatened and was once slapped by a woman in a supermarket.
People be crazy is what I’m saying.
That’s just insane. If I were an actress, I’d surely get into trouble for insulting the crazies instead of posting clarifications. And slapping, really? I hope that lady got sued.
i fucking love this guy
Go easy on the potty mouth. My kids frequent this site.
If your kids are old enough to be interested in celebrity gossip, then I guarantee that they hear these words in school. Just sayin’.
Well then monitor what your kids read instead of telling an adult what to do. Really, with all the topics talked about on this site, someone using f-bomb is what you are concerned about your kids reading? Unbelievable!
@Sally J. Freedman
If theyre in 6th grade or above…..they’ve heard and said worse. You wouldn’t believe how potty mouthed some of these little 11/12 year olds are. It’s horrifying.
Hahaha. That was too easy. My kids use language that would make a sailor blush.
Applauding his well thought out response!
Me too. Just here to give him a hunk (typo but I’m keeping it)
Black people have been saying this, but I guess it has to come from a white celebrity for people to get it. Good on him for speaking up.
Sadly, the people who don’t want to get it won’t get it, regardless of who the messenger is.
Frustrating but seemingly true, Kitten.
There is a reason the white male is considered the most privelaged of all, because society in general seems to snap to attention once words from the ‘holiest of holy, most educated of educated’. Many issues concerning race only got a serious consideration and backbone when some white person said “This is actually horrible and wrong”.
It’s also why regardless of scenario the lighter skinned individual is considered innocent against the raging monster of the darker skinned negro. Its why 12 yr olds can be gunned down within seconds and 16 yr old girls can be smashed into the ground.
Marc Lamont Hill gave a great anology on CNN.Imagine your house is engulfed in flames and the firefighters arrive.Now imagine your next door neighbors approach the firefighters and say” My house matters”.Of course their house matters but their house is not on fire.
That is an awesome analogy! I’m stealing it! And, Kitten, I love your response to Mytbean: “Simply put, it’s willful ignorance if you don’t see the disparity. It’s privilege, not “progress” that makes a person blind to the marginalization and mistreatment of others.” I’d like to steal that too the next time I talk to a white person who says they’re not racist/they’re not part of the problem!
See guys?
You CAN learn to be informed on a subject that doesn’t directly effect you by EDUCATING yourself. No one has to hold you hand and do a Sesame Street jingle about racism and bigotry. You put your big adult pants on, get some books, do some Google searches and decide “Today is the day I’m not going to be ignorant anymore.”
Ah ah ah. No whining, no whimpering, no deflection, no complaining. If you can’t pick up a book to learn something merely because your mind refuses to believe some of us have it harder for no other reason than because we’ve got a little extra melanin then you will become a dinosaur to your own Privelage.
Just a loving message to every commentar who has/will come in behaving clueless and acting like today was the first day they realized life is hard.
I’m not sure writing condescending messages to people as if they were children is going to come across as loving, or be likely to persuade them to your point of view.
If they are willfully ignorant then yes, speak to them in a condescending way. Apparently, no amount of nice talk gets those people out of their bubble.
Yes, because that was the point of her comment. Side-Eye was talking about educating people on the social injustices occurring in our country and you’re upset because you felt talked down to. The biggest of sighs……
I don’t think she’s the one being condescending.
I’m just going to go out in a limb and say that if someone has to nitpick how the message was delivered, they probably didn’t want to listen in the first place.
It’s hard confronting the privileges in life. That doesn’t mean you get to ignore them and never get called out on that. Life is richer when you’ve got the full picture, no?
I’m not upset because I’m being talked down to – I’m not on some wrong side of a social issue and have strong beliefs about social justice issues and various inequalities in our society and in the world. I just believe that if you want to persuade someone to your point of view, it is not effective to express your message in a condescending, condemning, or a “sigh” sort of way. The way things are framed is very important if you want to sway others’ opinion on vital issues.
Whitybean is part of the problem.
Because LIFE is not a zero-sum game.
On the one hand, he has very smart ideas to contribute. He’s not just talking for attention – you can tell he’s sincere.
And he’s very handsome but I have the urge to punch his face everytime I see him. Because of S3 of OITNB. YES I KNOW IT’S NOT THE ACTUAL ACTOR’S FAULT BUT I HAVE TOO MANY FEELINGS YOU GUYS.
It is nice that he is using his ‘celebrity’ to inform and educate his fan base. Love him!
Great answer and stuff but he sucks at twitter, doesnt he? The Rainforest analogy was enough to shut up all the haters.
Go Matt – keep up the good work!
People who refuse to see that there is a discrepancy between the treatment of black and white people are a bunch of Ben Afflecks! They are embarassed by their history and prefer to live in a world where they can ignore things that do not directly affect them. They feel attacked when racism is discussed and they try to white wash the past as well as the present. They become defensive and point the finger at the oppressed. After all, if said oppressed had behave better no harm would have come to them. It is victim blaming at it’s finest. What those people ignore the most is that being a racist and being a sympathizer is one and the same. Both perpetrate a world they’ve created without others in mind. A world where anyone “other” does not matter. This is why it is a systemic problem! Those who are racist, don’t want to see it.
White lives have ALWAYS mattered. They have mattered since the beggining of time. Mattered more…