CNN's Acosta and Kamau Bell skewer Fox News' Tucker Carlson for 'putting Black people in danger'
CNN host of "United Shades of American," W. Kamau Bell and Jim Acosta discussed the continued attacks on people of color at the hands of police who shoot first and ask questions later.
Talking Sunday, the two talked about the "complete failure of the system," proven over and over that police shoot regardless of what someone does. In the case of the Virginia Army Medic, his hands were visible. He was calm and was able to talk to the officer rationally. It was the officer who was holding his gun like some kind of movie gangster.
In the case of Derek Chauvin, it was clear that George Floyd was handcuffed and on the ground. Why did he need to kneel on his neck when it was clear he was subdued? There was nothing to fear from Floyd.
Another child was shot in Chicago, and after police bodycam video showed the way in which Adam Toledo was gunned down in an ally, the public was furious. The officer demands he stop and put up his hands. So, he stopped, put his hands up in the air, and seconds later, the officer shot anyway, killing him.
The idea that it is a system-wide problem comes from claims that one bad apple doesn't spoil the bunch. Lately, however, it's become clear that the opposite is true, with officers covering for each other and refusing to speak out against their colleagues shooting people. In the 2006 case of former officer Cariol Hornecase of former officer Cariol Horne, her colleague was holding a handcuffed suspect in a chokehold. She tried to get him to stop. Because she worked to save the suspect's life, he didn't die. Still, she was fired, just one year shy of her retirement. It took five years of lawsuits for her to win her pension and back pay for unfair termination.
The Chauvin case is the first time Americans have seen other officers come forward and speak out against a colleague for going against his training and refusing to follow the rules.
"These happenings don't exist in a vacuum, as you know," said Acosta. "It is hundreds of years of history and those like Fox News' Tucker Carlson who continue to push dangerous and baseless conspiracies. Listen to how he recently talked about a 'replacement theory.' They're kinda the things you'd just see on fringe websites, and all of the sudden it's on Fox News."
After playing the clip of the infamous racist conspiracy from Carlson, Acosta asked Bell what concerns him the most about millions of Americans absorbing such racism.
"To me, as a member of media, I feel like the failure is on me, too," confessed Bell. "It is about the failure of the media, especially the news media to make sure we are trafficking in facts. We are living in an era of white supremacy. There is no Black spokesperson who gets that much media time as he is on television lying regularly and using his bully pulpit to put Black people in danger. I am one of those people who that happens to. Again, we're talking about system failures here. Until we admit that Tucker Carlson is bad for humanity, which he is, full stop until we admit that we are going to find ourselves in these same positions over and over again."
Acosta chucked at the comment before whole-heartedly agreeing.
"no lie there. W. Kamau Bell, thank you so much," Acosta closed.
See the video below:
Tucker the racist www.youtube.com