Posted on 04/20/2012 4:47:59 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Maybe it's time for MSNBC's Chris Matthews to retire.
On Friday's Hardball, the 66-year-old host actually said that people's view of the Trayvon Martin-George Zimmerman case is impacted by "so much history ever since the first slave arrived in the United States" (video follows with transcribed highlights and commentary):
(VIDEO AT LINK)
In the middle of a lengthy opening segment about the case gripping the nation, Matthews played a clip of Florida prosecutor Bernie De La Rionda telling a press conference, “You haven’t heard all the evidence. Please be patient and wait for the trial.”
After the clip, Matthews said, “Well, this is so tricky here, Joy-Ann, and I don’t know how we’re going to cover this. I’m going to try to do it with the presumption of innocence as we do in all cases.”
Isn’t that nice of Matthews to "try" to cover this case “with the presumption of innocence?” You'd think that after decades in the business, it wouldn't be too difficult to presume the innocence of the accused when reporting on a murder trial.
For her part, Joy-Ann Reid of The Grio responded, “The bottom line here is that this case has already been litigated and relitigated on Twitter, online, on blogs. Everyone feels that they too are prosecuting this case and people have taken a side. And I think that raises a lot of troubling questions really about jury selection. Is the entire jury pool in the country tainted and can Zimmerman get a fair trial?”
Actually, the taint is on the Left not the Right.
It’s the folks on the left that have already convicted Zimmerman and are just awaiting sentencing. That’s how atrocious the reporting has been by much of the liberal media.
By contrast, the Right’s position is and has been that Zimmerman is innocent until proven guilty and that none of us has seen all the evidence to render a judgment. That will come out in the trial.
With this in mind, I think Reid was projecting the short-comings and failings of her side in this debate onto those that have acted far more responsibly.
But fasten your seatbelts, for Matthews’ response was startling.
“What scares me if we could all watch the picture, like a movie, a tape of everything that happened that night, from the beginning to the end, I think there would be difference of attitudes about guilt and innocence. That’s what scares me about this case, there’s so many different perspectives, so much history ever since the first slave arrived in the United States. The attitude of history here, you can’t push it aside I don’t think.”
What? So whenever a crime is committed against a black person by someone other than a black person, the “history ever since the first slave arrived in the United States” is a factor?
Shouldn't the only factor be the evidence presented by the prosecution and the defense with total disregard to the color of these folks' skin or something that was outlawed centuries ago in this country?
It's been almost 150 years since the Emancipation Proclamation, and almost 50 years since the last Civil Rights Act, and slavery is still a part of our criminal justice system?
How sad that in the year 2012, a so-called newscaster on a so-called news network thinks this.
It seems a metaphysical certitude racism will never end in this country as long as people like Matthews bring slavery into every mixed race incident.
Eliza Moore (1843 - January 21, 1948) was the last proven African-American slave. Eliza was said to have been born a slave in Montgomery County, Alabama in 1843. She died at the age of 105 on January 21, 1948 in Montgomery County, Alabama.
So the oldest black slave DIED 64 years ago and it was likely twice that since she could have given birth.
Thus, no current American’s mother or grandmother was a slave.
My great grandmother was a Native American Indian who had her land robbed by the U.S. government. My only connection is my great skin tone and easy ability to tan.
Blacks who vote Democratic
I don’t think slavery ended; it was transferred.
No, they are going to milk it forever, regardless what happens in November.
There isn’t a black in America who is or was a slave. And neither were their parents. Stop using slavery as an excuse and get your butt moving. It’s called a work ethic..whether in a factory or in school.
Anthony Johnson came to the colonies as an indentured servant from Angola. When his contract was paid he was given a farm and contracted an indentured servant for himself.
A fire on Johnson’s farm destroyed the record of the contract with his indentured servant and Johnson refused to release the man. The case went to court and the court found in favor of Johnson who declared that the indentured servant’s debt could never be paid off. True slavery in America was born.
“My descendents were probably slaves in Rome. “
“Ancestors” like yours, like mine! I hope your descendants are never slaves.
I’m not a Grammer Nazi, really I’m not! :^}
They replaced segregation with welfare, a masterstroke, the victims even give them their votes
There is a certain class of race-problem solvers who do not want the patient to get well, because as long as the disease holds out they have not only an easy means of making a living, but also an easy medium through which to make themselves prominent before the public."
~ Booker T. Washington (1856-1915.) ~
Educator, Author, Civil Rights Leader
bump
Thanks 2ndDivisionVet. The tingle down his leg impacts his view of everything.
How is it possible that they are both in the U.S. now, and still slaves from elsewhere?
Unless you are referring to embassies from koranimal countries like Saudi Arabia.
As leaders of the white tribe, we must offer up Chrissy as a blood sacrifice to the forever offended Black tribe and it’s angry gods. There will be another offering next week. Don’t laugh, Rachel and Keith.
So the first liberal/slave evolved.
We were all slaves at some point, unless someone claims having an uninterrupted line of Egyptian Pharaohs and European Kings as his predecessors.
Bill Clinton.
He remembers walking by burning black churches in the South, while marching barefoot with MLK...
Thank the Kennedys for that.
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