Backlash Is Swift After ESPN’s Stephen Smith Lectures Black Protesters About ‘All Lives Matter’

RawStory ^ | 21 JUL 2015 | BETHANIA PALMA MARKUS

[nickcarraway]

ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith diverged from talking about sports on Tuesday and veered into a rant about activists criticizing Democratic presidential contender Martin O’Malley for saying “all lives matter,” when confronted by Black Lives Matter protesters on Saturday.

During the six-minute lecture, Smith, who is African-American said, “Where’s the noise about all black lives matter when black folks are killing black folks? You see, that’s where you lose me… So we mandate that folks say black lives matter,” he yelled. “But we got black folks dying at the hands of black folks.”

“There’s nothing wrong with highlighting that all lives matter,” he continued. “That’s not a reason for somebody to be booed.”

Criticism was swift.

Smith was responding to Black Lives Matter protesters interrupting candidates O’Malley and Bernie Sanders at Netroots Nation over the weekend to protest about the ongoing issue of state violence against black people. Demonstrates booed when O’Malley said “every life matters” and “white lives matter.”

The Black Lives Matter movement sprang up in response to police violence against black people that has resulted in a seemingly unending stream of death, including Eric Garner in New York City, Mike Brown in Ferguson, Walter Scott in South Carolina, Freddie Gray in Maryland and most recently, Kindra Chapman and Sandra Bland, two young black women whose jail cell deaths in Alabama and Texas, respetively, have attracted national outrage.

The phrase “all lives matter” in response to “black lives matter” is seen as being willfully demeaning and dismissive, because “Black Lives Matter” specifically counters racism that devalues black lives.

According to CNN, O’Malley apologized for the way he responded to demonstrators.

“That was a mistake on my part and I meant no disrespect,” he said. “I did not mean to be insensitive in any way or communicate that I did not understand the tremendous passion, commitment and feeling and depth of feeling that all of us should be attaching to this issue.”

Listen to Smith’s rant here:

[nickcarraway]

Video at site.

[sagar]

Black matter lives!

[SoCal Pubbie]

Stephen A. Smith has slowly won my admiration. He’s not the entirely the knee jerk lib he appears at first to be.

[Westbrook]

There are now more women with balls than men.

Where are the men?!

[djpg]

“The phrase “all lives matter” in response to “black lives matter” is seen as being willfully demeaning and dismissive, because “Black Lives Matter” specifically counters racism that devalues black lives.”

I like the “is seen as.” Who sees it that way? The left, of course.

[Truth29]

This is just a small example why somebody like Trump is attractive. He doesn’t back down and goes after his critics.

[Truth29]

This is just a small example why somebody like Trump is attractive. He doesn’t back down and goes after his critics.

[Truth29]

This is just a small example why somebody like Trump is attractive. He doesn’t back down and goes after his critics.

[Veggie Todd]

Black lives matter unless it’s a fetus.

[Truth29]

Sorry for the triple post. Don’t know what happened.

[Truth29]

Sorry for the triple post. Don’t know what happened.

[skeeter]

What are we to conclude but that the Black Lives Matter folks think mine and my family's don't?

And if this is true then I have a response for them.

[SoFloFreeper]

He is probably an extreme liberal...but he HAS shown some pretty darn good sense--look at this article from Breitbart back in December of 2013:

ESPN'S STEPHEN A. SMITH TO BLACK COMMUNITY: DON'T LET DEMOCRATS TAKE YOUR VOTE FOR GRANTED

And here is a quote when Stephen Smith appeared on Sean Hannity's radio show...amazing that a black media figure (even if it is a sports one) knows some real history:

I’m a proud black man. I love my people. But at the same time, I think we got to be honest with ourselves about history. Back in 1964...Barry Goldwater was against civil rights legislation. Lyndon B. Johnson was in support of it. But the Democrats by and large did not support it nearly as much as the Republican Senate did. And it was the Republicans that pushed civil rights legislation to the president’s desk in order for it to be signed into law. But because it was Lyndon B. Johnson who was a Democratic president that signed it into law, basically the Democrats got credit for the action put forth by a bunch of Republicans.

(emphasis added)

[Pining_4_TX]

“police violence against black people that has resulted in a seemingly unending stream of death,”

Oh, puke! The lies continue. This statement makes it seem that this narrative has been accepted as truth.

[dynachrome]

“Black Lives Are Just Matter!”

~ Planned Parenthood (We’ve killed more blacks than the Klan)

(Artist Sabo @ http://www.unsavoryagents.com )

[trisham]

For the most part, he’s good.

[Bob]

That “unending stream of death” would be known as a “quiet weekend” in Chicago. Of course, there, most of the killers would be black as well as their victims.

[Chode]

[piytar]

#blacklivesmatter #onlyifusefultodems /lib “reality”

#alllivesmatter (including black lives) /”evil racist” conservatives

[piytar]

And more than the Nazis...