there's a major error in the first line of this story and we need to talk about it. @robferguson1 and @robertbenzie write that michael tibollo was called a racist for his absurd bulletproof vest stunt. yet the article doesn't cite anyone calling tibollo a racist 
NDP leader andrea horwath and MPP kevin yarde both refer to tibollo's comments in the house as racist, but don't ascribe the word to him personally. it's inaccurate and confusing to suggest a phantom person is calling yarde a racist when the critiques dealt with his language
I'm intrigued by this because this error happens all the time. someone points out the racism of a statement or action, but the story gets told as "jim called john a racist." this seems to be what people hear or interpret, even when no one is saying it
I'm not gonna debate whether or not tibollo's is himself racist. I'm just gonna let white politicians keep talking about gun violence—they're telling on themselves every time they open their mouths. the critique is that tibollo's commentary about jane/finch is racist
media should be able to explain the difference between calling someone a racist and critiquing their words and acts. and when we say someone is being called a racist, we should support that claim with evidence, like we do for everything else we report
look again at the first line of the piece: do you notice that the word "racist" is clearly used here as if someone's talking. but no one called tibello a racist. the media loves to use these scare quotes around the word racist. it trivializes the word—we need to stop this
if you want to report that someone thinks a statement or behaviour is racist, just say so, and lose the scare quotes. I know white people are always threatening to sue somebody for being called racist (lmfao) and that's fine. just report the facts as you normally would
generally (not specifically regarding the reporters in this case) I think reporters always want someone else to be using the word racist. they always want to attribute it rather than risk sounding like their making a value judgement. I understand this but it isn't necessary
and part of the problem with this behaviour—as specifically illustrated by this story—is that you end up saying a Black person called a white person racist when they did no such thing. these are the kinds of discussions I'd love to have in a newsroom if anyone would hire me
but threads like this probably give my editorial colleagues nightmares so y'all are stuck with me, twitter. now if you'll excuse me, I have to walk home through high park. I pray I don't run into a terrified white man wearing a bulletproof vest
