Michael Harriot Profile picture
Jun 4, 2020 26 tweets 7 min read Read on X
I had a professor who always talked about "the necessity of existence." Basically, some things should be created just so that thing will exist in the world.

So here's a thread to RT anytime some1 responds to #BlackLivesMatter with "but black on black crime" like this yahoo. Image
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It is important to know that these people are deflecting by bringing up other shit.

But instead of getting into opinions and feelings, let's just look at data and facts.

Now, the first racist fact these people will say is: "13% of the people (Blacks) commit 50% of the murders"
But how can a fact be racist?

Well, I am part of that 13%.

I haven't murdered anyone.

So let's look at the FBI data. But before we do, understand these stats are for ARRESTS. Some of these crimes were committed by the same person. Some of these people were proven innocent.
But I'm willing to give the benefit of the doubt. I'll concede that every crime on the FBI data report was committed by a different black person. Here is the latest FBI data. Black people did commit 53% (5,025) of the 9,466 murders (Not me though, I swear) ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u…
There are 47 million black people in the US.

So, even if a different black person committed every murder, it means 99.989497% of black people DIDN'T commit a murder that year.

That also means 99.994923% of white people didn't commit a murder.
So its not 13 percent committing half the murders. .010% of black people are murderers and .005 percent of white people. Which means, if I'd have to meet 10,000 people before I met a black killer.

So, Karen, I would DEFINITELY talk to black murderers if I knew one.

AND...
If you add up all the crime, it means 94.6% of black people don't commit ANY crime in a given year and 95.8% of white people don't get arrested.

So why are black people considered to be criminals?

Because you're racist, Karen.
Also, sociologists know that crime is an economic phenomenon. Poor people commit more crime (It's a little more complicated because it correlates more to inequality) BUT...

Being that white wealth is 10x black wealth, it makes sense that black commit more crime, right?

Nope.
That's according to the Bureau of Justice statistics, not me. So why do black people kill more black people than whites kill whites?

Well, actually, they don't.
The Black on Black crime rate is 63%
The white on white crime rate is 56%
So, why don't we ever talk about white on white crime?

Now truthfully, it's because we live in a country where whiteness is the default. Black people are considered "black people" while white people are just considered "people"

But again, let's stick to facts and data.
Back to the FBI arrests.

The Black on Black murder rate is 89%
The white on white murder rate is 81%.

So, Karen, how often do you discuss white on white murders?
Now the next part is a little easier to explain:

When they wonder why we don't address black on black crime in our communities, there's a great explanation (Remember we're sticking to facts):

Because white people don't know shit.

Seriously, that's an actual fact.
MOST white people don't live around black people, so they'd have no fucking clue WHAT black people talk about in black communities.

According to the US Partnership on Mobility and Poverty, whites live in neighborhoods that are 75% white and 8% black, so how would they know?
Now the next part is trickier to do on Twitter. Whenever I explain this part to white people, I ask everyone in a room to raise their hands if they spent an hour doing non-religious community service this month. 2 hrs? 3 hrs? Hands start to drop

Usually only black hands are left
It turns out, I could have just used this peer-reviewed study that shows: "Specifically, African American individuals show the highest rates of participation, followed by White persons, individuals of other ethnicity, and Hispanic American individuals."
Well, who gives more money to charity? (We know whites have more disposable income, so let's base it on percentage)

There's a study for that, too!
Why do I bring this up?

Well, this is the part you do at home. And this part may be trickier now that COVID canceled everything. I once used Eventbrite for this part but Facebook Events is way easier.

Go to FB and look up "stop the violence" events going on in your city...
Now look up "Black Lives Matter" protests.

I BET there were more stop the violence rallies

It is a verifiable fact that black people work harder to stop violence in their communities than they EVER blame police violence. They commit more money and time to the issue.
What does this have to do with anything?

Well, anyone who actually went to a black church, barbershop, cookout, grandmother's house, strip club or anywhere that black people exist, would know that black people talk about this issue INCESSANTLY.
There are black fraternities, sororities, church groups, mentoring organizations, fish fries, summer camps, after-school programs, community centers, athletic teams, science clubs, music groups and a whole motherfucking rap song dedicated to stopping violence in black communities
There's a good reason white people don't know this:

BECAUSE WE AREN'T TALKING TO YOU!!!

Why the fuck would any black person talk to a white person about black on black crime?
Finally, there's the biggest question of all:

If the black on black rate crime is damn near the same rate as white on white crime; if black people work HARDER and spend more money on it; if the insignificant differences in interracial crime can be explained by poverty...
Then why does this Vacation-Bible-School-sandwich of a myth persist?

I could tell you that people use it to deflect from the real problem of white supremacy. I could tell you that some people are idiots. I could even explain that "wypipo gon' wypipo" but we're sticking to facts.
See, it is a FACT that the people who are least affected by white supremacy and racism are the most likely to deny its existence.

It is a FACT that white people are the only demographic in America that thinks there is LESS discrimination that there is.
It is a FACT that whites really believe or don't care how police treat black people.
So, knowing that the whole "Black on Black crime" thing is not rooted in truth or evidence, why would anyone bring up a doctrine based on a provably false assumption?

Well, there is no logical explanation for this besides ignorance, a belief in the inherent superiority or:

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More from @michaelharriot

Sep 4
I’m sure you think I’m gonna mention Jean Baptiste Point du Sable, the Black fur trader who is known as the first non-indigenous resident of Chicago.

But du Sable was not enslaved when he moved to the mouth of the Chicago river in 1790.

So who TF was buying furs?
Well, remember all that was French territory. In 1719 French entrepreneur Philippe François Renault hopped in a boat in the South of France, stopped in Haiti to purchase 200-500 humans beings & headed to “Upper Louisiana”

By 1760, 900 ppl were enslaved in “Illinois Country” Image
Read 15 tweets
Aug 12
There's a long history of sending military officers into Black cities to stop "crime."

In fact, I'd argue that this is what caused the Democrat & GOP realignment

The story involves gangbangers, bowling, a stolen election & the civil rights era's bloodiest event

A thread:
First of all, when people say it's "unconstitutional" to use the military against civilians, they're not EXACTLY wrong.

It's ILLEGAL.

It began when violent gangbangers & anti-American thugs were causing problems in Democrat-run cities and whining about voter suppression Image
After the Civil War, the traitors who betrayed their country returned to the Democrat-controlled South with their asses thoroughly kicked.

Many patriotic Americans wanted to arrest them for treason, but the prisons were already full.

Don't blame them. It's their culture. Image
Read 52 tweets
Jul 30
Literally none of this is true.

By now, it has become apparent that this man is much dumber than people initially thought, but here is why this specific act of ignorance is so common.

A thread.
"Slavery was standard practice throughout earth..."

Let's start here.

While MOST societies (not all) had forms of involuntary subjugation, people who don't know things use their ignorance and privilege to flatten the idea of slavery.
I always found it funny that ppl who say "slavery existed in every society," also LOVE to differentiate between indentured servants and enslaved people.

Like this guy: Image
Read 21 tweets
Jan 10
Whitewashing the uncomfortable parts of the past doesn't just affect Black stories. For example, you can't fully appreciate how a peanut farmer from Plains, GA became a beloved president unless you know TRUE Black History.

The unwhitewashed history of Jimmy Carter:

A thread.
Jimmy Carter was a simple peanut farmer who grew up in Plains, GA when the deep South was defined by racism. His family taught him not to see color. Instead of asking for handouts, they focused on God, education and...

OK, none of that happened.
First of all, to understand where Jimmy Carter comes from, you have to go back a few generations. Because you probably already know a few of his cousins.

In fact, he might not even be the most famous person in his family. But I'll let you decide.
Read 24 tweets
Jan 9
There's a very interesting connection between Mark Zuckerberg's right-wing turn and the guy who might be the most powerful person in American media. I haven't seen it mentioned anywhere, so...

A thread.
First of all, let's be clear. Mark Zuckerberg's didn't just announce changes to Meta's content moderation policy. He didn't even announce that Meta's content policy will change.

He announced that his company is willing to help kill people.

How?
First of all, replacing fact-checking with community notes doesn't just mean misinformation and hate will spread, it means people will die because of it.

For instance , Facebook removed MILLIONS of posts containing COVID misinformation.

cbsnews.com/news/mark-zuck…
Read 33 tweets
Jan 4
If anyone knows anything about “wokeness” CRT, the national anthem and being a real American, it’s Brett Favre

A (short) thread
Brett Favre is a descendant of Simon Favre, a famous“interpreter” who could speak multiple native languages.

Simon entered the family business at a young age and owned dozens of slaves and 100s of acres

But that wasn’t the family business.

The Favres stole land Image
The scam worked like this:

The Favres would move near a native tribe, earn their trust and convince native Americans that giving up their land & assimilating was in their best interest.

In exchange, they could keep some of the stolen land

Simon was BORN FOR THIS Image
Image
Read 21 tweets

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