Michael Harriot Profile picture
Sep 14, 2020 15 tweets 6 min read Read on X
I've received a lot of hate mail and DMs yesterday from people who saw me on MSNBC

Asked about Donald Trump's racial philosophy, I said: "Donald Trump sounds like a white man." I am not above admitting when I've said some stupid shit (and lord knows I have) but...

A thread:
First of all, let's be clear: The Republican Party is a WHITE PARTY. No Democratic President has won a majority of the white vote in 50 years. White people are 62% of the population but 81% of the GOP.

And EVERY OTHER nonwhite DEMOGRAPHIC IN AMERICA votes Democrat
Maybe the Democratic Party has figured out a special technique that hypnotizes dumb poor black people. Everyone knows we don't wanna work because we want gov't "handouts."

But no one seems to be able to answer 1 question:

Why doesn't it work on poor, uneducated whites?
In fact, the MORE EDUCATION or the MORE MONEY a white person gets, the more likely they are to vote for the Democratic party
As you can see, Trump's talking points aren't REPUBLICAN talking points as much as they are talking points that reflect the political position of WHITE PEOPLE.

For instance, TRUMP doesn't think we pay too much attention to race. REPUBLICANS don't think that. WHITE PEOPLE DO.
When Trump dismissed the reality of white privilege to Bob Woodward, he didn't sound presidential.

He just sounds WHITE.

And if you have a problem with that, don't @ me. Holla at the 2 biggest and most respected pollsters in the known universe.
He dismissed systemic racism, despite the overwhelming amount of research and data proving disparities in every financial, educational and criminal justice institution in America.

So do MOST WHITE PEOPLE
But I know why white people don't agree with what I said:

They don't talk to each other about privilege or race
They don't see their whiteness as part of their identity (which is why they spout that reductive BS about "not seeing color" as if that is something to aspire to.)
But here's what I was talking about:

We don't know the America that Trump and white people are speaking of.

I can't count how often people tell me they grew up or live in a "diverse" neighborhood. But after I challenge them to look at the actual data, they are always shocked.
See, because America is still segregated, MOST WHITE PEOPLE people live in places where they are OVERREPRESENTED — EVEN IN THE MOST DIVERSE CITIES IN AMERICA
And when they do talk about race, it's with OTHER WHITE people.
Now, there are some people who think it's not fair to say "white people" when I'm talking about SOME white people. But I was referring to MOST white people. A statistically proven fact.

I didn't have time to list all the names, so I called them "white people"
The only reason it's racist to ask black people about black on black crime is bc 95% of us aren't criminals. If the MAJORITY of black people were, it would be fair.

See the difference?

I don't think wypipo are SPECIFICALLY talking about me when they discuss the "black vote."
If I were stampeded by a herd of elephants, and someone asked me what happened, I wouldn't list the elephants' names. I'd just say "elephants did it."

When someone mentions black unemployment, I don't scream: "I have a job!"
At my job, I use words. People actually pay me to use them. I like to think I'm decent at doing it.

Which is why, if I EVER mean "all white people," I would say it.

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More from @michaelharriot

May 15
After the French Revolution, people who supported the old monarchy, feudalism and a heirarchal sat on the right side of presiding officer of French Parliament and the liberal, non-aristocrats and members of the third estate usually sat on the left.
During the 1900s Karl Marx’s ideas began to spread across Europe. In France, the people who supported monarchies (the right wing) were the most vocal opponents of communism, so they referred to Marxists as the “far left.”

But one guy changed that
Read 15 tweets
May 7
This is not true. It has never been true. It is based partly on a misunderstanding FBI data and partly based on a widely perpetuated lie.

A thread.
First of all, let’s get this out of the way, NO ONE deserves hate. It is wrong

Yet, year in and year out, there are more anti-Black hate crimes than any other category.
And according to the latest FBI data there, are nearly 3 times more anti-black crimes than anti-Jewish crimes. Image
But of course, there are SIX TIMES more Black American than Jewish Americans, so people just divide the number of hate crimes by the percentage of the population and Jewish Americans are more likely to experience hate crimes…

Well, everyone except the FBI.
Read 18 tweets
Apr 26
A few years ago, while working for one of the greatest sports franchises of all time, I learned a very important life lesson.

A thread
Every summer, my hometown's recreation department hosted a "stop the violence" summer league to keep kids "off the street."

It eventually became so competitive that teams would recruit out-of-town ringers, leaving local basketball players shut out of their hometown's tournament
My homeboys asked me to sponsor a team and I agreed. Unlike the other teams, no one on my team played college ball. They were essentially regular dudes from the hood who just loved basketball.

And yes, they were very "hood"
Read 24 tweets
Apr 19
Many people don’t know that the phrase “crabs in a barrel” comes from an old Geechie Gullah tale.

A thread:
A long time ago, it was impossible to catch crabs. They were too crafty. Even when they got caught in a net, other crabs would come and free them. Then, one day, a fisherman found a crafty old crab in his net one morning. He was just about to eat it when the the crafty old crab said:

“Please Mr. Fisherman, don’t eat me. Please don’t eat me!”
“Why wouldn’t I eat you?” said the fisherman

“Because I’m crafty, old, & other crabs respect me,” the crab replied.

Fisherman: What good does respect do me? You ain’t nothing but a crab”

Crafty Crab: Well crabs are very stupid, and I’m smart. They’ll believe anything I tell them
Read 11 tweets
Apr 18
7 years ago, I wrote a small piece about a man who was falsely accused of a crime.

A few days later, I got an anonymous telling me to look up the woman they called “the evilest white woman on earth.”

What happened next is the absolute wildest story you’ll ever hear

A thread
The story begins in 2017, when an editor asked me to fill in for a coworker and do a quick write-up about Lamonte McIntyre, who spent 23 yrs in prison for a double murder he didn’t commit.

I thought it was weird his conviction wasn’t actually overturned

theroot.com/lamonte-mcinty…
I got an anonymous tip telling me that I should look into it more. But I was filling in, remember. At the time, it wasn’t really my beat.

A few months later I just HAPPENED to be covering an unrelated story about cops who sexually assault women

theroot.com/kansas-finally…
Read 22 tweets
Apr 16
Good question.

A BETTER question is why is Youngkin so determined to give Klan-affiliated white women welfare by stealing money from Black kids?

A thread.
Contrary what people who don't read things say, the Virginia legislature is not "targeting" the Klan-affiliated, pro-Confederate hate group that is responsible for the "lost cause" by taking the tax-exempt status from the KKK's little sister.
Image
Image
See, in 1950, Virginia GAVE the UDOC a plot of land to build their HQ in Robert E Lee Park with 3 stipulations

1. They had to finish building in 5 years
2. If they didn't, the land reverted back to the state
3. If they finished, the state would GIVE them an additional $10K
Read 10 tweets

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