Thread by @originalspin

To those who feel it’s necessary to defend Jay Baker’s “bad day” quote by saying it was just a recital of Long’s words: Baker *put them into his own mouth* by paraphrasing them. He did not read a transcript.

Doing so frames Long with empathy that nonwhite criminals rarely get.

https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1373086901578649609

When cops paraphrase the words and describe the actions of Black suspects and even Black VICTIMS, it’s usually in a way that makes them seem more dangerous, or complicit in their own harm at the hands of law enforcement. We have seen that time and again.

By using subjective, empathic language in interpreting Long, Baker demonstrated how he saw him and how he wanted others to see him. This is what Baker said:
"He was pretty much fed up & kind of at the end of his rope. Yesterday was a really bad day for him & this is what he did"

Let me show how cops might have paraphrased Long’s words if he were Black:
"Suspect reported being enraged and unable to hold back his violent impulses. In his confession, he stated that his decision to commit the spree killings was motivated by having a quote unquote ‘bad day.’”

https://twitter.com/originalspin/status/1373373997337907200

In talking about Black and other nonwhite persons of interest, cops use clinical language, make suggestions of prior history of violence/instability, frame direct quotes with context designed to raise question about their true meaning and reinforce criminality whenever they can.

https://twitter.com/originalspin/status/1373375278899073024

Note: if you’re a white male journalist, deciding you want to die on the hill of defending a cop whose job is communications and who knows EXACTLY what the words he chose were intended to convey is really quite a thing. Especially when the cop is this guy:
nymag.com/intelligencer/…