Thread by @Russian_Starr

People are dragging Acting Boston Mayor Kim Janey about her comments comparing vaccine mandates to freedom papers. She could have worded it better, but I think she makes a lot of good points people are dismissing. My latest: theroot.com/acting-boston-…

In case y'all are wondering: I am fully vaccinated.

I have not really opened up much about vaccines because this is such a divisive subject--especially on Twitter--but NYC, for example, has rampant profiling issues connected to the pandemic that impact Black people.

As I outline in my piece, NYC, which is the 1st city to mandate vaccine proof for indoor activities, has had issues with enforcing mandates on Black and Brown folks while ignoring white residents. Janey isn't wrong about that the inequities, valid points which her critics ignore.

I live in NYC and talk to Black folks all of the time outside of my intellectual circles on social media and the journalism world. For many reasons, there are legitimate fears about vaccine mandates and how they could impact Black folks. We can drag folks. Won't stop the fears.

I have heard people call Janey stupid and dumb and all of those kind words. Cool. Get the clicks. But there are plenty of people who agree with her and until we get outside of our own heads and be kinder to each other, we will undermine the health of the very people we wanna help

And about Janey's use of the words "slavery" and "freedom papers." I didn't read them literally. We all, even your favorite personalities, use freedom papers when discussing interactions with cops, so please spare me the semantics. The spirit of her words were valid.

Even if Janey did not say what she said, that would not have changed how many Black people feel about vaccines and their distrust of the health system and how people use documents to discriminate, which was her point. Any other read is in very bad faith.

Also, keep in mind that no Twitter drag or highbrow commentary about Janey's intellect will encourage Negros to get the jabs we want them to get. Fear is a very real thing and caring about those fears isn't stupid. It is being aware.

I honestly worried about tweeting this because I don't have time to go back and forth about people's opinions about public health. But I did so because we have to realize that our Twitter drags ain't doing a damn thing to drag Negros to vaccination locations.

Again, she could have framed her concerns more thoughtfully, but I do believe the reactions are mostly in bad faith are rooted in our own very real personal fears and concerns about public health; I just think those fears blind us to Janey's legitimate concerns about profiling.

Anyway, Kim Janey wasn't wrong to say what she said about freedom papers (I would not have used slavery because of the emotions that evokes) and I will be in the minority to say that she should not take back her words. She wasn't dumb. She is aware.

NOTE: PLEASE DO NOT SEND ME ANY LINKS TO COVID-19 DATA. I HAVE MORE ACCESS TO INFORMATION THAN MOST OF YOU EVER WILL. I SAID WHAT I SAID.