Crumbling Empire.

[Corbi]

https://hosted.ap.org/article/7f419a...-felon-3-weeks

What the hell was this idiot thinking?

[Karl_Hungus]

https://hosted.ap.org/article/7f419a...-felon-3-weeks

What the hell was this idiot thinking?

He was thinking that being a victim confers status, and unfortunately, he is largely correct.

[Jtbny]

Telling by his story we know why he was an actor and not a writer.

[Bando]

Telling by his story we know why he was an actor and not a writer.

Interesting how the media has to include that he's a "Black, Gay Actor" in every news article. Nobody talks about Samuel Jackson's skin color or sexual preference, because that muthurfukker can ACT mutherfukker!

[EdwardTheGreat]

Shocking to see this much drama surrounding a gay dude

[Postmort3m]

He made his noose, now he gets to swing in it

[Bando]

He made his noose, now he gets to swing in it

This is a racist statement. But for me it brings to mind that people were hanged for their skin color in this country and plenty of descendants of lynched family members are still around. They should be pissed as well.

[Postmort3m]

This is a racist statement. But for me it brings to mind that people were hanged for their skin color in this country and plenty of descendants of lynched family members are still around. They should be pissed as well.

Far from a racist statement and just a play on words applicable to the situation (I.e he made his bed.......)

Sometimes a joke is just a joke.

Stop looking for reasons to be offended or branding people as racists.

[ElrondHubbard]

Far from a racist statement and just a play on words applicable to the situation (I.e he made his bed.......)

Sometimes a joke is just a joke.

Stop looking for reasons to be offended or branding people as racists.

Thing is, he literally DID make his noose. That was part of the "attack". He decided to abuse the backlash against racism by using it for his own personal aggrandizement.

Just the other side of the same coin as Trump. He deserves no support.

[Bando]

Stop looking for reasons to be offended or branding people as racists.

I'm not offended, I'm white. I didn't "brand you as a racist" I merely said that you made a racist statement. You said a black man could swing in a noose. No extenuating variables make that "just a joke"

[MajorTendonitis]

Are members of the LGBTQP possibly mentally ill? May explain this.

I pray this thing gets a well deserved prison sentence for this sick prank .
He’ll probably enjoy his stay though unfortunately

[Karl_Hungus]

I'm not offended, I'm white. I didn't "brand you as a racist" I merely said that you made a racist statement. You said a black man could swing in a noose. No extenuating variables make that "just a joke"

As Elron pointed out, the guy literally made a noose. His statement wasn't racist, so maybe we should quit trivializing real racism by inventing it where it doesn't exist.

[Brackneyc]

This person will fade into obscurity. Sadly, the BS media will keep right on doing what they do.

[keyboardworkout]

[Bando]

As Elron pointed out, the guy literally made a noose. His statement wasn't racist, so maybe we should quit trivializing real racism by inventing it where it doesn't exist.

ITT at least, no one is "inventing racism" cute term BTW.

I merely said that that the equivalent term of "let the niger hang" is not a joke anymore. I'm solid, I'm strong, I'm a southern democrat, I have guns.

I'll conclude my comments there.

[ElrondHubbard]

Are members of the LGBTQP possibly mentally ill? May explain this.

I pray this thing gets a well deserved prison sentence for this sick prank .
He’ll probably enjoy his stay though unfortunately

That explains nothing any more than Stephen Paddocks mass murder in Las Vegas is explained by him being straight.

Don't become overly fond of confirmation bias.

[Corbi]

[mtpockets]

Publicity stunt. it worked. I din't know who he was 3 weeks ago.

[Brackneyc]

Publicity stunt. it worked. I din't know who he was 3 weeks ago.

And no one will care about him 3 weeks from now.

The Virginia politicians can confirm this.

[7Seconds]

This person will fade into obscurity. Sadly, the BS media will keep right on doing what they do.

From what I saw it was pretty fairly covered in the local media ( although you would know better than me) but yes the national media was pretty much business as usual. The initial story that broke generated a lot of clicks while vindicating everyone who sees the Redhat as equivalent to the Confederate Flag or worse. Then the counter-story still generated clicks while validating everything Conservatives think about fake news. Media wins both ways. As consumers of news we need to be better. In the instant example any rational person would have put the brakes on simply accepting as true a story about MAGA supporters targeting and assaulting a c list celeb in ten degree weather in downtown Chicago with a noose. We need to reach a point where the default response is not to instantly react to a claim but to wait until the facts are known.

[bodyhard]

That guy is a fcking moron.

[sy2502]

I merely said that that the equivalent term of "let the niger hang" is not a joke anymore..

Maybe you should take your issue with Smollet for playing a racist joke on himself, not on the people who point it out. He is the one that made the noose, remember?
Also, to be racist one needs to have issue with ALL members of a certain race. Pretty sure all of us here have issue with just ONE specific person, Smollet.

[EdwardTheGreat]

Smollett is so racist, he doesn't even know 2 white people he could have hired for the job.

[bodyhard]

Smollett is so racist, he doesn't even know 2 white people he could have hired for the job.

I actually laughed out loud for real on this!!

[7Seconds]

Smollett is so racist, he doesn't even know 2 white people he could have hired for the job.

There is a high demand for white racists. The demand is even higher for high quality racists... those who are vehemently screaming the “N” word instead of quietly muttering about "those people", those who are in positions of influence, those who are public figures, those who have committed acts instead of just having attitudes, etc.

But high quality racists are in very short supply. So the price should go up. So what happens when there is high demand but short supply, so the people who want it can't afford it? They buy cheap counterfeits, of course. And vehemently insist they have the real thing.

So there's a few solutions that don't really work:

• ⁠Trying to make a white person be your racist for free doesn't work too well, because we don't like being underpaid and will fight back and disrupt your narrative.
• ⁠Neither does getting Nigerians to do it on the cheap, because as soon as their faces are revealed, the proverbial jig is up.
• ⁠Paying a middle class white person to be your racist is too expensive, because we tend to want a lot of money (damage to reputation, etc).

So, the best value for the money here is probably for rich black people to pay poor white people for racial abuse. The price would not only be lower because they are more in need of money, but also because a blue collar worker suffers a lot less from looking racist than, say, an architect or a physician.

Eventually, the market would settle, and there would be generally accepted prices for racism, leading to an adequate supply of professional racists who could specifically tailor their services to the status-seeking and victimhood needs of their clients.

Perhaps they could even unionize.

[ElrondHubbard]

There is a high demand for white racists. The demand is even higher for high quality racists... those who are vehemently screaming the “N” word instead of quietly muttering about "those people", those who are in positions of influence, those who are public figures, those who have committed acts instead of just having attitudes, etc.

But high quality racists are in very short supply. So the price should go up. So what happens when there is high demand but short supply, so the people who want it can't afford it? They buy cheap counterfeits, of course. And vehemently insist they have the real thing.

So there's a few solutions that don't really work:

• ⁠Trying to make a white person be your racist for free doesn't work too well, because we don't like being underpaid and will fight back and disrupt your narrative.
• ⁠Neither does getting Nigerians to do it on the cheap, because as soon as their faces are revealed, the proverbial jig is up.
• ⁠Paying a middle class white person to be your racist is too expensive, because we tend to want a lot of money (damage to reputation, etc).

So, the best value for the money here is probably for rich black people to pay poor white people for racial abuse. The price would not only be lower because they are more in need of money, but also because a blue collar worker suffers a lot less from looking racist than, say, an architect or a physician.

Eventually, the market would settle, and there would be generally accepted prices for racism, leading to an adequate supply of professional racists who could specifically tailor their services to the status-seeking and victimhood needs of their clients.

Perhaps they could even unionize.

Either way, it's a bad idea to write them a check for their services. Should have been cash.

What Smollet did was not only offensive and malicious, it was so superbly stupid as to be a work of stupid art. If he ever had ambitions to be a writer or director of a drama, this bit of work is not going to win him any Oscars.

[7Seconds]

Either way, it's a bad idea to write them a check for their services. Should have been cash.

What Smollet did was not only offensive and malicious, it was so superbly stupid as to be a work of stupid art. If he ever had ambitions to be a writer or director of a drama, this bit of work is not going to win him any Oscars.

At this point I wouldn’t be surprised if they videotaped practice beatings complete with a clapperboard labeled "FAKE HATE CRIME : TAKE 10".

There is basically nothing in this case where Smollett chose the better option for himself. Using his phone to plan the crime then tells cops about his phone receiving unknown calls...they were likely going to ask to take a look at his phone records anyways but this guaranteed it. Or relying on cameras to catch the attack, but not think other cameras will be used to track their whereabouts following the attack? And the feds will definitely be weighing in, if it turns out he sent himself the anonymous death threat through the mail, complete with powdered Tylenol, then falsely reported it to the FBI. I think that would merit federal charges as well.

It’s very much a narrow view of the world to think this was going to work out.

[Mark1T]

Either way, it's a bad idea to write them a check for their services. Should have been cash.

What Smollet did was not only offensive and malicious, it was so superbly stupid as to be a work of stupid art. If he ever had ambitions to be a writer or director of a drama, this bit of work is not going to win him any Oscars.

Truth.

[Karl_Hungus]

We need to reach a point where the default response is not to instantly react to a claim but to wait until the facts are known.

True, but it isn't going to happen. We live in the Twitterverse where brief soundbites and videoclips become self-contained exemplars of reality completely divorced from context. They reside comfortably within the limits of our social media-induced attention spans, and also provide ample confirmation of existing biases. It is only bad press when the truth gets in the way of a good story.

[Mark1T]

True, but it isn't going to happen. We live in the Twitterverse where brief soundbites and videoclips become self-contained exemplars of reality completely divorced from context. They reside comfortably within the limits of our social media-induced attention spans, and also provide ample confirmation of existing biases. It is only bad press when the truth gets in the way of a good story.

The lines between what may be real and what may be an exploitation are forever blurred.