[View the story "#WhiteRage sweeps the country" on Storify ]#WhiteRage sweeps the country The hashtag is now all the rage on Twitter following the George Zimmerman acquittal. Storified by AJAMStream · Mon, Jul 15 2013 15:03:39
Arguing that the George Zimmerman case was another example of a broken justice system that fails black boys and men, writer Edward Wyckoff Williams wrote
an opinion piece for Salon this morning called "Our real problem is white rage." He asserts:
But neither justice nor humanity are colorblind in the eyes of American law. The nation’s sociopolitical consciousness remains plagued by a three-fifths compromise that devalues the lives of black people in general, and black boys and men in particular. And when the criminal justice system — in the hands, as it was, of two white defense attorneys, two white prosecutors and a mostly white jury presided over by a white judge — choose to disregard the life of an innocent black teenager, it can hardly be a surprising result. Trayvon Martin was profiled not just by Zimmerman on the night he was killed, but by the very people charged with adjudicating justice on behalf of his senseless death.salon.com
Wyckoff Williams tweeted out his column:
COLUMN: @Salon considers rioting for #Trayvon & why black kids must fear civilians. #HoodiesUp #NoJusticeNoPeace http://bit.ly/144EZILE. Wyckoff Williams
Twitter users responded:
Question for @WyckoffWilliams: How did "white rage" destroy businesses and police cars in the Oakland protests? Take your time, I'll wait.J.R. Salzman
#WhiteRage trending all day todayJulio Ricardo Varela
The majority of tweets satirized the idea of "white rage:"
My iPad is getting slow #whiterage @WyckoffWilliamscosmoscon
#WhiteRage - We're born with it http://pic.twitter.com/pMKr5hvSBGChris Barnhart
Accidentally threw away this month's Bed, Bath & Beyond coupon. #WhiteRageSFK
Other netizens used the hashtag to voice their frustrations:
#WhiteRage I smiled a secret smile at George Zimmerman acquittal. (Of course I felt guilty afterwards!)@WyckoffWilliams #2a #tcot #teapartyKristi
Pressing 1 for English in my own English-speaking country! #WhiteRageLaurie Baisdon
A few users tried to reframe the conversation:
Being accused of being a racist simply because I'm white.BTW,that really is #racist, & yes,I get enraged.#WhiteRage http://pic.twitter.com/7MGysNI52AIAmEmmanuelGoldstein
#WhiteRage & #BlackRage escalates demanding #JusticeForTrayvonPlaza Broad
Racist #WhiteRage hashtag is ok? Wonder how a blackrage hashtag would look. Let's see.. Popeye's Chicken gone bankrupt #BlackRageWisConservative
Why can't I exchange crack for my welfare check? #BlackRageFire the Union Thugs
And other users wondered about the point of the entire conversation.
Not sure what to think of #WhiteRage in response to #BlackRage -seems to be mocking righteous anger & comparing it to trivial stupidity. #fbSalim K
What do you make of these two hashtags? And what are the best conversations about race you've seen since the Zimmerman verdict? Leave your comments here or tweet them to @AJStreamAM.
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