Friday, October 26, 2018

Two versions of racial justice in American television


Meet two people who will interact


This is Megyn Kelly



She was a Fox News Anchor

This video was uploaded by ABC News on October 26, 2016.  It's a collection of short videos of her disputes with Donald Trump, who was then a presidential candidate.

One of the video clips shows her asking questions of Donald during a Republican debate.



She talked with a panel on her new show

This video was uploaded by the Wall Street Journal exactly two years later, October 26, 2018.  It was recorded on October 23, 2018.

She talked with a small group of people on her show about changing attitudes toward Halloween costumes, specifically the criticism of some costumes by a university.

This is Al Roker

 Al, doing something that he was good at doing.

He was the meteorologist for The Today Show for many years.

This video was recorded sometime in 1990 and uploaded on September 18, 2010.

He and late-night talk-show host David Letterman had some fun on the set of the Today Show.

He had two sets of standards about race and racism, but he hid them very well.



Version #1 of racial justice


Al Roker calls Megyn Kelly a racist

These are the first four paragraphs of an October 24, 2018 Huffington Post article.  The links in these paragraphs were in their article.
“Today” show host Al Roker on Wednesday called out NBC colleague Megyn Kelly for defending blackface Halloween costumes.

“The fact is while she apologized to the staff, she owes a bigger apology to folks of color around the country,” Roker said on the show, a day after Kelly apologized in a memo to NBC colleagues for wondering why blackface in Halloween costumes was considered racist.

Soon after Roker’s comments, Kelly did apologize on air, then convened a discussion about the history of blackface that included black panelists.

“I was wrong,” she told viewers.

This is the first part of the second paragraph.

“The fact is while she apologized to the staff, she owes a bigger apology to folks of color around the country,” Roker said on the show ....

"She owes a bigger apology to folks of color around the country,” Roker said on the show.


If racism is based on the concept of race ....

I'm color-blind, so I don't know the meaning of the phrase "folks of color", but Al has his own definition in his mind of the meaning of that phrase.  Whatever that definition is, I'm using it, for now, as the definition of the phrase.


Find the white person in the photo above, then find the black person in the same photo.

I don't see any white people in the first photo.

I don't see any black people in the first photo, either, but Al, as I said, has his own definition of "white people", "black people", "brown people", and perhaps the people who were born and raised in southeast Asia, too.

I wonder what color Al assigns to them, and I wonder whether he sees any difference between the people of China, Japan, Korea, Cambodia, Indonesia, and other countries in that geographic area.  Each country has its' own culture and genetic history.

For now, all I ask is that Al's definition of "folks of color" is consistent.  This phrase and every standard of behavior for people who interact with these "racial groups", whoever they are, should apply to everyone equally.

This is the top of the Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C.


Equal justice is the standard that is expected in courtrooms, where anyone who is accused of a crime is judged guilty or innocent based on the evidence and the wording of the law, not on the name of the defendant, his personal history, his ancestry, his lifestyle, or what he looks like.


Megyn Kelly gets fired for her comments

This is a tweet that was posted October 26, 2018 by NBC News.  If you click on the date at the end of this tweet, you'll see it posted on their timeline.


These are the first five paragraphs of an October 26, 2018 Rolling Stone article.  The links in these paragraphs were in their article.
Megyn Kelly is out at NBC after making controversial comments about blackface and Halloween costumes during an episode of her morning show Tuesday.

“‘Megyn Kelly Today’ is not returning,” according to an NBC statement. “Next week, the 9 a.m. hour will be hosted by other TODAY co-anchors.”

During her 9 a.m. hour of the Today show Tuesday, Kelly claimed that blackface was acceptable in the context of Halloween costumes, saying it was “OK when I was a kid as long as you were dressing like a character.”  The backlash was swift and even drew criticism from longtime Today co-host Al Roker, who said, “While she apologized to the staff, she owes a bigger apology to folks of color around the country because this is a history going back to the 1830s.”

During her Wednesday show, Kelly tried to make amends, saying, “I want to begin with two words: I’m sorry.  I defended the idea [of blackface], saying that as long it was respectful and part of a Halloween costume, that it seemed OK.  Well, I was wrong, and I am sorry.”

Despite the apology, NBC decided to call of Kelly’s show for the rest of the week, choosing instead to air reruns on Thursday and Friday.  On Wednesday, Kelly dropped her talent agency, CAA, over several issues, including concerns over conflicts of interest stemming from CAA’s representation of other NBC talent and executives.  Kelly signed with a different agency, UTA, soon after, and hired entertainment attorney Bryan Freedman.
This is the subtitle of the previous article.

Morning show anchor made controversial comments about blackface, Halloween



This is the complete text of an October 26, 2018 statement on the NBC website.  The links in these paragraphs were in their article.
NBC News and Megyn Kelly are in talks about the anchor leaving the network, according to a source familiar with the situation.

"Conversations have already started about Megyn's exit from the network," the source, who was not authorized to speak publicly, said Thursday night.

NBC News declined to comment on the talks but noted in an earlier statement, “Given the circumstances ‘Megyn Kelly Today’ will be on tape the rest of the week.”

Representatives for Kelly are scheduled to meet Friday with company executives, according to another source with direct knowledge of the situation who was not authorized to speak publicly.  The same source said it looks “extremely unlikely” that she will stay at the network. A representative for Kelly declined to comment.

Executives will likely be weighing whether Kelly will receive a financial package, or whether she breached her contract with the network.  Kelly is paid $23 million per year, and has a three year deal that was signed in January 2017, according to a source familiar with the contract.

The anchor drew immediate criticism on Tuesday after she defended the use of blackface during Halloween.

"What is racist?  Because you get in trouble if you are a white person who puts on blackface for Halloween or a black person who puts on whiteface for Halloween," she said during a segment.  "When I was a kid, that was OK as long as you were dressing up like a character."

Her comments set off a firestorm on social media and also drew rebuke from her colleagues on “Today.”

Kelly apologized on Wednesday during the opening of her show.

“I’m Megyn Kelly and I want to begin with two words: I’m sorry," she said.  "I learned that given the history of blackface being used in awful ways by racists in this country, it is not OK for that to be part of any costume, Halloween or otherwise."

On Thursday, Kelly's show aired a repeat.

Her initial comments led to condemnation from her NBC News colleagues on air, including Al Roker, who spoke on Wednesday's episode of "Today" about the historical context about why blackface is offensive.

"She owes a bigger apology to folks around the country of color," Roker said.  "This is a history going back to the 1830s minstrel shows to demean and denigrate a race.  It wasn't right."

NBC News Chairman Andy Lack addressed the comments on Wednesday at a pre-scheduled Town Hall event.  "There is no other way to put this:  I condemn those remarks; there is no place on our air or in this workplace for them,” he said.

On Wednesday night, Kelly fired her talent agent at Creative Artists Agency and was in talks to be represented by United Talent Agency, before that agency ended conversations.

Kelly joined NBC News in January 2017 after having risen to a prominent role at Fox News as host of “The Kelly File."

Shorly after joining NBC News, Kelly generated negative headlines for a number of reasons, including her interviews of Russian President Vladimir Putin and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones.

Kelly's interview with Jane Fonda also drew criticism after asking the Academy Award-winning actress about Fonda's plastic surgery.

Kelly’s show, which replaced the “Today” show hour anchored by Tamron Hall and Roker, has not attracted the same ratings.  Their time period drew 2.68 million total viewers in the first seven months of 2017, while Kelly’s show year-to-date drew an average of 2.3 million viewers, according to Nielsen.
Remember, Megyn made comments about the topic of "blackface".  Comments.



Version #2 of racial justice


Jimmy Kimmel wears a costume and makeup

 He was never a basketball player.

This video was uploaded on October 12, 2017.  It has been watched almost 870,000 times.


Jimmy Kimmel refuses to apologize

This is the 14th paragraph of the NBC statement that was posted on their website and which was quoted earlier on this page.

NBC News Chairman Andy Lack addressed the comments on Wednesday at a pre-scheduled Town Hall event.  "There is no other way to put this:  I condemn those remarks; there is no place on our air or in this workplace for them,” he said.


Megyn Kelly and Al Roker, summarized

“I want to begin with two words: I’m sorry. I defended the idea [of blackface], saying that as long it was respectful and part of a Halloween costume, that it seemed OK. Well, I was wrong, and I am sorry.”

- Megyn Kelly


This is what Al Roker has never said since he criticized Megyn Kelly two days ago.

“The fact is that Jimmy Kimmel never apologized to anyone, so he owes an apology to folks of color around the country, and I owe an apology to Megyn Kelly for having two sets of standards about race."


Jimmy has never apologized for what he did.  Al Roker has never asked him to apologize.  Andy Lack, the NBC News Chairman, has never condemned Jimmy's actions, which are racist by the standards of NBC News.  Do any of them really think that Megyn was wrong to talk about Halloween costumes that people wore decades ago?

It's obvious.  Jimmy, Al, and Andy all hate Megyn for her conservative politics.


September 30, 2018 update

While retweeting some of the tweets that were posted by Laura Loomer, I discovered that she had publicly asked Twitter's owner, Jack Dorsey, to take some action on this person for posting this tweet months ago.  This tweet is still available for any racist to look at, and this person can still show his hatred for Jews any time he wants.


This is one man's reply.

This is another man's reply.

Jack Dorsey, who is the CEO of Twitter, says that hate speech isn't allowed on his social-media platform, but yes, he does allow exceptions to his anti-hate-speech policy, for reasons that he hasn't told us about yet.


October 17, 2019 update

Two tweets were added today.

This is a link to the Kindle edition of Ronan Farrow's book, on the Amazon website, which is mentioned by Megyn Kelly in her tweet.




January 5, 2020 update

Megyn's color-blind criticism of this ex-NFL Quarterback is appropriate.
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Sunday, May 13, 2018

These guns also save lives


In January 2013, I published a page on this blog about a married woman who was at home with two small children when a man broke into her home.  She took the children into their attic, and she also took with her a handgun that her husband had taught her how to shoot.  She also had with her a telephone, which she used to call the police.  She and her children are alive today because of what she did with her handgun while she was waiting for the police to arrive.

In August 2014, I wrote another page on this blog about two doctors who were attacked on two separate days by patients who had a handgun.  One doctor carried his own gun and successfully defended himself.  He had a minor wound, but a caseworker died before the attacker was shot three times.  The other doctor was unarmed.

These tweets are arranged in chronological order, oldest first.  Two of them were originally on the essay that I published in August 2014.

March 12, 2017


April 22, 2017.

The original tweet includes a short video of a robber in line at a supermarket.  He is armed with a knife, and he tries to get money from the checkout clerk, but the next person in line has a concealed firearm.  He draws the gun, points it at the robber with the knife, and prevents the robbery without any injuries to anyone.

The May 8, 2018 bank robbery

These are the first four paragraphs of a May 8, 2018 news story published by WOFL in Florida.
There was an armed robbery at a bank in Orange County.

The Orange County Sheriff's Office says that the armed robbery occurred at the Wells Fargo on the 4500th block of Hoffner Avenue at 2:38 a.m. The bank and the property next door was roped off on Tuesday morning as deputies investigated.

Deputies say that a white male in his 60’s was at an ATM when he was approached by a Hispanic male in his 20’s. The Hispanic male attempted to rob the white male at gunpoint. There was an exchange of gunfire, as the white male had his weapon on him. The white male drove away and called 911. He then returned to the scene.

Deputies say that Hispanic male was taken to the hospital, but is now deceased.
Note: This story mentions two races, but I do not mention any race in my essays.  The reporter/writer of this story did mention two races, so the racial characterizations are his, not mine.

This is a May 25, 2018 CNN story that shows why race is a meaningless concept.  Even if you assume that race, as a concept exists, no definition of any one race can remain intact after a member of another race provides DNA to the bloodline.


Some videos

This video shows a clerk in a convenience store defending herself against an armed robber.

This was the very first time that she had used a gun, according to the narrator of the video, but the robber was standing close to her, so there was a small chance that she would miss him when she fired.
This video, a news report from a Fox News television station in Michigan, was uploaded in November 2012.  It shows two consecutive armed robberies by the same two people.

At the second robbery, an armed customer killed one of the two robbers and recovered the money from the first robbery.
This video, a news report from an NBC television station in Washington State, was uploaded in September 2013.  A pair of teenagers tried to steal an unoccupied vehicle.

Unfortunately for them, it belonged to an ex-Marine who was armed.  He killed the male thief.  The female was taken into custody.

May 12, 2018.



The May 25, 2018 restaurant incident

These are the first four paragraphs of a May 8, 2018 news story published by WOFL in Florida.
(CNN) An armed bystander gunned down a shooter Thursday at an Oklahoma City restaurant, killing him, police said.

A man walked into Louie's Grill & Bar and opened fire, striking three people, who are expected to survive.  As the gunman ran from the scene, the bystander armed with a pistol confronted and fatally shot him outside the restaurant, Oklahoma City police Capt. Bo Mathews told reporters.

"Right now, all I know is that it was just a good Samaritan that was there and looks like he took the right measures to be able to put an end to a terrible, terrible incident," Mathews said.

The Oklahoma City police identified the suspect as Alexander C. Tilghman, 28, of Oklahoma City.  His motive was unknown.
Andrew's motives are unimportant now because he's dead and because every one of the people he tried to kill are still alive.

More news stories in the form of tweets, online news stories, and YouTube videos may be added to this page later.


August 26, 2018.

At the time that Richard Corcoran posted this tweet, he was the Speaker of Florida's House of Representatives.  His Twitter account followed mine (@BennyTheKite, named in honor of Benjamin Franklin).  Thank you, Richard.

He is now the Commissioner of Education in Florida, and his Twitter account still follows mine.  Thank you again, Richard.


Richard retweeted this tweet.


November 25, 2018



December 4, 2018

These are the first fve paragraphs of a December 4, 2018 Fox News story.
Hours after he and another inmate escaped jail after beating up a security guard, a South Carolina inmate was fatally shot after he broke into a woman’s house, officials said.

Bruce McLaughlin Jr., 30, was shot in the head by the woman after he kicked in her back door on Tuesday, according to Pickens County authorities.

After he entered the home, McLaughlin grabbed a knife sharpening tool from the kitchen and headed toward the woman’s bedroom around 3 a.m.  Sheriff Rick Clark said the woman was home alone and had undergone concealed weapons training at some point prior to the incident.

"This was a big guy. If she hadn't had a weapon there's no telling what would have happened," the sheriff said.  "I gave her a big hug. I told her how proud I was of her."

Clark said the incident was “a shining example” of why owning and knowing how to properly use a gun is important.


May 25, 2019

These are the first three paragraphs of a May 25, 2019 Fox News story.  The links in the first two paragraphs were in their story.  The photo after the story was found with an image search.
Oregon authorities are seeking a would-be thief who was armed with a hatchet when he tried to rob a convenience store, only to flee when the clerk drew a gun and called 911.

However, the clerk's quick thinking cost him his job, with the president of Plaid Pantry in Oak Grove explaining to local station KOIN-TV that the chain has a zero-tolerance policy for weapons.

He said employees are trained to de-escalate robbery situations to avoid injury, according to the station.



The September 3, 2019 carjack

This is the complete text of a September 3, 2019 news story on the website of the ABC-TV affiliate in Houston, Texas.
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A woman shot and wounded a suspected robber who reached for her purse, police say.

It happened around 2:30 a.m. Tuesday on Creekbend at Fondren in southwest Houston.

Police say Lachelle Hudgins had just parked her vehicle outside her home when two men reached through her driver's side window and grabbed her purse.  Before they could take it, Hudgins frantically reached into her bag and grabbed her gun.

"I couldn't do anything except scream.  At one point, they told me to stop screaming, and he reached his hand inside my car," Hudgins explained.

Officials say she fired two rounds and the men ran away.

"It was all I had in my gun.  I shot until I couldn't shoot anymore," Hudgins said.

A short time later, authorities received a call about a man found shot on the other side of the complex.

The suspect underwent surgery.  He's expected to face aggravated robbery charges.

Hudgins told ABC13 that she still can't believe she survived an attempted robbery unscathed.

"I saved my life," Hudgins said.
"I saved my life," Hudgins said.

All she had to do was to own a handgun, learn how to use it, have it with her, and when five men tried to steal her car, fire the only two bullets that were in the gun.

This video was included in the story above.


The August 9, 2019 home invasion

This video was included in this Daily Caller story.  A man examined someone else's house from the outside and then tried to enter it,but as soon as he was across the threshold, the homeowner confronted him with a handgun.




The public school teachers in Florida

These are the first four paragraphs of an October 2, 2019 Washington Examiner story.  The link in the first paragraph was in their story.
A controversial law in Florida went into effect this week allowing some trained teachers to carry firearms in the classroom to protect the lives of the students and faculty in the event of a mass shooting.

The bill, which was signed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis in May, followed recommendations made by the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission detailed in a 446-page report.

"Safety and security accountability is lacking in schools, and that accountability is paramount for effective change if we expect a different result in the future than what occurred at Marjory Stoneman Douglas," the report said.

The "guardians" faculty hired specifically to carry arms and protect the students and staff of the school will not be identified, and their weapon carrying status will remain anonymous. Each guardian is required to undergo 144 hours of tactical and weapons training, as well as undergo drug testing and psychological evaluations.

Though advocates for stricter gun control have pushed back against the measure, others see the added protection as major step forward in protecting students as mass shootings in schools have become more commonplace.
This is the second paragraph of this story.

"The bill, which was signed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis in May, followed recommendations made by the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission detailed in a 446-page report."

This is the PDF-format report.

This is the complete text of a December 12, 2018 Sun-Sentinel story.  The link in the first paragraph was in their story.
A long-awaited draft report from the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission faults by the Broward school district and the Sheriff Office in the school shooting that killed 17 people in Parkland on Feb. 14.

The report, released Wednesday, concludes that the Broward Sheriff’s Office displayed deficiencies in training, command and individual performance in the response to the shooting 0at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.

The commission recommends that the Sheriff’s Office conduct an internal review of the performance of seven deputies who showed up, heard shots and failed to take steps to engage the shooter.

The report also recommends an extensive overhaul of school security measures, including mandating lockdown training for staff and creating safe areas in classrooms called “hard corners.”
There were more recommendations in that report, as mentioned in their followup story.

These are the first four paragraphs of a January 02, 2019 Sun-Sentinel story.  All of these links were in their story.
The state commission investigating the Parkland school shooting unanimously approved a tough final report Wednesday that puts the responsibility for reform on school districts, law enforcement agencies, Gov.-elect Ron DeSantis and state legislative leaders.

The 458-page report by the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission addresses the cascade of errors revealed in the wake of the shooting, including fumbled tips, lax school security policies and unaggressive Broward sheriff’s deputies who hung back as shots were fired. The report now goes to Gov. Rick Scott, DeSantis, Senate President Bill Galvano and House Speaker José Oliva.

The report contains dozens of recommendations. Some would require action by the governor and Legislature, such as the proposals to allow some teachers to carry guns and increase spending on school security. It also calls for laws to be changed to allow school districts to raise taxes for security improvements and to require rather than simply permit mental health providers to notify law enforcement if a patient threatens anyone with harm. Many of the proposals were inspired by errors and weak spots that came to light after the Feb. 14 massacre of 17 people.

Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri, chairman of the commission, said many recommendations could have been implemented a long time ago had school safety been treated with the importance it deserved, particularly by school districts.
This similar story was also published January 2, 2019, but by the Miami affiliate of ABC-TV.

The October 30, 2019 home invasion

These are the first paragraphs of an October 31, 2019 Bay News 9 story.  The story was updated by their October 31, 2019 story.  That story was linked by this November 4, 2019 Daily Mail (U.K.) story.
LITHIA, Fla. — Hillsborough County deputies are searching for a suspect after a home invasion in Lithia.
  • Suspect shot, killed during home invasion in Lithia
  • Other suspect ran off, being sought
  • Deputies said they do not believe this was random
The suspect being sought is one of two that broke into a home Wednesday night in the 100 block of Old Welcome Road.  The other suspect was shot and killed by one of the homeowners, authorities said.

According to authorities, deputies responded to a 911 call just after 9 p.m.

When they arrived, they found one suspect dead in a ditch on the side of the road and the other suspect was gone.

The homeowners, a man and a woman, said two men broke into their home, making demands.

Deputies said the man and woman said the suspects attacked the man, pistol whipping him and beating him.  That's when the woman retrieved a gun and fired a shot, hitting one of the suspects, deputies said.

The suspects ran out the home, with the wounded man falling into a ditch nearby.  That's where deputy found him.

This is the first paragraph of the November 4th Daily Mail (U.K.) story that is linked above.  The link to the October 31st Bay News 9 story was included.

A heavily pregnant woman used an AR-15 to kill a home intruder after two masked men entered her home in Florida, pistol whipped her husband and violently grabbed their daughter.

The men who entered a home with masks and a violent intent, while a heavily pregnant woman, her husband, and a child were inside, deserved to die for their crime.
This photo was included in a different story, published in an October 29, 2018 story in a journal called Lincolnshire Live (U,K.), titled "Three masked men armed with shotgun and machetes ‘force’ their way into house and threaten family".


The December 29, 2019 church invasion

These are the first four paragraphs of a December 29, 2019 CBS news story.  The link in the fourth paragraph was in their story.
Two parishioners were killed Sunday when a gunman opened fire during a church service near Fort Worth, Texas.  Another parishioner shot and killed the gunman seconds after the incident began, according to officials and a livestream video of the service.

Jeoff Williams of the Texas Department of Public Safety praised the "heroic parishioners" who stopped the gunman.  Several parishioners quickly pulled their guns soon after the first shot was fired.

Two people were treated at the scene and released, officials said.

A witness told CBS Dallas / Fort Worth the gunman shot someone with a shotgun during communion and that he was then taken down by another church member.  According to the witness, another church member shot the suspect.








A grand jury has examined the case and has given its' "verdict".


The violent end of a burglar in Kansas City

This is the complete text of a February 1, 2020 Kansas City Star story.  All of these links were in their story.
A suspected burglar was shot dead early Saturday in Kansas City, Kansas, police said.

Officers responded to a report of a shooting at 1:05 a.m. in the 1900 block of Minnesota Avenue, said Officer Jonathon Westbrook, a spokesman for the Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department.

A preliminary investigation suggests that an occupant of the home confronted and shot the suspected burglar.

Saturday’s shooting marks the fourth homicide in Kansas City, Kansas, this year.  At this time last year, one homicide had been recorded, according to data maintained by The Star.

Anyone with information is asked to call the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-8477.
I have some information.  Don't take anything that doesn't belong to you.

The mugger in Chicago who was almost killed

This is the complete text of a February 28, 2020 story published by the Fox News affiliate in Chicago.  The link in the first paragraph was in their story.
CHICAGO - A woman with a concealed-carry permit stopped a robbery Thursday after exchanging gunfire with the would-be robber in Little Village on the Southwest Side.

The woman was standing in front of her home about 6:50 p.m. in the 4100 block of West 24th Place when a male approached her with a gun and demanded her property, Chicago police said.

The 33-year-old refused to hand over her things, and instead pulled out a gun of her own, police said.  The two exchanged gunfire as the male ran off, and no one was struck.

Suburban Tampa, Florida has one less armed robber.

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