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Post by SockMonkey on Jan 29, 2019 23:33:43 GMT
I think there’s a LOT of details that make absolutely no sense about this story, and I’ve been a fan of the entire Smollett family for years. I’m just not buying the story as it’s being told. I don’t care if it came directly from Jussie himself—the story doesn’t make sense. This is where I'm at. The details don't seem to add up. Can you say more? Do you think he's lying?
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Dani-Mani
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,705
Jun 28, 2014 17:36:35 GMT
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Post by Dani-Mani on Jan 29, 2019 23:36:29 GMT
This is where I'm at. The details don't seem to add up. Can you say more? Do you think he's lying? Nope.
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Post by SockMonkey on Jan 30, 2019 0:37:59 GMT
In this thread, ABC 7 Chicago reporter Rob Elgas confirms that Smollett did include the “MAGA” comment in a supplemental interview with police, and that Smollett still had a rope around his neck when he contacted police. The rope is being analyzed.
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Deleted
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Mar 28, 2024 12:53:54 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jan 30, 2019 0:55:47 GMT
I posted about this too. I kept out the 'MAGA' stuff until it's been more verified.
But the racism and homophobia is horrid enough. This is America in 2019. We should be disgusted that this is still in the realm of possibility in this great nation in this time. That there are still so many deep deep pockets of hatred and violence tells us all we need to know about how far we still have to go to truly be GREAT.
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inkedup
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,837
Jun 26, 2014 5:00:26 GMT
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Post by inkedup on Jan 30, 2019 1:09:33 GMT
This is where I'm at. The details don't seem to add up. Can you say more? Do you think he's lying? I haven't read anything that he has personally said in regard to the attack. I don't think he is lying. I find it odd that the details that are being reported by certain news outlets contain information that the police have not corroborated. Obviously, any attack on another person is heinous. But I also think that there are certain elements of society that are wringing their hands together and hoping that the media (which they conflate with the left) will find themselves in another Nick Sandmann situation. (I disagree with the narrative that Sandmann was the victim, but most on the right do not.) I'm torn. Naturally, my first inclination is indignation and anger, especially if the attack is found to be motivated by bigotry. However, I think we should be wary of feeding the persecution complex that haunts so many on the right. I hope I am making sense.
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inkedup
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,837
Jun 26, 2014 5:00:26 GMT
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Post by inkedup on Jan 30, 2019 1:13:44 GMT
I posted about this too. I kept out the 'MAGA' stuff until it's been more verified. But the racism and homophobia is horrid enough. This is America in 2019. We should be disgusted that this is still in the realm of possibility in this great nation in this time. That there are still so many deep deep pockets of hatred and violence tells us all we need to know about how far we still have to go to truly be GREAT. That rope was not only a weapon in this attack; it is a hateful, racist symbol.
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Post by SockMonkey on Jan 30, 2019 1:15:10 GMT
Can you say more? Do you think he's lying? I haven't read anything that he has personally said in regard to the attack. I find it odd that the details that are being reported by certain news outlets contain information that the police have not corroborated. Obviously, any attack on another person is heinous. But I also think that there are certain elements of society that are wringing their hands together and hoping that the media (which they conflate with the left) will find themselves in another Nick Sandmann situation. (I disagree with the narrative that Sandmann was the victim, but most on the right do not.) I'm torn. Naturally, my first inclination is indignation and anger, especially if the attack is found to be motivated by bigotry. However, I think we should be wary of feeding the persecution complex that haunts so many on the right. I understand, but I do trust a local reporter who can verify the source.
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inkedup
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,837
Jun 26, 2014 5:00:26 GMT
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Post by inkedup on Jan 30, 2019 1:19:35 GMT
I haven't read anything that he has personally said in regard to the attack. I find it odd that the details that are being reported by certain news outlets contain information that the police have not corroborated. Obviously, any attack on another person is heinous. But I also think that there are certain elements of society that are wringing their hands together and hoping that the media (which they conflate with the left) will find themselves in another Nick Sandmann situation. (I disagree with the narrative that Sandmann was the victim, but most on the right do not.) I'm torn. Naturally, my first inclination is indignation and anger, especially if the attack is found to be motivated by bigotry. However, I think we should be wary of feeding the persecution complex that haunts so many on the right. I understand, but I do trust a local reporter who can verify the source. Honestly, I haven't had the time to read anything in depth about this, and I'm sure more has come out that I don't know. At the time I posted my first response, I was seeing a lot of angry posts on social media based on a TMZ story. At any rate, I hope Mr. Smollett is able to heal in all ways and that his attackers are caught.
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Post by 950nancy on Jan 30, 2019 1:31:18 GMT
what kind of MAGAT would watch Empire and know who he was and that he's gay? ahhhh, true true true. He's hosted a daytime talk show several times. I don't watch the Empire but would definitely recognize him. His family was also in an old sitcom and pictures of that often show up Yahoo!
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Post by Peace Sign on Jan 30, 2019 1:43:24 GMT
Imagine being a black person and having a rope put around your neck. It’s unfathomable how scary...terrifying that must be. To be hated by strangers. No matter how successful you’ve become it can all be taken away and you’re reduced to a label. Poor kid, I hope he bounces back. I really like him.
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Deleted
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Mar 28, 2024 12:53:54 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jan 30, 2019 2:08:21 GMT
What an awful thing to have happened to him. How can anyone have so much hate inside them to do this to another person because of the colour of their skin and their sexuality. It just beggars belief!
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Post by papercrafteradvocate on Jan 30, 2019 2:38:56 GMT
Interesting perspective—
White America’s Need for White Heroes JANUARY 23, 2019 / JOHN PAVLOVITZ
“The Covington Catholic Students began the week decked out in red hats and having a widely viewed confrontation with a lone, elderly indigenous man, standing between them and a group of black activists following an anti-abortion rally (why they were wearing the hats, why they were still there following the rally, or why they weren’t pulled from the altercation by the adults responsible for them, are all questions we should be asking.)
Now, they’ve been invited to the White House.
Why are they being invited to the White House?
They’re being invited to the White House because they are white and because they were boosting the President’s brand—and because inviting them to the White House makes them a symbol once more, for a President who wields such symbols like a weapon because he lacks anything else, and because he knows how his supporters devour such things.
These young men are now the red-hatted symbol of an entitled white privilege that perpetually sees itself as righteous, forever imagines itself oppressed, and refuses to own its culpability in marginalizing already marginalized people.
This week, Conservative politicians, partisan media, and the President himself rushed in with the supposed “smoking (or should I say, ‘smocking’) gun,” of an extended video that apparently exonerated the students, and served as some gotcha moment that indicted the “fake news” of the Left. That is not reality. This is what gaslighters do: create an alternate reality, and try to make you lose faith in your eyes—and then your sanity.
The longer video still reveals everything the initial clip did: poorly chaperoned, entitled white kids, wearing a symbol of supremacy and acting very questionably, at a rally they had clearly no interest in.
They still had no business on a school outing, decked out in MAGA hats (given how divisive and politically loaded these hats are to so many), no business engaging a group of screaming activists or counter protestors or a lone indigenous man playing a drum while mocking him—for any reason.
The student’s chaperones still had no business allowing their students into the fray, or to stand around laughing while the kids in their care smugly walked into a relational minefield they were clearly not emotionally mature enough to enter.
The parents of these young men still need to be accountable for their sons’ lack of self-awareness, and condescension toward Mr. Phillips—and their own decision to hire a PR firm instead of teaching their children to grow up and to make wiser decisions.
The story hasn’t changed.
The story these young men spun as the week went on, was that they were there as prayerful peacemakers. I’m left to wonder where all the footage of the these students quietly praying and modeling compassionate advocacy at the March For Life rally is. If that is why they went there and supposedly what they claim they spent hours doing—there should be plenty of video of that. The fact that there isn’t, points to the reality that for these young men, this day probably wasn’t about “defending life,” it was about them traipsing around the mall making Instagram videos.
And now they merit a White House invitation, as if they are civil rights heroes or maligned patriots—when in reality they are white martyrs; tools of a President who needs to cater to his ever-shrinking, ever-militant white base. These are the same adults who’ve spent months harassing the Parkland students (who experienced profound personal trauma and transformed it into actual activism), and are now coddling and defending the Covington Catholic students (who wore MAGA hats and wandered around a reproductive rights rally like they were at Coachella.)
The Right’s nonsensical narrative is thick with cognitive dissonance: The lone, unarmed elderly man “intimidated” the dozens of high school students—yet these are the same folks who believe angry white dudes openly packing heat in grocery stores aren’t a threat, but an old guy with a drum, somehow is.
We understand, friends. In your story, you need the white guy to be the hero because that’s the only narrative you’ve ever known, and because ultimately that is greatness you’re continually trying to return America to.
It might be time to try a less fictional America; a one where indigenous people and young men of color and women aren’t always the villains.
You should try an America where we can call out the poor behavior of young white men, without saying we hate them or that we’re dehumanizing them, without claiming we’re calling for their heads, without it being a partisan witch hunt.
Try an America where you have the empathy to ask what it feels like to be a lone elderly indigenous man in a crowd, or even to be a group of black activists, living in a country where whiteness has been the default setting.
Try asking what that red hat means to young black men or LGBTQ teenagers or women who’ve been sexually assaulted or immigrant students or non-Evangelicals. That kind of compassionate consideration of others, is by the way, what Jesus calls you to.
White people get it wrong sometimes.
We should be able to name poor decisions, when parents and school officials and our President refuse to.
I think these students, their chaperones, and their parents got a good deal wrong here. It doesn’t make them persecuted or oppressed or even evil—just wrong. White people should learn how to admit their wrongness, and maybe we’ll be able to move America toward goodness.
We should stop making white people into heroes, until they act heroically.”
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trollie
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,580
Jul 2, 2014 22:14:02 GMT
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Post by trollie on Jan 30, 2019 2:53:00 GMT
How horrific. I hope he is able to recover and the men that attacked him are brought to justice. I agree with a previous poster that we still have so far to go in terms of racism and homophobia. I knew their were still hateful people out there, but Charlottesville was a huge wake up call (to me) as to how far we still have to go as a nation. MAGA and Trump have definitely emboldened people with racist feelings and attitudes.
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scrappinmama
Pearl Clutcher
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Jun 26, 2014 12:54:09 GMT
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Post by scrappinmama on Jan 30, 2019 3:16:43 GMT
Hate crimes are up. White supremacists feel that it's "safe" for them to demonstrate their beliefs through words and actions. We need to condemn racism when we see it. That starts with the leader of our country. But we better not hold our breath waiting for him to do so. Because as he said after Charlotte, he believes that some of them are good guys.
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Post by refugeepea on Jan 30, 2019 4:11:55 GMT
We can all think of stories where false information was spread. Let us not be guilty of that.
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Post by SockMonkey on Jan 30, 2019 4:29:23 GMT
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 1, 2019 0:47:48 GMT
I am just having a hard time wrapping my head around why he won't hand over his phone. But now the story is they said it while down the street. I can barely hear others who are on their phone let alone a person down the street.
I am not saying it didn't happen but man something is off...
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Post by femalebusiness on Feb 1, 2019 1:25:51 GMT
Suposedly Smollett was on the phone with someone when the attack occurred. That person heard the MAGA comments. If I could remember where I read that I would link it. Don't know if that is factual.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 1, 2019 2:04:01 GMT
Suposedly Smollett was on the phone with someone when the attack occurred. That person heard the MAGA comments. If I could remember where I read that I would link it. Don't know if that is factual. Yes but Smollett has stated now that it was said when they were leaving and not close. So I am not sure how someone could hear that over a cell phone. And police want his phone to verify it because one of them said it was being recorded. But Smollett will not hand over his phone. So again, why not help the police with their investigation? Unless it wasn't said or you weren't on the phone. ?
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AnotherPea
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,968
Jan 4, 2015 1:47:52 GMT
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Post by AnotherPea on Feb 1, 2019 2:09:04 GMT
Suposedly Smollett was on the phone with someone when the attack occurred. That person heard the MAGA comments. If I could remember where I read that I would link it. Don't know if that is factual. Yes but Smollett has stated now that it was said when they were leaving and not close. So I am not sure how someone could hear that over a cell phone. And police want his phone to verify it because one of them said it was being recorded. But Smollett will not hand over his phone. So again, why not help the police with their investigation? Unless it wasn't said or you weren't on the phone. ? Or unless there’s something on the phone he doesn’t want the cops to see.
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ComplicatedLady
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Post by ComplicatedLady on Feb 1, 2019 2:09:34 GMT
The rope is being analyzed. This nonchalantly reported fact is both frightening and sad. It would be frightening and sad at any time but especially in 2019. How is this even possible in 2019? I mean, I know the answer but occasionally I still experience a sense of shock and dismay.
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Post by papercrafteradvocate on Feb 1, 2019 2:16:39 GMT
Gone are the days where we refuse to believe the victim right out of the gate...
If he told the police what happened and was beaten up why wouldn’t *we* believe him?
Why?
Because he’s black?
Or because people are afraid to upset white people?
Why is he, the victim being asked to turn over his phone? Do people not see how that looks? (Like they just cannot take the black man’s word for it, especially with him having injuries?)
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Deleted
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Mar 28, 2024 12:53:54 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Feb 1, 2019 3:27:25 GMT
Gone are the days where we refuse to believe the victim right out of the gate... If he told the police what happened and was beaten up why wouldn’t *we* believe him? Why? Because he’s black? Or because people are afraid to upset white people? Why is he, the victim being asked to turn over his phone? Do people not see how that looks? (Like they just cannot take the black man’s word for it, especially with him having injuries?) Or because they are conducting a thorough investigation?? Someone I know had to turn her phone over to prove something. She is white. This has nothing to do with race to me but everything to do with helping investigators gather every single dang piece of evidence to have a mountain of crap to pin on those who did it.
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Deleted
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Mar 28, 2024 12:53:54 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Feb 1, 2019 3:30:14 GMT
And seriously I would hand over anything asked of me to help find a person who hurt me.
When the story keeps changing and the victim withholds evidence, it makes me question the validity of their words. Because we humans have been duped. There is nothing wrong with questioning certain things. I am not questioning the fact that a hate crime was committed just specific details that continue to change and he not helping by not handing over the phone.
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Post by papercrafteradvocate on Feb 1, 2019 12:08:49 GMT
And seriously I would hand over anything asked of me to help find a person who hurt me. When the story keeps changing and the victim withholds evidence, it makes me question the validity of their words. Because we humans have been duped. There is nothing wrong with questioning certain things. I am not questioning the fact that a hate crime was committed just specific details that continue to change and he not helping by not handing over the phone. What has changed in his story? How is his phone evidence? I read he gave additional information after being treated. But I have not read that he changed his story.
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Post by Zee on Feb 1, 2019 13:19:58 GMT
I don't mean random in that sense - clearly the attackers set out with plans to hurt someone that night. I meant random in that he was the victim. I think I wasn't clear. I don't mean that I doubt he was attacked, obviously he was. I meant about the MAGA details. And fwiw, Brian Broome who I referenced who asked the question about Empire/MAGA is a brilliant local black activist and writer. I don't agree with him about all of his doubts but the Empire/MAGA thing is a good point. ETA: Trying to embed his post which I don't seem to know how to do right. He just said every thing I was thinking. You're going to wait outside a Subway in downtown Chicago at 0200 with ski masks, bleach, and rope hoping a gay black victim will come along? Wouldn't it be faster to go to a gay bar? Something about this just isn't right. Very weird
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Deleted
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Mar 28, 2024 12:53:54 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Feb 1, 2019 13:49:41 GMT
And seriously I would hand over anything asked of me to help find a person who hurt me. When the story keeps changing and the victim withholds evidence, it makes me question the validity of their words. Because we humans have been duped. There is nothing wrong with questioning certain things. I am not questioning the fact that a hate crime was committed just specific details that continue to change and he not helping by not handing over the phone. I would NOT. I would let the LEOs watch the relevant footage w/me IN THE ROOM. That's it. They don't get to see everything on my phone. PERIOD. I didn't break the law! (and there is NOTHING on my phone worth seeing - but I still would not do it! For all I know they might 'accidentally' delete or add something).
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Deleted
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Mar 28, 2024 12:53:54 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Feb 1, 2019 13:52:13 GMT
I don't mean random in that sense - clearly the attackers set out with plans to hurt someone that night. I meant random in that he was the victim. I think I wasn't clear. I don't mean that I doubt he was attacked, obviously he was. I meant about the MAGA details. And fwiw, Brian Broome who I referenced who asked the question about Empire/MAGA is a brilliant local black activist and writer. I don't agree with him about all of his doubts but the Empire/MAGA thing is a good point. He just said every thing I was thinking. You're going to wait outside a Subway in downtown Chicago at 0200 with ski masks, bleach, and rope hoping a gay black victim will come along? Wouldn't it be faster to go to a gay bar? Something about this just isn't right. Very weird YES - or at least a Black OR Gay victim. That he was Black AND Gay was just an extra benefit to them. You don't have much experience w/these types. You're lucky.
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Post by Peace Sign on Feb 1, 2019 15:44:13 GMT
I don't mean random in that sense - clearly the attackers set out with plans to hurt someone that night. I meant random in that he was the victim. I think I wasn't clear. I don't mean that I doubt he was attacked, obviously he was. I meant about the MAGA details. And fwiw, Brian Broome who I referenced who asked the question about Empire/MAGA is a brilliant local black activist and writer. I don't agree with him about all of his doubts but the Empire/MAGA thing is a good point. ETA: Trying to embed his post which I don't seem to know how to do right. He just said every thing I was thinking. You're going to wait outside a Subway in downtown Chicago at 0200 with ski masks, bleach, and rope hoping a gay black victim will come along? Wouldn't it be faster to go to a gay bar? Something about this just isn't right. Very weird There is a witness who describes two men hanging around jussies apt building around the time he was attacked. Plus, there was a threatening letter sent to the studio. So yes, seems to me they were targeting him.
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Post by wezee on Feb 1, 2019 15:48:28 GMT
Sickening. Inexcusable. Deplorable. Those words aren’t even sufficient. I live near Chicago. Additional details have come out and this whole thing seems pretty shady
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