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Not always a virtual land of quirky viral videos, blooper reels, cute puppies, and adorable kittens, YouTube is often a forum for hate, a safe haven for bigotry.
In the wake of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin’s unjustifiable death, YouTube has become an outlet for angry folks to spew hatred. Florida City’s Zoeja Lajan Jean is the latest.
The Haitian-born rapper’s “All Black in My Hoodie” is a six-and-a-half minute-long protest song that encourages African Americans to start a racially charged “riot.”
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“Fuck all that bullshit, protest with justice/I feel like the Black Panthers, let’s start a riot … If we don’t do shit, at least that cracker/Six months later, they’re gonna kill another brother.”
Everyone with a conscience and heart knows that Martin’s death was unnecessary. And despite what his lawyers will argue, George Zimmerman’s motives were clearly deeper than a commitment to his Neighborhood Watch program.
Inexplicably, race remains the elephant in American society’s room. And disturbingly, YouTube is often a peek inside.
The following comments appear on Zoeja Lajan Jean’s “All Black in my Hoodie” YouTube post; they’re as racially tinged as the rapper’s violent track is counterproductive to the fight against racial inequality.
At press time, “All Black in my Hoodie” had generated 411 comments, the bulk of which were despicable. But what’s worse, Jean’s hateful song or his hateful commenters?
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