Wednesday night, amid the outrage over a grand jury’s decision not to indict the New York City police officer responsible for the death of Eric Garner after using a banned choke hold, a hashtag was created that showed just how unequal the justice system is for black people in comparison with white people.
#CrimingWhileWhite was created by Jason Ross, a writer for The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon, after he tweeted about escaping punishment for a serious crime:
https://twitter.com/jasonjross/status/540259742073909248
As the hashtag gained popularity, it gave the world a polarizing look at the fact that yes, there are things that are just about race. And for the trolls and naysayers who come to a black website to spout their white-hooded rhetoric, save your comments for Stormfront.
Take a look at some of the incidents and perspectives shared by people on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/Sifill_LDF/status/540417129606955009https://twitter.com/Cecilyk/status/540299186051485697https://twitter.com/MarkAgee/status/540278334249107456https://twitter.com/JillFilipovic/status/540366782708875264https://twitter.com/DrJasonJohnson/status/540358139045220352https://twitter.com/kathbarbadoro/status/540278305681727488https://twitter.com/bizmichael/status/540292259992711169https://twitter.com/davehoover/status/540298715895201792https://twitter.com/skalakattack/status/540285886030954496https://twitter.com/Auragasmic/status/540283801721532416https://twitter.com/Joe_Schmucc/status/540270767015870464
#CrimingWhileWhite tells the true story behind white privilege, even though there are those who will continue to say it doesn’t exist. Sure, you can fault the people for doing these alleged crimes, but not without blaming the system that let them get away. Because we all know how the story would go if they were #CrimingWhileBlack.