Activists, liberals, and journalists made a mad rush to judgement, assuming, with no evidence, that a young girl who was fatally shot was both unarmed and innocent of any wrong doing.
In the wake of a police shooting in Columbus, Ohio, on Tuesday, activists, liberals, and journalists made a mad rush to judgement, assuming, with no evidence, that the young girl who was fatally shot was both unarmed and innocent of any wrong doing.
Body cam footage released by Columbus police show instead a young woman, Makhia Bryant, was seen with knife in hand, lunging at another young woman.
But for the liberals, activists, and many journalists, the only thing that mattered was the girl's race, and their assumptions about police.
The AP took the narrative and ran with it, not pausing for a moment to get a sense of the facts in the case, instead linking Bryant's death to the death of George Floyd.
Journalists at it again https://t.co/eTWbpeC1Rg
— Jack Posobiec (@JackPosobiec)
Activist Malynda Hale questioned that Bryant had a knife at all.
So here we are. In the midst of a guilty verdict another trigger happy cop, shoots and kills a 15 year old girl..... when SHE was the one that called THEM for help. Claiming they “saw” a knife.
Black people have no one. We are alone. https://t.co/lSD2U5Yhst
— Malynda Hale (@MalyndaHale)
Washington Post journalist Radley Balko posted the misinformation, which was liked over 300 times, but then deleted it when it turned out he had rushed to judgement.
Attorney Judith Browne Dianis also misconstrued the the circumstances of the incident.
A 15 year old Black girl killed by Columbus OH cop today. She called 911 for protection. Baby girl is dead. She’s laying in the street wearing rainbow crocs. Shoes my daughter wears. Just a baby. ???#makiyahbryant #SayHerName
— Judith Browne Dianis (@jbrownedianis)
Civil right attorney and activist Jo Kaur assumed that Bryant was murdered by police, not that police were protecting the person Bryant was threatening with a knife.
While the nation enjoys a moment of relief following the Derek Chauvin guilty verdict, Ma'Khia Bryant's parents are mourning the murder of their little girl by police. https://t.co/3mJxI4fsGA
— Jo Kaur (@SikhFeminist)
Journalist and professor used Bryant's death as a reason to say that policing cannot be reformed.
#MakiyahBryant - a 15 year old black girl in Columbus Ohio was shot after calling the police for help. Just minutes after the #DerekChauvinTrial - Tell me again how this can be "reformed"? https://t.co/tCq5JmqPwg
— Dr. Jason Johnson (@DrJasonJohnson)
HuffPo's Philip Lewis said that Bryant was the one who needed help.
Columbus police shot and killed 15-year-old Makiah Bryant, who called the police for help. https://t.co/RivpIWBCBc
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_)
BLM Chicago reported that Bryant was murdered.
Stay in the streets
— BLMChicago (@BLMChi)
The New York Times actively engaged in the spread of misinformation, taking activist lawyer Ben Crump's tweet about Bryant's death and editing it, without making note of that edit at all. Crump said Bryant was unarmed, she wasn't. The New York Times did not honestly report what Crump said.
HOLY SHIT - Look at how the NYT sanitizes Crump’s tweet by removing the “unarmed” lie. Keep in mind the NYT story comes after the footage is released (and in fact references it). Just insanely dishonest. https://t.co/hT8uTpy0eo
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— Contrite bird (@pleasehandlethx)
The ACLU, a civil liberties organization, used Bryan's death as a means to continue their activism. This only moments after a verdict was announced in the case of Derek Chauvin, who was found guilty on all counts of killing George Floyd on May 25, 2020.
The systems that allowed George Floyd to be murdered remain FULLY intact. Moments after we celebrated a win for police accountability in Minneapolis, news broke that @ColumbusPolice murdered a 15 year old Black girl. Her name was Ma'Khia Bryant. Say her name. #BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/tufTaia9lR
— ACLU of Ohio (@acluohio)
The reason these activists and journalists rushed to judgement is because they believed the true events would bear similarity to the narrative they are weaving in culture. Instead of weighing the information and making reasoned judgements, they leapt first to what emotionally confirmed their own bias.
This is not merely a progressive problem.
The person who defends the cop every time and the person who defends the black person every time don’t seem to realize they’re the same person. You’re both activists. A race activist or a cop activist.
Every situation is different. Cops are different. Civilians are different.
— Jesse Kelly (@JesseKellyDC)
Byrant's death doesn't confirm or disconfirm a narrative. Media bias can fuel real life action, and it it would behoove journalists to take a moment before rushing to judgement. The facts of any given circumstance are not about furthering a story journalists and activists are trying to sell, but must be told on their own merits.
I watched that video and I don’t think anyone did anything wrong. 15 year old girl in foster care, maybe getting jumped by multiple people, maybe grabs a knife to protect herself. Ok. No issue there. Also, cop can’t allow someone to commit a murder.
Sometimes things just suck.
— Jesse Kelly (@JesseKellyDC)
