On Jan 22, a letter with magazine cut out letters was sent to the Empire set. On the envelope, MAGA. The contents, as published by TMZ, contained homophobic slurs and a death threat to Jussie Smollett, an openly gay man.
One week later, "Chicago police open a hate crime investigation after Smollett, 36, says he was attacked near his Chicago apartment. According to police, Smollett says two men approached him around 2 a.m., shouted '...racial and homophobic slurs,' poured an 'unknown chemical substance' on him and wrapped a noose around his neck" and "Smollett told detectives his attackers yelled, 'this is MAGA country.'"(Silverstein, 2019). The noose was still around his neck when the police showed up 40+ minutes later, but then again who wouldn't be in shock to have something like that occur?
On Feb 20, almost a month from when the letter arrived, the police file charges...against Jussie. After talking with two persons of interest and determining there is a video of them buying a red hat and masks, the police find out there was a check from Jussie to these men for "training." News organizations note that one of the men was an actor on Empire who played a bit part as a prisoner. The rumors of it being a hoax started spreading almost immediately as this news story dominated headlines across the country, but the police filing charges only served as evidence of guilt for some. #JussieSmollettlied #JussieHoax peppered twitterverse.
People were already taking sides. Do you believe the victim or already know it's a hoax? Whatever your position, most people have already decided which corner they will stand up for. Its another example of our divisive culture. Instead of waiting until a trial where people can analyze the actual evidence, people already know. This is a problem.
People have forgotten to wait to assess the evidence before coming to a conclusion. They come to a determination, then find the evidence to support that narrative, and that's how innocent people are put in jail for crimes they don't commit. I don't know if he paid the brothers to perform a hate crime on him so that he can get attention. Is it possible, yes. Do we know for sure, no. Therefore, we must wait.
I also don't know if Trump knew about the conspiratorial acts of people within his campaign. Is it possible, yes. Do we know for sure, no. Therefore, we need to wait for Muller to finish his investigation BEFORE we make assertions that he did, in fact, do it. This is not rocket science people.
What we don't want is...
· For victims to not report assaults in fear, they won't be believed.
· For law enforcement not believe a victim and not do a thorough investigation.
· For innocent people to go to jail for a false report.
· For more hate, vitriol, and anger.
· For conspiracies to be given more than facts and evidence.
We need to be consistent not only with our outrage but with our blame. You can be skeptical of the evidence, but the moment to believe something is when you have good reason to do so... and not a moment before.
#BlameTheVictim #jussie #jussiesmollett #empire #hatecrime #BlameGame #blacklivesmatter #lgbtq #racism #homophobia #lgbt #BelieveSurviors #JusticeforJussie
Sources:
Silverstein, J. (Feb 2019). "Jussie Smollett: Timeline of events since "Empire" actor reported Chicago attack" CBS News. Retrieved: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jussie-smollet-chicago-attack-hoax-empire-actor-full-timeline-live-updates/
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Literatura faktuThese little hashtags pepper our lives. These are mine and how they represent me. At least that is how I wanted this book to be. It was to be a book of short articles using a hashtag as inspiration. However, it has grown and changed as I have. ...
