NY Times Under Fire for Calling Michael Brown ‘No Angel’
A New York Times piece on Michael Brown’s final weeks before he was shot and killed by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson is getting flack on Twitter for its characterization of Brown as “no angel” due to his recent “dabbling” in rap lyrics and at least one “scuffle”:
Critics were quick to point out that past drug use and lyrics about the same were hardly enough to indict white figures, though we all hold our breath for David Allen Coe‘s obit:
Did @nytimes conclude grown adults Robin Williams or Philip Seymour Hoffman "no angel" bc they 'dabbled in drugs'? pic.twitter.com/b6wOWJkw6C
— Boy Toy Troy (@pterosaur) August 25, 2014
Look forward to see how the @nytimes writes up Gregg Allman’s obituary #NoAngel
— Jason Kaplan (@Siriusjay) August 25, 2014
Hi, @NYTimes. You'd never say this about a white kid who liked country music, and that's racist. pic.twitter.com/GJJ0bQSOqO
— Jamison Foser (@jamisonfoser) August 25, 2014
.@nytimes reports that Mike Brown was "no angel" http://t.co/RsiwE66zyp #VictimBlaming101
— allisonkilkenny (@allisonkilkenny) August 25, 2014
Innocent until proven not an angel.
— emptywheel (@emptywheel) August 25, 2014
The ironic hashtag #NoAngel has sprung up on Twitter:
I've dabbled in drugs. I've gotten into fights. I've written things both vulgar & contemplative. #NoAngel
— William K. Wolfrum (@Wolfrum) August 25, 2014
I fully expect the NYT to note that every dead person they ever write about from now on "was no angel." #noangel http://t.co/lDwBZMc8cJ
— Greg Pak (@gregpak) August 25, 2014
[Image via Haxorjoe]
