Ferguson Activist Battles CNN’s Blitzer: ‘No Excuse’ for Police Violence, Either
Activist DeRay McKesson, who’s received accolades for his work in Ferguson, got into it Tuesday afternoon with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, who wanted him to outright condemn the violence in Baltimore last night. McKesson did so repeatedly, but also demanded acknowledgement of the violence from authorities that precipitated the riot.
McKesson pointed out that the protests had been peaceful until last night, but Blitzer listed the injuries and damage incurred over the past 24 hours. “There’s no excuse for that kind of violence, right?” Blitzer asked.
“There’s no excuse for the seven people that the Baltimore Police Department has killed in the last year either, right?” McKesson countered.
Looooooong pause. “We’re not making comparison, obviously,” Blitzer said. “I just want to hear you say there should be peaceful protests, not violent protests, in the tradition of Dr. Martin Luther King?”
“You are making a comparison,” McKesson said. “You are suggesting this idea that broken windows are worse than broken spines, right?…Freddie Gray will never be back. Those windows will.”
It went on like that for several more rounds. Watch below, via CNN:
[h/t Efrain Nieves Jr.]
[Image via screengrab]
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