Joe Biden: "We've got to recognize that kid wearing a hoodie may very well be the next poet laureate

[demmiblue]

Joe Biden: "We've got to recognize that kid wearing a hoodie may very well be the next poet laureate and not a gangbanger." 😬

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

I know that Biden means no malice, but this is just so cringey.

[msongs]

1. has he got the t shirts on the market yet? nt

[George II]

2. No it isn't. At this point people will find fault with ANYTHING he says....

I saw nothing wrong with it and obviously it didn't bother Jesse Jackson.

I wonder how long it will be before someone talks about him hugging and kissing that teenage girl at the podium? Oh the horror!

BTW, that was his grand daughter.

[onetexan]

3. not getting you. He's pointing out the stereotype of white America of black kids with hoodies

I recall someone in the black community said (paraphrasing here) that when white young people wear hoodies, they're techies/professionals (like Zuckerberg), and when black kids wear hoodies they're gangbangers or up to no good. This is so true. I agree with Joe.

[Demit]

11. If he'd said maybe the kid in the hoodie is a techie/professional, it would've been more realistic.

[SouthernProgressive]

4. Said it just a little bit ago.

People will now support racial profiling in order to oppose Biden.

[LexVegas]

5. Jesus...

[emulatorloo]

6. "I know Biden means no malice". It's an anti-racial profiling statement.

Yet your tweeters want to turn it into something bad.

Are we supposed to support racial profiling now as a way to tear down Biden? SouthernProgressive asked that in another tread regarding Rupar’s tweet.

I really don’t understand this compulsion to misrepresent Biden and launch these dishonest character attacks I see on twitter.

[IluvPitties]

7. Biden did not say anything offensive.

[LongtimeAZDem]

8. I'm surprised by your opinion; you're usually so supportive of Biden

/s

[Voltaire2]

9. Jesus Christ. Does he not have handlers.

[Loki Liesmith]

12. It's fine.

[wyldwolf]

10. This is all leading to something dramatic

President Obama is going to come out and tell all these crybaby white "progressives" to STFU, and then endorse Biden.

Meltdowns will ensue.

[Thekaspervote]

13. Oh for heavens sake!

90 +% of the population wear hoodies it’s no more a racist statement
Give it a rest

[Bayard]

14. Received this from Joe today

I’d like to say something about the debate last night.

I heard and I respect Senator Harris.

For my entire career, I’ve fought my heart out to ensure that civil rights, voting rights, and equal rights are enforced everywhere. These rights are not up to the states to decide. They are embedded in our Constitution. And, the federal government has a duty to protect the civil rights of every single American. That has always been my position.

That’s why I ran for Senate in the first place.

But the discussion in this race today shouldn’t be about the past. It should be about how we can do better and move forward and give every kid in this country an opportunity to succeed. That means good schools in every neighborhood. No child’s future should be determined by their zip code.

Right now, we have a president who promotes hate and division -- and has encouraged the poison of white supremacy.

I will be a president who stands against racism and the forces of exclusion and intolerance everywhere in our society -- in our institutions, in our voting booths, and in our hearts.

We have to get Donald Trump out of office. I’m ready to keep fighting. I hope I can count on you to be by my side.

I’ve proposed tripling funding for Title I schools -- to eliminate the disparities between rich and poor school districts. We’re going to increase teacher pay and make sure every 3- and 4-year old is in pre-K.

I will reinstate the policies we pushed during the Obama-Biden Administration to finish the work of desegregating our schools -- because we have a national interest in creating diverse student bodies.

We have to make sure that we keep moving closer to the idea of the America that lives in our founding documents.

We hold these truths self-evident. That all men -- and women -- are created equal. It’s an idea we’ve never lived up to. But we’ve never walked away from the idea of equality either. And we cannot afford to walk away from it now.

Barack Obama was a president our kids could -- and did -- look up to.

We need that again. I hope I can make you proud.

Thank you for your support,

- Joe

[Cha]

20. Thank You for that, Bayard!

[rollin74]

15. ...

[BlueTsunami2018]

16. Why is this a problem?

This is the kind of absolute nonsense that people are referring to when deriding the “super woke” left.

There’s nothing wrong with this statement at all.

Not a goddamn thing.

[loyalsister]

18. The deficit of the doubt

It's built on the assumption of truth in the stereotype of that kid wearing a hoodie.

Poet laureates are rare and an exception to the majority of ordinary humans. Not sure if he even gets that he comes across as referring to criminality as the most likely characteristic of his imagined kid in the hoodie. The Trayvon Martin reference is pretty clear.

And it's like saying George Zimmerman was more likely correct than not.

I think Biden is not malicious and also unwilling to step outside of himself and give some thought to how he might come across to someone whose life experience is different from his own. I'm not sure if he refuses to see or just does not care about the possibility that his words don't necessarily match his intentions.

[OilemFirchen]

19. You just did an excellent job...

of taking VP Biden's statement and turning it upside-down and inside-out.

Kudos.

[Goodheart]

21. As somebody who was really disappointed with his busing denial I see nothing wrong with this.

It's really a stretch to take offense.