Glenn Reynolds apologizes for saying drivers surrounded during street protest should "Run Them Down"

Originally published at: http://boingboing.net/2016/09/23/glenn-reynolds-apologizes-for.html

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Maybe he thought they were this guy…

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Yep, but racism isn’t a REAL problem and there is no way that the right is stirring it up… nope. It’s all in the vivid imagination of LIBURALS… /s

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He’s right to apologize. This is America. We don’t run over protesters. We shoot them.

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Don’t be silly; that’s China.

Here in the US, we mace our protestors, beat them, and jail them en masse; and then try to have the documentation of that treatment redacted from the internet.

The shootings happen on a much more individualized basis.

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How else could they be taken?

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Those words can easily be taken to advocate drivers going out of their way to run down protesters. I meant no such thing, and I’m sorry it seemed I did. What I meant is that drivers who feel their lives are in danger from a violent mob should not stop their vehicles.

Are you kidding, dude?? “run them down” doesn’t even come close to the same meaning as “don’t stop”…what a load of crap.

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The argument is that he was saying “Don’t deliberately run them over, but don’t stop your car, either, and if someone gets run over, then that’s their fault for standing in your way.”

Of course, “running someone down” generally denotes chasing them, so if that was the intent, then he picked a horrible phrase to express his intended meaning.

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Yeah this looks less like an “I was misinterpreted,” and more like an “I am retroactively ashamed now that people called me on my overreach.”

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That may be one of the most humiliating things a professional writer has ever had to say.

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That poor poor cop had to get worker’s comp after pepper spraying those young ruffians!

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I know.

The lunacy never seems to end.

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Are you old enough to remember the LA '92 protests?

Reginald Denny was just a guy who drove through. Four guys dragged him out of his truck and attempted to beat him to death. His only “mistake” was being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Now, to be fair, those guys had a criminal record and were just taking advantage of the angry protests. However, bear in mind that the Charlotte riots have had violent incidents, and the anger is over racism. Are you really going to berate someone for taking precautions?

Watch the video. Reginald Denny isn’t bitter about it. He understood why people were angry. I’m betting that if he’d known that there was a riot and that they were going after white people, though, he would have made a detour. Would that make him racist?

Let me be more pointed with it, milliefink: let’s say you’re walking down a deserted street at night, alone. You hear footsteps behind you; you turn around and see a 6’5" black male, head down, face obscured by a hoodie, walking behind you. Do you a.) walk faster because the creepy dude is creeping you out, b.) walk the same speed because hey, who cares, or c.) slow down because oh my god I don’t want to look like a racist?

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Dude, you’re not a vegetarian who got a hankering for steak. You incited violence. Call it out for what it is.

In the US, you can kill whomever you want with no consequences. Just remember the five magic words:: "I Feared For My Life"™

Oh, and it reallyREALLYreally helps if they’re black.

[quote]Then I retweeted a report of mobs “stopping traffic and surrounding vehicles” with the comment, “Run them down.”

Those words can easily be taken to advocate drivers going out of their way to run down protesters.[/quote]

Ah yes, you were misinterpreted. What a silly misinterpretation that is. Of course one shouldn’t go out of one’s way to run over protestors. Of course, if you’re in the neighborhood and just driving by…

Right out of the Phony Apology Playbook.

Ohhhhh because that’s so much better!

They misunderstood nothing. You made yourself perfectly clear.

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“Creepy dude”? Piss off with your racist shite. And yes, I know who Reginald is, and I also know that just because that happened once doesn’t mean it’s likely to happen again in some other protest. It’s even less likely than getting in a car accident any time you go driving, but I’m sure the latter “danger” doesn’t stop you from driving. Let me be more pointed: this is all paranoid white fear of black people, plain and simple.

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I don’t know about @milliefink, but the strategy I use - and it works every time - is d.) I stop, smile, and say, “Hello! I’m so glad you’re here! This is a scary place to be alone, don’t you think? Let’s walk together.”

I said something similar on my way to the local watering hole one night. My best friend, who was several minutes behind, tried a.) and got mugged.

Perhaps I’ve walked and chatted with muggers, but I, myself, have never been mugged.

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You do realise this is VERY similar to the reasoning used to place blame on lone rape victims at night right? That it’s somehow the at least partially the victims fault and not 100% said rapists fault?

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No, what he meant was you should only run down protesters if it’s convenient. World of difference there.

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