President of Spokane NAACP Misrepresenting her Race?

[stevew]

Prosecutors drop sexual abuse charges against Joshua Dolezal - Spokesman Mobile - July 14, 2015

[TroyF]

Originally Posted by Solecismic

Before it was a world driven by clicks.

All the President's Men is a wonderful book, and the movie did a good job with it as well.

I would argue that All the President's Men is EXACTLY why we are in the place we are today and that the press started changing fairly shortly after the book came out. Suddenly the news was the story, not the background.

When I was in college in the early 90's, most of my journalism student brethren were talking about how they wanted to "change the world like Watergate" The problem is Watergate is a once in a generation type of scandal. So what do you do when you can't uncover Watergate or when you have a great story that isn't getting enough attention?

A certain percentage are going to turn to shock reporting. You add the internet (as you say "click" and social media? Now we have a full fledged crisis with the news. We can't believe ANYTHING the news says at this point. Think of all the high profile cases the media gets wrong now. Not only that but they follow social media to find just the right amount of outrage to have. NBA owner convicted of not allowing blacks to rent his properties? (Hmmmm. . . not getting enough looks, we'll back off) Same NBA owner insults Magic Johnson? PITCHFORKS OUT, ATTACK. . . .

The problem is the public eats the crap up and at the end of the day the medias goal is to make money. They'll make it anyway they can. Fox will insult dems, MSNBC will rip reps. . . because that is their target demographics.

[RainMaker]

This is starting to get weird

Black Lives Matter activist, Shaun King, might be white - NY Daily News

[JPhillips]

Shocking, but Breitbart got the whole thing wrong and managed to drag a family through the mud in the process.

[sabotai]

Race, love, hate, and me: A distinctly American story

I normally stay far from Daily Kos, but this was written by Shaun King about the recent stories about his race.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

Shocking, but Breitbart got the whole thing wrong and managed to drag a family through the mud in the process.

The articles I've read had photos, birth certificates, and police reports. The only response I see is this guys word which doesn't seem all that credible looking at his past.

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by sabotai

Race, love, hate, and me: A distinctly American story

I normally stay far from Daily Kos, but this was written by Shaun King about the recent stories about his race.

Originally Posted by RainMaker

The articles I've read had photos, birth certificates, and police reports. The only response I see is this guys word which doesn't seem all that credible looking at his past.

Actually, from reading both sides of this, it looks like both sides could well be at least partially "right."

Breitbart discovered that the man listed on King's birth certificate as his father is a white man. The photos, birth certificates, and police reports that I've seen are all regarding that white man who is listed as Shaun King's father on his birth certificate.

King is not denying that his mother is white. King is not denying that the man officially listed as his father is white. King is saying that the man listed on his birth certificate is not his father--that his mom had an affair with a black man. In small town Kentucky in the 1970s (and probably the 2010s,) I don't have a hard time buying that a married white woman listed her husband as the father instead of a black dude with whom she had an affair. And I don't have a hard time buying that an internet news site didn't do DNA tests to determine if the guy listed as the father on the birth certificate is actually the father. *shurg*

[Solecismic]

I think the media would like to connect the Dolezal and King stories because it's a convenient narrative, but they seem very different at their core.

[NobodyHere]

Originally Posted by Ben E Lou

Actually, from reading both sides of this, it looks like both sides could well be at least partially "right."

Breitbart discovered that the man listed on King's birth certificate as his father is a white man. The photos, birth certificates, and police reports that I've seen are all regarding that white man who is listed as Shaun King's father on his birth certificate.

King is not denying that his mother is white. King is not denying that the man officially listed as his father is white. King is saying that the man listed on his birth certificate is not his father--that his mom had an affair with a black man. In small town Kentucky in the 1970s (and probably the 2010s,) I don't have a hard time buying that a married white woman listed her husband as the father instead of a black dude with whom she had an affair. And I don't have a hard time buying that an internet news site didn't do DNA tests to determine if the guy listed as the father on the birth certificate is actually the father. *shurg*

What if he's lying though about his mother having an affair?

There's a special place in hell for people who throw their own mother under the bus.

[JPhillips]

The King family was hiding the truth, but the truth surely seems like the guy is mixed race as he's said all along. It's a little shitty that King had to go through this, but for better or worse that's the cost of doing business as a political figure. The rest of his family, though, shouldn't have had this played out in public. The mother, in particular, deserves an apology.

Everybody is so ready to destroy their political opponents that basic decency gets lost as a consequence. The same goes for the Duggar/Ashley Madison revelation and the coming dozens of political Ashley Madison cases. None of this matters.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by Ben E Lou

Actually, from reading both sides of this, it looks like both sides could well be at least partially "right."

Breitbart discovered that the man listed on King's birth certificate as his father is a white man. The photos, birth certificates, and police reports that I've seen are all regarding that white man who is listed as Shaun King's father on his birth certificate.

King is not denying that his mother is white. King is not denying that the man officially listed as his father is white. King is saying that the man listed on his birth certificate is not his father--that his mom had an affair with a black man. In small town Kentucky in the 1970s (and probably the 2010s,) I don't have a hard time buying that a married white woman listed her husband as the father instead of a black dude with whom she had an affair. And I don't have a hard time buying that an internet news site didn't do DNA tests to determine if the guy listed as the father on the birth certificate is actually the father. *shurg*

Agree that it's a possibility. On the other hand he lied about being a victim of a vicious gang assault which was sort of the centerpiece of his life story as an activist. If you'd be willing to fabricate stories about your life, not out of the realm to think this is made up too.

[JPhillips]

He and others still say that assault happened.

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

The King family was hiding the truth, but the truth surely seems like the guy is mixed race as he's said all along. It's a little shitty that King had to go through this, but for better or worse that's the cost of doing business as a political figure. The rest of his family, though, shouldn't have had this played out in public. The mother, in particular, deserves an apology.

Everybody is so ready to destroy their political opponents that basic decency gets lost as a consequence. The same goes for the Duggar/Ashley Madison revelation and the coming dozens of political Ashley Madison cases. None of this matters.

It would be great if everyone would play nice like that, but come on, we're adults here. That's not going to happen. That's not how the game is played. Consequently, once you put yourself out there as any sort of activist/politician, no matter where you are on the political spectrum, you've chosen to have enemies, and you've therefore chosen to allow your life to be put under a microscope. And when you do that, you have also chosen to risk your family being embarrassed when the ugly stuff comes into the light. Whether you're Shaun King or Josh Duggar, you'd better make sure your cause is worth it to you.

[Ben E Lou]

Dola:

To be clear, I'm not arguing that it should work that way. I'm arguing that it does work that way, and therefore, wisdom dictates that anyone wanting to get involved should count the cost.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

He and others still say that assault happened.

It sounds like an assault happened. Just not over what he says it was about, not a gang assault, and not with severe injuries.

[dawgfan]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

The same goes for the Duggar/Ashley Madison revelation and the coming dozens of political Ashley Madison cases. None of this matters.

A random celebrity or politician that gets outed in the Ashley Madison deal, yeah - that's gutter-level.

But a public figure that has made a name for themselves promoting "family values" and whatnot getting outed as a supreme hypocrite? I think that's different.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

The mother, in particular, deserves an apology.

For what, being exposed as a cheating ho?

Don't do that shit, won't get called out for that shit.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by Ben E Lou

It would be great if everyone would play nice like that, but come on, we're adults here. That's not going to happen. That's not how the game is played. Consequently, once you put yourself out there as any sort of activist/politician, no matter where you are on the political spectrum, you've chosen to have enemies, and you've therefore chosen to allow your life to be put under a microscope. And when you do that, you have also chosen to risk your family being embarrassed when the ugly stuff comes into the light. Whether you're Shaun King or Josh Duggar, you'd better make sure your cause is worth it to you.

I don't even know if this stuff is bad if your activism is intertwined with your life. This individual built his profile around a fake story. It's fair to point out lies of someone when they are basing their activism on their life events that are fabricated.

For instance, if you were a politician running for office who was using a fabricated story about being in the military as a reason why you should be trusted on defense matters, you deserve to be called on it. If you're a rich politician fabricating a story about growing up poor to show that people don't need welfare or government assistance, you deserve to be called on it.

Credibility is paramount with this stuff. You can't expect people to take your positions and views seriously if you are a pathological liar. I know con artists tend to gravitate toward political activism, but I wish more people would be willing to call these people out on their own team.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by dawgfan

But a public figure that has made a name for themselves promoting "family values" and whatnot getting outed as a supreme hypocrite? I think that's different.

I agree on this. But the people who are calling him out should not be complaining about the NSA, leaked nudes, or other privacy violations. Can't pick and choose who deserves privacy.

[JPhillips]

Originally Posted by Ben E Lou

Dola:

To be clear, I'm not arguing that it should work that way. I'm arguing that it does work that way, and therefore, wisdom dictates that anyone wanting to get involved should count the cost.

Trust me, I get that it does work that way, but that's no excuse for participating in the behavior. That's just the way things work is a destructive attitude wherever it's found. King's racial background, Duggar's non-criminal sexual activity, etc. don't matter. It's just all Perez Hilton style bullshit.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

Trust me, I get that it does work that way, but that's no excuse for participating in the behavior. That's just the way things work is a destructive attitude wherever it's found. King's racial background, Duggar's non-criminal sexual activity, etc. don't matter. It's just all Perez Hilton style bullshit.

If his race didn't matter, he wouldn't be using it in everything he does. You can't say that stuff doesn't matter when he's using it to push his activism.

Now if Shaun King was caught cheating on his wife or tipping back a few too many cold ones, I'd agree with you. That doesn't matter because they have nothing to do with his activism. But if your platform centers around your experience (which he gladly talks about any chance he gets) as an oppressed black man who was beaten mercifully in a hate crime by a group of angry rednecks and it turns out you're just a white guy who got in a minor scuffle at school, it's completely relevant.

[Dutch]

Originally Posted by Ben E Lou

Dola:

To be clear, I'm not arguing that it should work that way. I'm arguing that it does work that way, and therefore, wisdom dictates that anyone wanting to get involved should count the cost.

I should probably caveat half the shit I say around here like this.

[dawgfan]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

I agree on this. But the people who are calling him out should not be complaining about the NSA, leaked nudes, or other privacy violations. Can't pick and choose who deserves privacy.

Sort of. I'm not sure too many of the folks calling out Duggar for being a hypocrite were the ones actively searching the database for juicy names as opposed to simply reacting to the news that he was on the list.

For example, I have no interest in perusing the Ashley Madison database and I think it sucks that privacy has been compromised. But since I've also been made aware that Duggar was on that list, I feel no hesitation in calling him out as a pathetic hypocrite.