As Twitchy reported earlier, an internecine Twitter feud broke out between New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof and New York Times editorial writer Brent Staples after Kristof suggested the #BlackLivesMatter movement might have been better served by focusing on Tamir Rice, a 12-year-old shot and killed by police in Cleveland, rather than Michael Brown.
Staples responded that it wouldn’t have mattered, because a “healthy majority” of whites support the actions of police in cases where blacks are killed.
Kristof did his best to clarify, but Twitter wasn’t having it.
@jeff_deeney Michael Brown case is more ambiguous and uncertain; Tamir Rice case more clearcut and likely to persuade people of a problem.
— Nicholas Kristof (@NickKristof) January 23, 2015
@NickKristof are you "uncertain" about whether or not Michael Brown should have been killed?
— Julia Carrie Wong (@juliacarriew) January 23, 2015
@deray @NickKristof one can do two things at the same time, esp when there are many many people involved
— Panthro 5000 (@Panthro5000) January 23, 2015
@Panthro5000 @deray Yes, absolutely. But Brown received more attention than Rice, and I'm suggesting it should have been the other way
— Nicholas Kristof (@NickKristof) January 23, 2015
https://twitter.com/tanehisicoates/status/558766900377694209
@tanehisicoates Yes, indeed. Still worth pushing back and putting most compelling faces on problems.
— Nicholas Kristof (@NickKristof) January 23, 2015
.@NickKristof @tanehisicoates #TamirRice is not a "compelling face" for a PR problem. He is a murdered boy. Stop disregarding his humanity.
— Shelly (@ShellySometimes) January 23, 2015
https://twitter.com/tanehisicoates/status/558772638391083008
The Atlantic’s Ta-Nehisi Coates wasn’t the only one to weigh in on Kristof’s initial tweet.
https://twitter.com/rgay/status/558770049092419584
@rgay @NickKristof If activists had not sustained their protests in Ferguson, we would never have even heard of Tamir Rice.
— Katherine Karlin (@katherinekarlin) January 23, 2015
I look up from my work and my entire timeline is patiently explaining to a rich New York Times columnist why he's wrong, again.
— Sarah Jaffe (@sarahljaffe) January 23, 2015
Nick Kristof has never devoted a whole column to either Mike Brown or Tamir Rice.
Just saying.
— Angus Johnston (@studentactivism) January 24, 2015
https://twitter.com/JlnFrancisco/status/558791249185214465
@NickKristof <<< someone using their #whiteprivilege to tell POC how to protest. @instapundit @Panthro5000 @deray
— Howard Roark (@shortwave8669) January 24, 2015
Goldie Taylor also joined in the Kristof pile-on.
https://twitter.com/goldietaylor/status/558825571853955072
https://twitter.com/goldietaylor/status/558825832882262016
https://twitter.com/goldietaylor/status/558826119688765440
https://twitter.com/goldietaylor/status/558826696963391488
https://twitter.com/goldietaylor/status/558827714287652864
https://twitter.com/goldietaylor/status/558828296503173120
https://twitter.com/goldietaylor/status/558829080791887873
https://twitter.com/goldietaylor/status/558830426496569345
All of this gives Kristof a great idea for a column.
We subsidize private jets, big banks, hedge fund managers. So why not kids? My column http://t.co/mDZO4w9el0 pic.twitter.com/Nx7gmhI6co
— Nicholas Kristof (@NickKristof) January 22, 2015