Uh oh! There’s trouble in Liberal Land!
We love blue-on-blue catfights, and this one’s a doozy.
Today, liberal Twitter users called out Code Pink for tweets criticizing First Lady Michelle Obama and singer Alicia Keys.
Code Pink has deleted at least two of the tweets in question, but not before other users retweeted them:
https://twitter.com/hugoschwyzer/status/342301927813545985
This delete-> RT@codepink: FLOTUS should have been coached, long ago, on how to deal diplomatically w ppl who stand up protest govt policies
— Maxine Baptiste (@brownsugar7878) June 5, 2013
https://twitter.com/NerdyWonka/status/342257564253315072
https://twitter.com/NerdyWonka/status/342312494234206208
This one is still up:
https://twitter.com/codepink/status/342128548179484672
Some on the Left didn’t appreciate Code Pink, a group dominated by “pearly-pink” women, criticizing two prominent African American women.
On thing we don't do, @codepink, is this… this blatant disrespect of the First Lady of the United States of America.
— FJ says "Remember #BreonnaTaylor" (@FeministaJones) June 5, 2013
I'm sure you don't consider Mrs. Obama to be completely human. I know, I know… she is kinda dark… @codepink
— FJ says "Remember #BreonnaTaylor" (@FeministaJones) June 5, 2013
I have the right to be "angry" at being ignored by the White, feminist elite, who modeled their entire movement after … never mind.
— FJ says "Remember #BreonnaTaylor" (@FeministaJones) June 5, 2013
shame on @codepink & @medeabenjamin for feeding into the racist, sexist "angry black woman" trope regarding @FLOTUS's response to heckler.
— Lauren Rankin (@laurenarankin) June 5, 2013
https://twitter.com/hugoschwyzer/status/342302406471720961
https://twitter.com/TheObamaDiary/status/342277332502978561
This evening, Code Pink apologized for displaying “an undeniable insensitivity to persons of color, especially women of color.”
Our apology regarding today's tweets: http://t.co/picKQggAwo
— CODEPINK (@codepink) June 5, 2013
Full text of the apology:
We would like to apologize for our recent actions that displayed an undeniable insensitivity to persons of color, especially women of color.
As an organization, we strive to speak truth to power and stand for human rights for all. We respect intersectionality and strive to stay aware of the many forms of privilege among our group. We would like to make an unequivocal apology to Michelle Obama, Alicia Keys, and everyone who took offense to messages we posted on Twitter.
By tweeting about how Michelle Obama “should have” responded to Ellen Sturtz’s interruption, we behaved in such a way that reflected a long history of white women dictating how Black women should behave. Our actions were not in keeping with our own values as an organization. While yesterday’s interruption was not a CODEPINK action, it is exemplary of CODEPINK tactics, and the way we responded to it was insensitive and thoughtless.
When the process of petitioning, lobbying and writing letters fails, and when mainstream media ignores the real issues, interruptions of high-profile officials are one tactic to make our voices heard. Because it crosses the line of agreed-upon civility, this tactic is always messy.
We appreciate all the people who gave us instant feedback over Twitter and it has been and will continue to be a learning opportunity for CODEPINK. We are immediately reviewing our process and criteria for social media use, as an organization, and we invite any of our our critics to speak with us directly about issues of race and privilege in order to prevent a similar occurrence in the future.
Onward to peace and justice,
The CODEPINK Staff
Alas, not everyone on the Left is willing to forgive and forget:
“@codepink: Our apology regarding today's tweets: http://t.co/InWgaMgK5b” FUCK YOU
— Pretty and Angry (@AngryandBlack) June 5, 2013
https://twitter.com/LiberalPhenom/status/342333444996595713
https://twitter.com/deluxvivens/status/342318072520114177
Actually @codepink what this has "launched" is your clear and present failure as an ally to persons of color
— Neal Carter (@nealcarter) June 5, 2013
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