Appearing as a guest on Friday's Legal View with Ashleigh Banfield on CNN to discuss Chicago protests that threaten to disrupt Black Friday shopping, liberal CNN political commentator Marc Lamont Hill suggested that the police had arrested the killer of a nine-year-old boy because it "diverts attention" from the recent release of the police shooting video of Laquan McDonald.
He also seemed to suggest that by shopping that blacks are "funding our own genocide" as he brushed off concerns about the protesters hurting the shopping season.
Although he claimed a bit later not to be a "conspiracy theorist," the liberal CNN commentator nevertheless advanced a conspiracy theory after host Ashleigh Banfield asked if the arrest might produce any feeling of "goodwill" toward the police. Hill:
Well, first of all, I don't know how much we should applaud Chicago police for doing the job that they're supposed to do. I'm glad that they're doing their job in some instances as opposed to what we saw here with Laquan McDonald. But a more cynical reading of what's happened is they decided to make an arrest and make an announcement that diverts attention away from their own misdeeds, number one, and number two, that re-centers the conversation so once again we're talking about gang violence and black on black violence instead of state violence against black people because as soon as they announced, "Oh, we got the killer of a gang-related shooting," then suddenly people say, "See, you people are killing yourselves. Therefore, we shouldn't be putting so much attention on the fact that law enforcement are killing people or shooting them 16 times, 14 of which are done when they're on the ground."
He then insisted he was not a "conspiracy theorist" and ended up fretting that the issue of black-on-black violence would divert attention from police violence:
So for me -- and I'm not a conspiracy theorist -- I'm simply saying this is a spin and a media opportunity for the police to make something good out of something that actually shouldn't be good. I'd like us to have a sustained conversation about this young man whose life was lost. I'd like to have a sustained conversation about black-on-black violence. But I don't want it to come at the expense of a more entrenched and deep conversation about the consistent execution of black and brown bodies -- male and female -- all around this country by state agents. It doesn't mean police kill everybody. It doesn't mean every shooting is bad, but it happens with enough consistency -- because we hear a lot talking about this, Carol (sic) it happens with enough consistency that we need to have a national conversation on that and not constantly have our attention diverted by the black-on-black violence red herring.
A bit earlier, he made the over the top assertion that blacks are funding their own "genocide" when Banfield asked if he was concerned that shoppers would see protesters as a nuisance. Hill:
I can't imagine how someone would think protesting injustice would be troublesome or unhelpful. I can't imagine how someone saying that we're not going to continue to fund our own genocide could be troublesome or unhelpful. I think it's actually a beautiful plan. If anything, I would encourage people to expand the plan, right? We can't just protest on Friday because if you protest Black Friday, it just becomes Black Saturday or Black Monday or Black Next Friday, right?
At some point, we have to make a different choice and say we are not going to invest in institutions that are committed to ignoring our pain or making money off of our pain. We have to take the profit out of our misery, and that's what we're seeing right now with people on the street and people all around the country. This isn't just a Chicago problem, and this isn't just a Chicago act of resistance. This is a nationwide act of resistance that we're seeing and that I'm quite proud of.
Below is a transcript of the relevant portion of the Friday, November 27, Legal View with Ashleigh Banfield from about 12:19 p.m.
ASHLEIGH BANFIELD: Marc, the President, just two days ago, tweeted out how he was so proud of his hometown for voicing their concerns in a peaceful manner. This is definitely a peaceful manner that we're seeing so far. But it will have an impact. I mean, if they're able to do what they want to do, they're going to effect the merchants of that city. They're going to effect those who want to do that Black Friday shopping American tradition. I'm just so curious if there might be any kind of backlash at all, the message that they don't want which is that this is sort of troublesome and not helpful
MARC LAMONT HILL, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I can't imagine how someone would think protesting injustice would be troublesome or unhelpful. I can't imagine how someone saying that we're not going to continue to fund our own genocide could be troublesome or unhelpful. I think it's actually a beautiful plan. If anything, I would encourage people to expand the plan, right? We can't just protest on Friday because if you protest Black Friday, it just becomes Black Saturday or Black Monday or Black Next Friday, right?
At some point, we have to make a different choice and say we are not going to invest in institutions that are committed to ignoring our pain or making money off of our pain. We have to take the profit out of our misery, and that's what we're seeing right now with people on the street and people all around the country. This isn't just a Chicago problem, and this isn't just a Chicago act of resistance. This is a nationwide act of resistance that we're seeing and that I'm quite proud of.
BANFIELD: So, Marc, at the same time, it's hard not to ignore the fact that there is another big lead story out of this city today and involving the police force, and it's at the other side of the spectrum. The police today announcing an arrest, a first-degree murder charge for a gang member in the execution-style killing of Tyshawn Lee, and saying the words, "We went days and days and days without sleep," you know, committed to finding justice for this little boy, this nine-year-old targeted execution. Do you think that they will be able to foster any goodwill amid what we're seeing, which is a lot of frustration and angst? Because, on one hand, they were giving justice for the death of a young, black boy, and on the other hand, these people are protesting injustice for the death of a black teenager.
HILL: Well, first of all, I don't know how much we should applaud Chicago police for doing the job that they're supposed to do. I'm glad that they're doing their job in some instances as opposed to what we saw here with Laquan McDonald. But a more cynical reading of what's happened is they decided to make an arrest and make an announcement that diverts attention away from their own misdeeds, number one, and number two, that re-centers the conversation so once again we're talking about gang violence and black on black violence instead of state violence against black people because as soon as they announced, "Oh, we got the killer of a gang-related shooting," then suddenly people say, "See, you people are killing yourselves. Therefore, we shouldn't be putting so much attention on the fact that law enforcement are killing people or shooting them 16 times, 14 of which are done when they're on the ground."
So for me -- and I'm not a conspiracy theorist -- I'm simply saying this is a spin and a media opportunity for the police to make something good out of something that actually shouldn't be good. I'd like us to have a sustained conversation about this young man whose life was lost. I'd like to have a sustained conversation about black-on-black violence. But I don't want it to come at the expense of a more entrenched and deep conversation about the consistent execution of black and brown bodies -- male and female -- all around this country by state agents. It doesn't mean police kill everybody. It doesn't mean every shooting is bad, but it happens with enough consistency -- because we hear a lot talking about this, Carol (sic) it happens with enough consistency that we need to have a national conversation on that and not constantly have our attention diverted by the black-on-black violence red herring.
