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#FergusonRiotTips: Hashtag highlights divisiveness of Brown case
In the hours before the grand jury decision in the Michael Brown case was announced, a cacophony of racially insensitive tweets infested social media.
Demonstrators block traffic at an intersection as they march through the streets of the Shaw neighborhood, Nov. 23, 2014, in St. Louis, Mo.The Washington Post/Getty Images
By
Adam Howard
In the hours before the grand jury decision in the Michael Brown case was announced, a cacophony of racially insensitive tweets infested social media under the problematic hashtag: #FergusonRiotTips.
Most of the tweets featured racial put downs directed at the presumed fallout of a potential non-indictment of Police Officer Darren Wilson, who shot and killed Brown on August 9 in Ferguson, Missouri.
The outpouring of comments (the hashtag was briefly a leading trending topic) was a stark reminder of the divisiveness this case has provoked. The tweets suggested there would be looting in the wake of the grand jury decision, with more than a few quipping “pants up, don’t loot” in a cruel twist on the popular “hands up, don’t shoot” phrase popularized by pro-Brown protesters.
The tweets under this hashtag need to be seen to be believed:
— Paul Izzo (@PaulIzzo2) November 24, 2014
