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If you're not Tweeting on Twitter, you're missing out on a valuable, information-packed social media environment. The people I follow @AllAboutRace Tweet solid information and sometimes moment-by-moment impressions of a particular political or social event, the Presidential debates or, most recently, the BET Awards.
Frankly, the Tweets I saw regarding the BET Awards weighed heavily in my decision to skip the show, and I have no regrets.
However, Black Web 2.0 observes that the presence of so many black folks talking on Twitter at one time made some people extremely uncomfortable and triggered a chorus of racist Tweets.
The BET Awards and the celebrities who attended were among the most popular topics on the micro-blogging site on Sunday. ...
It seems like whenever African American topics dominate media, there are always some unhappy campers. Social media is no different. Within hours it spawned a site on Tumblr, OMGBlackPeople.Tumblr.com. Tumblr has taken down the site since last night (but here's a cached version of it), and the Twitter account @omgblackpeople is still alive and kicking.
Apparently a lot of people on Twitter wanted trending topics to go back to what they were used to seeing. Here's a smidgen of what was on the site.
Source: BET Awards Dominate Twitter, Causes Racist Backlash, Black Web 2.0
Tumblr later pulled the OMGBlackPeople.Tumblr.com. account because it's content was deemed "hate speech."
This exchange raises an important question, one that we deal with here at Black Voices all the time. Should comments, even hateful ones, be edited or should expression be left alone, even if it becomes a hate-filled free-for-all?
2009 BET Awards
Jay-Z, left, and Beyonce Knowles are seen at the 9th Annual BET Awards on Sunday, June 28, 2009, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles)
AP
REFILE - ADDING CAPTION INFORMATION....Singer Ne-Yo and actor Jamie Foxx hug after singing "I'll Be There", a song by Michael Jackson, during the BET Awards '09 in Los Angeles June 28, 2009. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni (UNITED STATES ENTERTAINMENT)
Reuters
REFILE - ADDING CAPTION INFORMATION....Singer Ne-Yo and actor Jamie Foxx hug after singing "I'll Be There", a song by Michael Jackson, during the BET Awards '09 in Los Angeles June 28, 2009. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni (UNITED STATES ENTERTAINMENT)
Reuters
REFILE - ADDING CAPTION INFORMATION....Singer Ne-Yo (L) and actor Jamie Foxx sing "Ill Be There", a song by Michael Jackson, during the BET Awards '09 in Los Angeles June 28, 2009. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni (UNITED STATES ENTERTAINMENT)
Reuters
REFILE - ADDING CAPTION INFORMATION.....Actor Jamie Foxx sings "I'll Be There", a song by Michael Jackson, during the BET Awards '09 in Los Angeles June 28, 2009. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni (UNITED STATES ENTERTAINMENT IMAGES OF THE DAY)
Reuters
REFILE - ADDING CAPTION INFORMATION....Ne-Yo performs "The Lady in My Life", a song by Michael Jackson, at the BET Awards '09 in Los Angeles June 28, 2009. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni (UNITED STATES ENTERTAINMENT)
Reuters
REFILE - ADDING CAPTION INFORMATION....Singer Ne-Yo and actor Jamie Foxx sing "I'll Be There", a song by Michael Jackson, during the BET Awards '09 in Los Angeles June 28, 2009. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni (UNITED STATES ENTERTAINMENT)
Reuters
REFILE - ADDING CAPTION INFORMATION....Ne-Yo performs "The Lady in My Life", a song by Michael Jackson, at the BET Awards '09 in Los Angeles June 28, 2009. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni (UNITED STATES ENTERTAINMENT)
Reuters
REFILE - ADDING CAPTION INFORMATION....Singer Ciara performs "Heal the World", a song by Michael Jackson, .at the BET Awards '09 in Los Angeles June 28, 2009 REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni (UNITED STATES ENTERTAINMENT)
Reuters
REFILE - ADDING CAPTION INFORMATION....Singer Ciara performs "Heal the World", a song by Michael Jackson, .at the BET Awards '09 in Los Angeles June 28, 2009. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni (UNITED STATES ENTERTAINMENT)
Reuters
Comments: (907)
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By: sup on 7/17/2009 12:58AM
oh heck no! im sick and tired of this mess. i wish someone would say something like that to my face... dang! people so ignorant.
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By: blkstiletoz on 7/18/2009 4:50PM
well we SAW the person claiming to be Julie hernandez, while i see these comments as nothing more than backlash for the strides that some of us are making without being stereotypes (read lil wayne here)i'm unfazed by the hate speech. learned a long time ago, you only get talked about when you're doing something right, that people envy, want to emulate but how that look - emulating someone who's supposedly inferior to you. all the people mentioned in that twitter probably could buy and sell the tweeter nine times over. and most likely never saw that bird brain's tweet. er do pidgeons tweet? i know chickens cluck...
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By: S. Shaw on 7/20/2009 8:15AM
Some people are just ignorant and I dont think those people are gonna change. The internet is a breeding ground for these losers.
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By: Nzinga on 7/22/2009 9:41PM
As ugly and hurtful as some of the comments may be, I for one am glad that they are posted! They serve as a constant reminder that not everyone loves us as a race and they never will. Some Black people need to be reminded that no matter how much we imiate white american culture (speach, looks, mannerism, etc.) we still have not over come!
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By: Chet on 7/20/2009 11:37AM
I think all racist comments on websites like twitter should remain for all the world to see. American institutions, like traditional media, have always controlled what the world knows about America. As a result, most of the world sees the United States as a nation of fair minded, democracy driven white people. Only the Middle East sees the United States for what it is. Because they are dealing with this country's staunch support for people of white European decent, who have colonized a land they have no right too. And make no mistake, the United States is, always has been, and always will be a nation of white supremacist racism. Just because they have learned to spin it well, makes it no less true. And now that the internet exist, and people can read more then what is presented by traditional media, people all over the world should have every opportunity available to look at what's beneath the painted veil.
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By: akjdfafj on 7/22/2009 2:52PM
yes it is wrong for them to post up something like that but you guys have to remember "freedom of speak"
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By: JAMES WILLIAMS on 7/26/2009 10:32AM
YA'LL WON'T QUIT, WILL YOU. GET OVER THIS RACIST STUFF. QUESTION? DO YOU HAVE A BRAINAND DO YOU USE IT? IF YOU ANSWERED NO, THEN YOU'RE RIGHT FOR MY NEXT BUSINESS MOVE. YOU SEE, I'M GETTING READY TO START SELLING BRAINS. THATS RIGHT 'BRAINS'. IF, MY PEOPLE (BLACK PEOPLE) DON'T START USING THEIR BRAIN, I'M GOING TO HAVE THE DOCTOR DRILL A HOLE IN THE SIDE OF YOUR HEAD AND TAKE THAT BRAND NEW BRAIN OUT AND SELL IT, SINCE YOU WON'T USE IT, I'LL SELL IT.
I'M SICK AND TIRED OF LISTENING AND READING ABOUT ALL THIS RACE STUFF AND BILLIONS UPON BILLIONS OF DOLLARS ARE BEING SPENT DAILY AND WE ARE GETTING PEANUTS AND ALL MOST OF YOU KNOW IS RACIUM. I'M GOING TO BRING IT TO AN END. SO, JUST REMEMBER THE NEXT TIME YOU START TALKING ABOUT RACE, I'LL BE LOOKING AT YOU WITH A CONTRACT. I'M GOING TO REMOVE THAT NEW 'BRAIN', AND SELL IT.
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