For about two years, I’ve had a video clip of an ABC Nightline News broadcast on youtube. It’s a segment from a show discussing violence in NOLA, and heavily features stories related to the murders of Helen Hill and Dinneral Shavers. It’s personal, this event, and for New Orleans, it symbolized a larger political movement that continues now. (I’ve written about these things here, here, here, here, and here.)
Every once in awhile a comment appears on the video and I get email notification of it. The most usual comments have been from some guy who repeatedly wrote posts incriminating Paul in Helen’s murder — I have responded by deleting the comments and blocking the user. After a few goes under two names, he stopped. More recently, though, it’s turned into standard anti-NOLA crap. The sort of comments you get from folks whose profile names are “LuvFOXNews”. I’ve treated it like the others — like a nasty fly to swat away and forget. But then another one showed up today. And I guess I’ve started to have enough of the bullshit. Maybe the ridiculousness around the responses to the President’s attempts at making our world better is pushing me over some edge or something, I don’t know. But for whatever reason, I actually went to this person’s youtube page before deleting and blocking the comment, which was:
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chevyls1camaro has made a comment on ABC Nightline Jan 24th (New Orleans Violence):
And it’ll probably be by the Coroner.
stupid stupid fucking people.
You can reply to this comment by visiting the comments page.
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Typical New Orleans hate. Here’s chevylscamaro‘s youtube page.
I visited the page and found that NOLA hate, black hate, and just about any other kind of hate one can think of seems to be this person’s reason for joining youtube. I dunno, hating others maybe this person’s reason for living. I couldn’t think of anything to do with the information, except for sending it here, and writing about it. I thought you all may have some constructive thoughts or suggestions.
magpie | 04-Sep-09 at 12:52 pm | Permalink
I didn’t know that you knew Helen Hill. I didn’t, but other blog friends – not from NOLA – did. Weird small world, eh?
Lucy | 04-Sep-09 at 6:55 pm | Permalink
What a sad story about that lovely family.
As far as the commenter, first, I had no idea people had youtube pages and second, the thing we love about the United States can also be hurtful and frustrating, Freedom of Speech. The best thing to do is to ignore such hate and to continue teaching positive language. It is frustrating but censorship is wrong and just like you want to be able to posts your beliefs others must have that freedom too.
I can’t stand it that when a KuKluxKlan holds a rally THEY get protection from protestors. It drives me nuts that my tax dollars pays for such a thing but it is the price we must pay for all our individual rights and the only combat against it is educating and teaching against the HATE.
The teaching must start at a young age. I love the Book ‘Hate Hurts’ and I’m sorry I don’t have the author handy but it starts with teaching small kids all the way through teenage years. I love that book. I have used it in all my teachings!!!
Good Luck!
chrissieroux | 05-Sep-09 at 7:38 pm | Permalink
I wish I had something constructive to add, but I spend an inordinate amount of time stomping around, muttering to myself about exactly this sort of rhetoric.
kitty | 06-Sep-09 at 2:56 am | Permalink
I’m tired of it too, Holly. What I’m seeing on the news that passes for “protest” in these town halls look too much to me like hate speech. I am agog that people are not calling it what it is.
Pistolette | 06-Sep-09 at 7:46 am | Permalink
I think this is quite the extreme. I grew up around people like the one above, but I also know a lot of intelligent skeptics, and we can’t just put everyone in “with us or against us” boxes like George W did. Even though I think that person above is an ass, personally, the first thing I thought when I heard of Helen’s story was ‘dear god honey, why did you open the door to a stranger in the middle of the night?’ No one who was born and raised in Nola, black or white, would do such a thing. We just know better. Truly working to make the world a better place is a noble thing, but assuming everyone else has also arrived at your enlightened epiphanies is just suicide in a place like this.