A columnist for the New York Times penned an opinion piece titled “Black Lead Matters” which aims at the lead industry’s carelessness in eliminating the instances of lead poisoning. The op-ed also makes mention that Black communities have largely been struck with the issue, which has sparked a robust conversation on Twitter Friday morning.
Paul Krugman’s piece isn’t especially about the issues in Flint, Mich. or the truth that many inner-city dwellings still have issues with lead. Instead, it focuses on the lead poisoning policies of presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, both of whom have not made the issue a central focus of the race. Krugman also makes mention of a 2013 book that stated the industry tried to push lead poisoning as a problem of poor people of color who live in squalor.
On Twitter, many users are supportive of Krugman’s angle that lead poisoning does impact poor people adversely. That has ignited a vicious and racist counterattack wave from Twitter users who see the piece as a form of political agenda with insults ranging from the subtle to the overt.
Naturally, some are using this topic to attack the Black Lives Matter movement and the so-called specter of Black On Black crime although it’s not even the same issue or ballpark. There is also some criticism of Krugman’s choice to affix his own spin to the popular BLM hashtag.
Once again, mentioning any issues in the favor of Black people getting justice in the online space seems to make these foaming at the mouth racists pop up like weeds in concrete. Here’s where we tell you that Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder is Republican and had full knowledge of the city’s water crisis but the bozos online are putting it on the Democratic Party.
Instead of partisan sword-fighting, it’d make sense that folks on both sides of the aisle find ways to serve the needs of its people and not be done with tired political posturing.
The conversation can be joined by following the #BlackLeadMatters hashtag and also by clicking here. Below and on the following pages, we’ve featured some of the chatter around the subject. Krugman’s column can be found here.
https://twitter.com/IamKerryLove/status/771691094266503168
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Photo: By U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, photographer not specified or unknown – U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Digital Visual LibraryImage pageImage description pageDigital Visual Library home page, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1857842–
