culture
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St. Louis Rams ‘Did Not Apologize’ for Players’ ‘Hands Up, Don’t Shoot’ Gesture
St. Louis Rams spokesman Artis Twyman has told CNN that the team “did not apologize” to local law enforcement for players making the “Hands up, don’t shoot” gesture, despite St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar announcing that the organization had done just that on Monday, following the fallout over the weekend. Rams executive Kevin Demoff…
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Supreme Court Hears Case to Decide if Rap Lyrics Were Really Facebook Threats
The Supreme Court is hearing a case this week about Anthony Elonis, a Pennsylvania man who was sentenced to four years in prison for posting “explicit rap lyrics” to his Facebook page that expressed his desire to kill his wife, shoot up an elementary school, and “slit the throat” of the FBI agent who was…
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Did the Boycott Matter to Black Friday Retail Sales?
Getting in the black got a bit harder for some retailers this holiday season, thanks to everyone from the retailers themselves to nationwide protests related to Ferguson, Mo. In figures released Sunday by the National Retail Federation, sales were down 11 percent this past Thanksgiving weekend. That’s a nearly $7 billion drop in revenue since…
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The Ferguson Movement Has Too Much to Do—Don’t Let It Fizzle Out Like Occupy Wall Street
When we heard last week that Darren Wilson, the Ferguson, Mo., police officer who killed 18-year-old Michael Brown, wouldn’t be indicted, there was a collective gasp of despair that soon gave way to protests, tear gas and, in some cases, riots and looting. Ferguson’s outrage has inspired kindred, mostly peaceful demonstrations across the nation—with young…
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GOP Congressional Staffer, Who Was Reportedly Arrested as a Teen, Quits After Slamming Obama Girls
It’s a timeless adage: If you have nothing nice to say, don’t say anything at all. But Republican congressional staffer Elizabeth Lauten apparently never got that memo. She formally resigned on Monday after her comments about Malia and Sasha Obama went viral. Lauten, previously the communications director for Rep. Stephen Fincher (R-Tenn.), came under fire this weekend…
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St. Louis Rams Players Show Solidarity With Ferguson Protesters
Before the St. Louis Rams would destroy the Oakland Raiders 52-0 on Sunday at Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis, they wanted protesters in Ferguson, Mo., and all around the world to know that they stood in solidarity with them. Five St. Louis Rams players emerged from the tunnel during pregame introductions and stood with…
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Watch: Black Man Stopped by Cop for ‘Walking With His Hands in His Pockets’
On a brisk day around 4:30 p.m. in Pontiac, Mich., a black man was walking down the street with his hands in his pockets when a police officer stopped him. His charge: walking with his hands in his pockets. This is not a joke. Video of the incident, which has been making the rounds across…
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Ferguson Mayor: Darren Wilson Will Not Receive Severance Package
Over the weekend Darren Wilson, the Ferguson Missouri police officer who wasn’t indicted for fatally shooting unarmed teen Michael Brown, resigned from the police force, and the Ferguson mayor says that this ends the relationship between the city and Wilson. According to the Associated Press, Wilson, who had been on paid administrative leave since the…
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Coming Clean After Living Secretly With HIV for More Than 25 Years
Imagine going through your entire childhood having to hide your HIV-positive status because your mother wanted to protect you from being shunned, humiliated, bullied or abused like the late Ryan White, the Indiana teenager who contracted AIDS from a blood transfusion in 1984. Now imagine keeping that secret even as a college student while engaging…
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What Benjamin Watson’s Facebook Post Gets Wrong When It Comes to God, Sin and Ferguson
New Orleans Saints player Benjamin Watson penned one of the most-talked-about essays in the aftermath of last Monday’s racial violence in Ferguson, Mo. The heartfelt essay discusses Watson’s personal feelings regarding the killing of 18-year-old Michael Brown and the St. Louis County grand jury’s decision not to indict police Officer Darren Wilson in connection with…