Joy Reid, Killer Mike and the Pettiness of it All

To borrow a classic movie quote, nobody puts Killer Mike in a corner.

Rapper “Killer Mike” Render found himself in some hot water after what seemed like a fairly innocent interview with NRATV’s Colion Noir. Render defended the second amendment as an imperative for African Americans and their dignity as beleaguered citizens.

But in the age of social media no good deed goes unpunished. The popular rapper was roundly criticized by the leftwing media and many black fans for supposedly supporting a “racist” organization. Professional crank Joy Reid got in on the act, scolding the grown man for daring to have a cordial conversation with someone he might disagree with. The whole thing devolved into a social media frenzy when Render came at Joy on Twitter in what was frankly, a stupid and ill-informed attack on a picture she took for a public appearance. The entire incident doesn’t need to be rehashed. You can click here to get up to speed.

To Reid’s credit, she invited the entertainer to appear on her show on Sunday to discuss their “beef”, his comments and his views on the NRA and second amendment in general.

Render began by thanking her for the invitation and apologizing for his silly tweet, which Reid accepted before she went on to grill him about his audacity for lending any creedance to the NRA – which she views as an organization hostile to African-Americans.

Reid justified her crustiness by claiming that NRATVs airing of the interview on the day of March for Life was a direct provocation. She also said she felt threatened by NRATV hosts airing segments in which they directly called out her lies and disinformation campaigns.

When an organization that is all about guns starts tweeting out “We’re watching you” I feel threatened.

Joy Reid is threatened by tweets and people holding her accountable for the disinformation she spreads. I guess that’s what passes for “oppression” these days in the Ivy League, out-of-touch, overpaid coastal set at MSNBC.

For his part, Killer Mike respectfully countered her comments with logic and reason.

I sat down to promote a conversation that’s being left out of the national gun conversation and that is black gun ownership

African American gun ownership in this country has always been used as a defense mechanism.

When Reid pointed out that his interview was used by the NRA and the right as a tool to belittle the anti-gun contingent, Render admitted that he had unintentionally been caught up in a left-right battle and that it was beginning to make everyone a little bit crazy.

All of us have become petty. It can be argued that all on the left and right have become petty.

Render is right. This whole thing has become about insulting each other rather than solving issues. Too many people on the left and the right have taken the position that the only way is their way, which automatically precludes any rational conversation. Rationality seems to have completely left the building when it comes to the social media discussion.

Hilariously, Reid actually admitted that she agreed with all of Render’s points about the second amendment. However, her job at MSNBC is not to invite consensus or find common ground. That doesn’t make for good tv, so naturally Reid felt obligated to paint the NRA as racist and worse, actively working against African American issues.

Render’s response:

I’m not here to defend or fix an organization.

It’s difficult to be a black American defending liberty and constitutional rights in the mainstream media. There’s a careful dance one must do between recognizing the very real challenges black Americans face in this nation and understanding the function of our rights and how to grasp those rights as individuals to propel us to success.

As eclectic as Killer Mike’s views may be, he seems to have a healthy handle on that “dance” while understanding that his bread and butter is as an entertainer, not a spokesperson for controversy. His treatment in the mainstream media and by his fans in general has been unfair and based on minute-long sound clips and ill-informed assumptions.

For her part, Reid has not done much to inject any curiosity into the conversation, but I would expect nothing less. It’s her job to be angry. She’s an extremely sharp woman who has worked hard to get where she is, but as an op-ed journalist myself I find little to respect about the combative attitude with which she addresses everyone who disagrees with her. In fact, Reid blocked me on Twitter for daring to be a black woman who saw gun ownership in much the same way Killer Mike does. When I used the word “we” to describe how black Americans should feel about the way we’ve been served by our government officials, she called me a bot and hit the block button.

Blocked.

I couldn’t care less about my own feelings, but she regularly suggests that center right or conservative African Americans are selling out in some way because of our ideology.

Well, Joy…what happens to your job if you tell MSNBC you are no longer willing to trade on race issues to advance your ratings? The day you walk in there and say, “I’m more than just race…I’m an accomplished woman with diverse views and I won’t be sensationalizing race anymore” is the day you’re out of business.

Killer Mike has it right. Everyone is petty.

And what is really petty about this interview is that Render apologized profusely and respectfully and she offered no such apology in return for her absolutely petty and rude comments to him after his interview with Colion Noir.

That’s triflin’, Joy…and you know it.

And to Killer Mike, I’ll just reiterate what I laid out in an earlier column – you don’t owe anyone any apologies for yourself. You haven’t done anything wrong. Clearly you have views that make it hard to “pigeon-hole” you for the left or the right and frankly, I find that refreshing. Don’t let anyone tell you that you need to pick a side. Choose yourself, choose freedom, choose maturity and let the Joy Reid’s of the world do what they do.

You can also view the exchange at MSNBC.

The post Joy Reid, Killer Mike and the Pettiness of it All appeared first on RedState.