LEFT-CENTER BIAS FACTUAL REPORTING: HIGH
- Mother says police would be ‘smart’ to profile her bi-racial son
- Says her white sons will probably grow up ‘nerdy’, while her black son will probably grow up ‘large and intimidating’
- Johnson cites statistics as to why her son will be more likely to commit violent crimes, while ignoring historically race based policy making
Wikipedia:
Who is Abby Johnson
Johnson has said that police would be “smart” if they racially profiled her mixed-race son, saying it’d be “smart” if police would, “would be more careful around my brown son than my white son.” Johnson has said, “Statistically, I look at our prison population, and I see that there is a disproportionately high number of African American males in our prison population for crimes, particularly for violent crimes. So statistically, when a police officer sees a brown man like my (son) Jude walking down the road — as opposed to my white nerdy kids, my white nerdy men walking down the road — because of the statistics that he knows in his head, that these police officers know in their head, they’re going to know that statistically my brown son is more likely to commit a violent offense over my white sons.” These remarks have attracted controversy.
LEAST BIASED FACTUAL REPORTING: MOSTLY FACTUAL
The Cut (New York Magazine):
Abby Johnson Said Police Would Be ‘Smart’ to Profile Her Biracial Son
Of course, what Johnson is actually referring to here is systemic racism — white people walking around with myths in their heads about Black people being dangerous and violent. They’re myths that white people created in service of a racial hierarchy, and which are not supported by actual FBI data. Or, you know. Statistics.
LEFT BIAS FACTUAL REPORTING: HIGH
Brookings Institution:
Abby Johnson’s comments about her adopted Black son are problematic. Here’s why.
Her mischaracterization of Black men writ large and her own son, rooted in racist stereotypes, was abhorrent. Less than 6% of Black people are arrested for violent crimes in any given year, yet Black people are continually stereotyped, profiled, and dehumanized. In the same video, Johnson surmised that her “brown son” would grow up and “he’s going to be a tall, probably sort of large, intimidating-looking-maybe brown man. And my other boys are probably gonna look like nerdy white guys,” a comparison that drew upon stereotypes about presumptions of Black people’s guilt and intellectual inferiority and the presumed innocence and intellectual superiority of Whites. Public reactions went from shock, to disbelief, to outrage, and even calls for Child Protective Services to step in for abuse. As her video went viral, friends and colleagues sent messages of outrage and disbelief. We read these with surprise – not at Johnson’s words, but at the incredulity of our allies. Did they think that having a child of color meant that white parents would commit to anti-racist perspectives and activity?
LEFT-CENTER BIAS FACTUAL REPORTING: VERY HIGH
Business Insider:
An RNC speaker said it would be ‘smart’ for the police to racially profile her biracial son because of ‘statistics’
Johnson went on to say that it “doesn’t actually make me angry” that a police officer ”would be more careful around my brown son than my white son.” She said that would make the officer “smart” because of “statistics.”
Johnson told Insider she had no regrets about sharing the video or the sentiments expressed in it.
LEFT-CENTER BIAS FACTUAL REPORTING: HIGH