Comments on Backbone Women: The social media stoning of Rachel Jeantel

How can you say she was Consistent????? She was b...

2013-07-23T10:52:10.390-07:00

How can you say she was Consistent????? She was busted and admitted for lying because her stories WEREN'T consistent! Were we watching the same thing? :(

THis PAGE IS A COMPLETE FRIGGEN JOKE! You people ...

2013-07-23T10:49:04.008-07:00

THis PAGE IS A COMPLETE FRIGGEN JOKE! You people make me sick! I could give a shit if she's black and fat. Rachael is a retard and I would be embarrassed as a Black to stick up for her non educational ass! I'm a big girl and i'm white. If one of you want to make a change, offer to help her out so that she quits talking in ebonics! It's not cute and she will be continually ridiculed because of her lack of education until she does something about it! Listen to her on that idiot Piers Morgan show! That shit gave me a headache trying to figure out what the hell she was saying! LMAO

Of course if a "white" person says they ...

2013-07-23T10:41:50.034-07:00

Of course if a "white" person says they are offended by being called a cracka, you turn it around and make it about you! Typical racial bullshit! Don't even know WHY I would comment on this because it's such CRAP! You make my blood boil! Anti Black my cracka ass! Boo on you

Jeffwinbush, I was thinking the same thing. It mad...

2013-07-16T17:28:37.789-07:00

Jeffwinbush, I was thinking the same thing. It made me think that blacks seem to be most critical of blacks at times, even more so than whites or other races are of blacks. Like when you are watching a news story and the reporter finds the most ghetto black person in the crowd to give their eyewitness account. And then everyone cringes.

Wow I really feel sorry for all of you ppl on here...

2013-07-15T23:23:08.470-07:00

Wow I really feel sorry for all of you ppl on here. I give much respect to Rachel and Trayvonn and his parents. In the end they're all who matter to me when it comes to this case. Anything else is irrelevant. I know that some type of revenge will come to GZ for the crime he committed towards Trayvonn just for being black. :-(

Travis go fuck yourself . You're just upset bc...

2013-07-15T23:07:37.226-07:00

Travis go fuck yourself . You're just upset bc u wish you were like blacks and it's eating u up inside that u arent as strong & powerful as we are. In the end your just a coward bitch that wouldn't dare make these comments in public.... and that's a fact.

Actually she is being ripped to shreds for being a...

2013-07-07T06:44:36.183-07:00

Actually she is being ripped to shreds for being a complete fool. Her being black and fat are purely coincidental.

This may be hard for you to believe but, it has no...

2013-07-07T06:39:34.821-07:00

This may be hard for you to believe but, it has nothing to do with race. This had everything to do with a complete moron on the stand. You actually believe in your apparently racist heart that "I heard wet grass" is an acceptable testimony in a murder trial!? Stop playing the race card, you look as ignorant as her. Think about it..."That's what they do on First 48" is stupid coming from any race.

Why are people feeling sorry for Rachel Jeantel? S...

2013-07-05T19:33:26.805-07:00

Why are people feeling sorry for Rachel Jeantel? She is now being hailed as the new African American folk hero for black women. Damn, the bar is getting lower and lower.

Strength, honor, dignity and courage used to be the qualities of women that were admired.

Now, the "I-an-unedgewcated-Afrikeen-Amerikeen-womens-an-I asks-how-I-pleases *eye roll, head roll*, gross, undignified sloppy mess is what is being esteemed now.

So, don't feel bad for her. Her lack of respect for Trayvon, his parents and the reason she was on the witness stand is being forgiven by much of the black community and even some whites. Well, whites pretty much expected her to behave the way she did. Ya know, the typical black woman?

Any racially disparaging term is wrong. I admit sl...

2013-07-03T08:47:50.822-07:00

Any racially disparaging term is wrong. I admit slavery was bad and wrong but have you ever personally experienced it? I'll answer that for you. No. You don't understand it and cracker as in white like saltine??? I've never seen someone the color of that. Since you are obviously uneducated ill take a moment with you. The n word came from négro which is the Spanish word for black look it up. So your argument is completely stupid....

I think you the writer is the racist here. Rachel ...

2013-07-03T08:26:14.881-07:00

I think you the writer is the racist here. Rachel is not an example of "young black womanhood" and for you to imply that she is shows what you think of young black women. I know thousands of black girls that would take offense to your statement. You are saying they are all overweight, poorly wigged, slow witted and ghetto and I assure you this is not the case. She is the epitomy of a " ghetto black girl" however which is why you see many in the black community speaking out against her. I was raised in Louisiana where my school was at least 50% black all the way through. We all had the same teachers and education yet some, not all, of the black students chose to speak the way she does. You can't mark it up to a social divide or a "stigma" they choose to represent themselves in this manner. People like you are the problem race pushers who act like they care but are truly working for inequality and racial divide. I find it very upsetting that many of you are defending this girl due to your own racial shaming by media bullies like this one. Rachel Jenteal is no more representitave of the black race or culture than honey boo boo and mama June are representative of the white race or culture.

Cracker? Please, cracker is NOTHING like the N wor...

2013-07-01T15:36:09.642-07:00

Cracker? Please, cracker is NOTHING like the N word. It's like using the word Scarlet for Red. Cracker is just color, like a Saltine cracker. The N word has a string of TOTALLY different meanings. It was said when African Americans were SLAVES, and when there was SEGREGATION, as in they were thought to be LESS than human, or LESS than whites. Cracker is NOTHING like the N word. Cracker is to Saltine what the N word is to Slaves and Segregation; can't make the comparison. I concur... Travis is scum of the earth. Go cry somewhere else.

Holy crap!!... internet tough guy(travis)... bet u...

2013-06-30T15:42:41.412-07:00

Holy crap!!... internet tough guy(travis)... bet u look like gargamel....
sherri great piece. Although i just heard bout this young lady, its sad that this is happening. This is also the world we live in... people have freedom of speech but are taking that to extremes...

Genuflect! You're a genius, Jeffwinbush.

2013-06-29T07:37:18.134-07:00

Genuflect! You're a genius, Jeffwinbush.

Cracker who uses the term "cracker" to m...

2013-06-29T07:32:00.029-07:00

Cracker who uses the term "cracker" to make fun of crackers says, THANK you.

This Travis clown has some deep rooted issues...sc...

2013-06-29T04:09:57.443-07:00

This Travis clown has some deep rooted issues...scum of the earth is too good for him..We wouldn't be here at all if George would have minded his got damn business. Travon had every right to be there...visiting his damn father...where is Travis getting his facts from??

I'm not surprised White folks didn't dig R...

2013-06-28T22:05:05.698-07:00

I'm not surprised White folks didn't dig Rachel Jeantel. They usually don't dig dark-skinned, plus-sized sistas who don't genuflect to White authority.

What I am surprised by was how vicious the comments were from Black folks. As if they had never met anyone like Rachel or don't have any Rachels in their own family. Surprised and disgusted.

wow you used racial slurs and racist language mult...

2013-06-28T22:03:17.841-07:00

wow you used racial slurs and racist language multiple times in an effort to divert racism... think you got bigger problem dude.

I did. I'm in a bad mood already, and I'm ...

2013-06-28T21:31:11.084-07:00

I did. I'm in a bad mood already, and I'm sick of entitled white men thinking they're smarter or better than others. It's so disgusting. This dude is the scum of the earth, and I think his comments should be deleted.

Your rights aren't being taken away from you. ...

2013-06-28T21:29:06.562-07:00

Your rights aren't being taken away from you. You have no understanding of institutional racism or privilege. You are not even slightly respectable, and yet your entitled ass has the nerve to think you're better than black people. You're not. You're a shitstain and a disgrace to the human race. Go cry somewhere else, asshole.

She was repeating what Trayvon said while he was b...

2013-06-28T21:25:13.760-07:00

She was repeating what Trayvon said while he was being stalked by Zimmerman. But seriously, if your response to how Rachel Jenteal is being treated is to be offended at the word cracker, than you have seriously messed up priorities. Anti-black racism and being called a cracker are not even comparable. While seeing a white person being referred to as a cracker may offend your delicate sensibilities, you don't live in a system and society that hates you. I'm offended you even thought this was necessary to say on an article that is not about you, but about Rachel Jenteal and Trayvon Martin.

Thank you Sherri for speaking to this subject. I ...

2013-06-28T18:00:08.303-07:00

Thank you Sherri for speaking to this subject. I was quite disturbed with all the negative comments on Facebook,Twitter, etc. Social Media can build people up and just as quickly tear people down. My heart goes out to Rachel Jeantel and I hope she is not emotionally scarred by this whole ordeal. Very well written Sherri!

While Rachel Jeantel may not be the most articulat...

2013-06-28T17:04:08.832-07:00

While Rachel Jeantel may not be the most articulate person on the witness stand, she has been consistent with her story. She's held her own against the defense while still holding on to her dignity.

She's dealing with the knowledge of being the last person who actually spoke to her friend before finding out he died under tragic circumstances. She has and continues to deal with a media firestorm surrounding this trial. She's dealing with a language that's not her first language and a defense attorney who's pulling out all stops to make her look like a liar.

If anything, Rachel Jeantel serves as a reminder to those of us who are blessed with being better off need to mentor our young people and serve as advocates for the communities in which we reside.

@ hungrystudent Good point. I didn't take th...

2013-06-28T11:07:05.227-07:00

@ hungrystudent

Good point. I didn't take the bait, but I did respond. Thanks for bringing it back to Sherri and her excellent essay. I hope you get what you are hungering for!

Travis--racism is prejudice + power--the power to ...

2013-06-28T11:04:46.805-07:00

Travis--racism is prejudice + power--the power to back up prejudice with laws and policies that target black and brown people. White people have prejudice and power. Black and brown people may have prejudice, but not that kind of power. For every OJ Simpson, with the money to buy his way out, you have countless regular folks who don't. Combine racism and poverty (classism) and you've got a lot to overcome. And black and brown folks do every day. They are not doing it to you, it's the rich white folks who've got us all against each other. Think about it. I hope you do.