Internet explodes with #CrimingWhileWhite hashtag

theGRIO REPORT - As racial tensions rise around the country after neither officer involved in the deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner was indicted by a grand jury, Twitter has responded with a kind of self-aware white privilege.

Dec 4, 2014
Luther Vandross was outed as gay after his death.

As racial tensions rise around the country after neither officer involved in the deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner was indicted by a grand jury, Twitter responded Wednesday night with a kind of self-aware white privilege.

The hashtag, #CrimingWhileWhite, has been used not only by white users acknowledging they’ve gotten away with crimes, but also by users pointing out the difference in punishments between high-profile crimes of white celebrities and Wall Street-type tycoons and black celebrities.

https://twitter.com/MimiHamburger/status/540532023333748736

Several Twitter users in the tag also shared stories of their own encounters with police and how their stories differed from those told by African-American members of the community. From CEOs to teenagers with DUIs, #CrimingWhileWhite is shedding a light on just how differently the justice system serves its communities of different races.

Thursday, #AliveWhileBlack began trending on Twitter. Black men and women began sharing their experiences of police harassment accompanied by the hashtag.

https://twitter.com/HypemanFresco/status/540544111741509632

https://twitter.com/Russian_Starr/status/540534927163682816

https://twitter.com/chescaleigh/status/540527557289193472

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