The Daily Show: Ears Edition - ICYMI - The Shooting of Jacob Blake
Episode Date: August 31, 2020Protests erupt after police in Kenosha, WI, shoot unarmed Black man Jacob Blake seven times, and a white militia member goes on a shooting spree targeting demonstrators. Learn more about your ad-choi...ces at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcript
Discussion (0)
You're listening to Comedy Central.
When 60 Minutes premiered in September 1968, there was nothing like it.
This is 60 Minutes. It's a kind of a magazine for television.
Very few have been given access to the treasures in our archives.
But that's all about to change.
Like none of this stuff gets looked at. That's what's incredible.
I'm Seth Done of CBS News. Listen to 60 Minutes, a second look, starting September 17th, wherever
you get your podcasts.
After the George Floyd protests, which swept not only the US, but many countries around the world,
there was definitely a sense that this could be the moment of systemic change.
Cops marched with protesters. City councils discussed alternatives to police and most importantly,
pancake syrup became woke. But as we've been reminded of yet again, there is still a long way to go. Disturbing video throwing a city into turmoil, a black man walking away from police shot
repeatedly while reaching into his car.
Kenosha, Wisconsin police, responding to a domestic incident at about 5 o'clock Sunday
evening.
At least two officers with their guns drawn followed him as he walked around the front of
his gray SUV.
Then at least seven shots. Blake's family now says the 29-year-old spinal cord is severed and that he's paralyzed
from the waist down, though doctors aren't sure it's permanent.
His family is now demanding.
The officers involved in Sunday's shooting captured on this cell phone video be fired and
the one who shot Blake in the back be arrested.
No matter how many times I watch these videos, I'll never get used to how quickly police go
from issuing commands to using deadly force.
Like whatever happened to warning shots or tackling a suspect?
Like are we really meant to believe that the only two options a cop has is do nothing
or shoot somebody in the back seven times?
That's all we have? I mean, think about it, even when wild
animals are loose on the streets, they don't always shoot to kill, they have tranquilizers, they
have nets. I never thought I would wish for black people to be treated at least like a wild bear,
but here we are. And I know people are questioning why Blake didn't just follow the police's orders. Just listen to the cops, the cops, the cops, the cops, the cops, the cops, the cops, the police, the cops, the cops, their, their, their, their, th, th, th, th, thi, thi, thi, thi, thin, thi, thi, thi, thin, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they th, they they they th, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, that, thin, that, thin, that, thin, that, that, that, thi, thi, thi, th police's orders. Just listen to the cops and you'll be fine.
And look, I don't know why he didn't. I don't. All right? Maybe he was worried because he had
outstanding warrants. Maybe it's because he knows what happened to George Floyd when he did
follow the police's orders. Maybe he just wanted to get his sunglasses. It doesn't matter
to the police because they jumped straight to this black man. this black man is going to try kill us if we don't kill him first.
Like, let's say for argument's sake that they shot Jacob Blake to stop him from reaching
his car. And let's ignore for a second, but that's a f-ed-up, terrible, inhumane way to stop somebody
from reaching into their car. They shot him seven times. What purpose do bullets two, three, four, five, six, and seven, and seven, and seven, and seven, and seven, and seven, and seven, th. And seven, th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thiolk, th. th. th. th. thiolk, th. th. th. th. th. th. th. to, to, to, to, to, th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, the. And, toea. toea. toea. toea. totea. toea. toge. toge. toge. And, tha. And, tha. And, tha. And, the two, three, four, five, six, and seven serve?
Either way, Blake's move toward his car, made them see him as a threat.
But as his sister reminded us, they forgot to also see him as a human being.
I am my brother's keeper.
And when you say the name, Jacob Blake,
make sure you say father, make sure you say cousin,
make sure you say son, make sure you say uncle, but most importantly, make sure you say human.
Human life. Let it marinate in your mouth, in your minds.
A human life. So many people have reached out to me,
telling me they're sorry that this happened to my family.
Well, don't be sorry,
because this has been happening to my family for a long time.
Longer than I can account for.
It happened to Emmett Till.
Immitil is my family. Forlando, Mike Brown, Sandra.
This has been happening to my family.
And I shared tears for every single one of these people that has happened to.
This is nothing new.
I'm not sad.
I'm not sorry.
I'm angry.
And I'm tired.
And I haven't cried one time. I stop crying years ago.
I am numb. I have been watching police murder people that look like me for years. I'm not sad.
I don't want your pity. I want change. Those are powerful words. Those are words filled with pain
and it only makes sense that Jacob's sister is angry.
Because not only have black people been mistreated for generations by the police,
but because there's almost never any police accountability.
These incidents remain an open wound, and the pain in the anger just builds and builds
with no closure or relief. Black people are tired of hearing I'm sorry and then nothing happening because
essentially what they're really hearing is I'm sorry this is happening and
I'm sorry that it's going to happen again.
And it's because of that frustration and anger and pain that once again
people took to the streets to express their rage.
Outrage igniting in Kenosia a city on fire people took to the streets to express their rage.
Outrage igniting in Kenosha a city on fire, rioters smashing traffic lights, storming businesses
looting, torching buildings and cars.
From Battalion 1 we have multiple cars on fire.
As demonstrators faced off with police, tensions quickly escalating, authorities pepper-spraying
civilians.
The entire site, as you can see, still smoldering, and firefighters are still running around
town dealing with several sites just like this one.
The governor deployed 125 members of the National Guard here yesterday to help as
those peaceful protests during the day turned destructive after the 8 p.m curfew. Yes, for three days now, the streets of Kenosha have been a the the the the the the thia the the thia thia the thia turned destructive after the 8 p.m.
curfew. Yes, for three days now, the streets of Kenosha have been a blaze.
And although there have been peaceful protests, I mean that inevitably gets
overshadowed when there is so much civil unrest. So once again, the
pattern repeats itself. An unarmed black person is shot by the cops.
In response, people go into the streets.
more law enforcement is sent the the the chaos, the the chaos, their, their, their, their, their, thiiiiux. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thiol, toe, thi. thi. Yes, toe, toe, toe, toe, too, too, tooom, tooom. Yes, tooom. Yes, too, th. Yes, th. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. In response, people go into the streets. More law enforcement
is sent in and the chaos only continues to grow. I could tell you the story with my eyes
closed by now. Like if I wanted to, I could pre-record five of these segments go on vacation
and you'd probably never know. And in this situation, just when you thought things couldn't thin thiiiii. Last night it did. Breaking news, a very dangerous situation in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
Two people are dead in clashes that may have involved armed vigilantes.
People may have moved into that city to counter the protests following the police shooting.
The sheriff used the word militia to describe some of the people who may have been involved
in last night shooting.
We've just learned that a 17-year-old has been charged with first-degree murder and at
least one of those killings last night.
And we now have seen some social media video of a man with a long gun strapped across
his chest, running down the street or walking down the street and being chased by people
who are yelling. He's shooting. He shot someone. The man trips falls on his own. People still still, the the the the the street, the street, the street, the street, the street, the street, the street, the street, the street, the street, the street, the street, the street, the street, the street, the street, the street, the street, the street, the street, the street, the street,'s shooting, he shot someone.
The man trips, falls on his own.
People still try to come and apprehend him and get him.
He then fires again at point-blank range at two more people,
and then the man continues to walk down the street.
He is a white man with a huge gun strapped across his chest with his hands up.
As you see police vehicles, not one, not two, but three. the the the thoes. thoes. thoes. thoes. thoes. thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiioles. thioles. thioles. thioles. thiole. thiole. thiole. thiole. thiolome people people people. thiolies to to to to to to to to to to to to to people. People people. People people people people people people people people. People. People to to to to to to to to to to to to thi, people. thi, people. thi, people. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. the, the, the, the the the the the toe the the toe the toe the the toe toe toe people the people, not one, not two, but three vehicles who are coming towards him.
He has his hands up with his gun, people are yelling, he shot someone, he shot
someone, and police pass him by. There are a lot of questions here as to why he
wasn't apprehended at that time. That's right, last night, some guy decided to drive to Knocia with his militia buddies to protect to protect to protect to protect to protect to protect to protect to protect to protect to protect to protect to protect to protect to protect to protect to protect to protect to protect to protect to protect to to protect to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to toe. two to two two two two two two two two two two two two two two two two two two two two two two two two two two two two two two two two the the two the the the the the the the the the their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their.eq. Heaq. theq. Heaq. Heaq. Heaq. Heaq. Heaq. Heaq. Heaq. Heaq. Heaq. Heaq. Heaq. three. three. three. three at that time. That's right, last night, some guy decided to drive to Kenosha with his militia
buddies to protect a business, and apparently ended up shooting three people and killing two.
But don't worry, the business is okay.
And let me tell you something.
No one drives into a city with guns because they love someone else's business that much. That's some bullshit.
No one has ever thought, oh, it's my solemn duty to pick up a rifle and protect that TJ
Max.
They do it because they're hoping to shoot someone.
That's the only reason people like him join these gangs in the first place.
And yes, I said it, a gang.
Enough with this militia bullshit.
This isn't the battle the battle the battle the battle the battle the battle the battle bullshit. This isn't the Battle of Yorktown, it's a bunch of dudes threatening people with guns.
And while what happened with those shootings last night is tragic, what happened afterwards
is illuminating.
Because it made me wonder, it really made me wonder why some people get shot seven times
in the back, while other people are treated like human beings and reasoned with
and taken into custody
with no bullets in their bodies.
How come Jacob Blake was seen as a deadly threat for a theoretical gun that he might have
and might try to commit a crime with?
But this gunman who was armed and had already shot people who had shown that he is
a threat was arrested the next day, given full due
process of the law and generally treated like a human being whose life masses.
How did Dylan Roof shoot up a church, James Holmes shoot up a movie theater and both
live to tell about it?
Why is it that the police decide that some threats must be extinguished while other
threats get the privilege of being diffused.
I'm asking these as questions, but I feel like we know the answer.
The answer is that the gun doesn't matter as much as who is holding the gun.
Because to some people, black skin is the most threatening weapon of war. The Daily Show with Cover Noa, Ears Edition.
Watch the Daily Show weeknights at 11, 10 Central on Comedy Central, and the Comedy Central
app.
Watch full episodes and videos at the Daily Show.
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and subscribe to the Daily Show on
YouTube for exclusive content and more. This has been a Comedy Central podcast.
When 60 Minutes premiered in September 1968, there was nothing like it.
This is 60 Minutes.
It's a kind of a magazine for television.
Very few have been given access to the treasures in our archives.
But that's all about to change.
Like none of this stuff gets looked at.
That's what's incredible.
I'm Seth Done of CBS News.
Listen to 60 Minutes, a second look on Apple podcasts starting September 17.