I watched the funeral of Stephon Clark, and my heart shattered. Being racist has always been lucrative in America. How could I stand in front of them and tell them that their lives mattered when everything in the world is telling them that was not the case? Even Faith Linthicum, a nurse that was fired for saying that Stephon Clark deserved to die, raised over 20,000 dollars on GoFundMe. The news of Vassell’s death came on my Twitter feed just as I was about to teach a workshop to Black youth on the 50th Anniversary of Dr. While many Black people were dealing with the devastation of yet another murder by the police, just days later, Saheed Vassell, a 35-year-old Black man, diagnosed with bipolar disorder was murdered by the police, who claim the showerhead he was holding, looked like a gun. "But the desire for it to- that's what this song is about.On March 18, Stephon Clark, a 22-year-old Black man was murdered in his grandmother’s backyard by Sacramento Police after the police claim his cell phone was a gun. "My political views have never been something I've hidden from, and I know that a lot of us in this Country don't agree on how we get back to a sense of normalcy where we go at least a day without a headline that keeps us up at night," he said. He said that the song is about "the feeling of a community that I had growing up, where we took care of our neighbors, regardless of differences of background or belief." He said that nobody, including him, "wants to continue to see senseless headlines or families ripped apart." He used his statement to remind people of the mass shooting he was present at, the Route 91 Harvest country music festival in Las Vegas in 2017. There is not a single lyric in the song that references race or points to it- and there isn't a single video clip that isn't real news footage -and while I can try and respect others to have their own interpretation of a song with music- this one goes too far." "These references are not only meritless, but dangerous. "In the past 24 hours I have been accused of releasing a pro-lynching song (a song that has been out since May) and was subject to the comparison that I (direct quote) was not too pleased with the nationwide BLM protests," he tweeted on Tuesday. Now, Aldean is speaking out about the song and video. Greg Price, communications director for the conservative State Freedom Caucus Network, described the music video as "absolutely epic," saying it "rips into the left-wing riots, soft on crime governance in cities, gun control, and other leftist degradation." "Apparently this is 'controversial' and hateful according to the left," Collin Rugg, the co-owner of Trending Politics said. Those scenes are set against traditional patriotic Americana scenes – soldiers in war, people hunting, a family on a farm, kids playing hopscotch, and a farmer saying in his community, "somebody needs some help, you'll get it." That was mixed with footage of more violent demonstrations, as well as security footage of seemingly random robberies. Many fans, however, have applauded the song, saying the music video "calls out left-wing violence, specifically violence against law enforcement." The music video puts a strong emphasis on the protests against police brutality that have rocked the nation for several years now, showing footage of protestors confronting cops. "You should know that better than anyone having survived a mass shooting. There's nothing small-town or American about promoting violence," she said. "Even people in small towns are sick of violence. Even fellow country music star Sheryl Crow spoke out, saying "I'm from a small town."
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