Russell Brand says just what's wrong with the way people talk about white cops who kill black men.
What he says is so true.
The U.S. Department of Justice led an inquiry into possible racist tendencies in the Ferguson, Missouri, justice system after the death of Michael Brown, who was killed by Officer Darren Wilson on Aug. 9, 2014. The results of that investigation found evidence of overwhelming racial bias, as reported by Jon Swaine in the Guardian:
Ferguson's population is 67% African American, according to the 2010 census. Yet Justice Department investigators found that between 2012 and 2014, 93% of all arrests were of black people and almost nine in 10 uses of force were against African Americans. In all 14 bites by police dogs when racial information of the person bitten was available, that person was African American.
The problem seems to have been around for quite a while. In The Washington Post, Sari Horowitz reports that a November 2008 email from a Ferguson police officer or municipal court official stated:
President Obama could not be president for very long because "what black man holds a steady job for four years."
The fact that officials in Ferguson might be a little more biased than they should be isn't really surprising to people who feel that race had a lot to do with Michael Brown's killing and the subsequent disparaging of his character by the media.
This recent news sheds a lot of light on the months following the Ferguson shooting, riots, and verdict. Instead of speaking about the riots that happened in Ferguson in 2014 as "protests" or "civil unrest," it was phrased this way on Fox News:
Actor and occasional pundit Russell Brand points out in a video blog from November that the media routinely uses a particular kind of phrasing when talking about racism in Ferguson:
But wait, there's more...
Once Brand pointed it out, I couldn't stop hearing it in a March 4 report about the U.S. Department of Justice inquiry, also on Fox nNws:
Emphasis on the words "accuses" and "scathing" make it seem like a government report of actual facts might not be true. And if I didn't know the truth, that's exactly how I'd think about it.
Watch Russell's full blog below. It makes some pretty great points, even though at the time of this writing, it's four months old.
Fact Check: Russell mentions in the video that "every 28 hours, an unarmed young black man is killed by a law enforcement officer somewhere in America." That actually isn't true. This number originated with a 2012 report ("Operation Ghetto Storm") from the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement. Unfortunately, the study is non-academic and has lots of holes. In addition, the numbers in the report are not based on unarmed black men. The Washington Post explains how it doesn't hold up.
Still, after seeing this, I'll be paying a lot more attention to the kinds of words they're using on the news.
Beaver in water. Photo by 
An actual beaver dam on the now-thriving Price River
Not just coworkers—family, friends, strangers, kids…
Imagine having to go so badly but being out of euros. 
Anything hobbit-esque can't be wrong. 
But what if you need pain meds AND mascara?!
Imagine how this would affect childcare.
Honestly…where's the lie?
A brown buddha statue sits near a green mountain. Photo by 
Urgent dash to the bathroom! 🚪🏃♂️
Ladybug unexpectedly found during colonoscopyPhoto credit: 
Close-up of bottom of ladybug found in colonPhoto credit: 
There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."