MSNBC host Joy Reid said Wednesday that for “people on the right,” not being able to “be openly racist and discriminatory without consequence is suppression.”
Reid, responding to a tweet from MSNBC political contributor Dr. Jason Johnson, said “people on the right would trade all the tax cuts for the ability to openly say the n-word like in ‘the good old days.'” (RELATED: Here Are 7 Times Joy Reid, MSNBC’s New Primetime Host, Spread Misinformation)
I’ll say it again: people on the right would trade all the tax cuts for the ability to openly say the n-word like in “the good old days.” To them, not being able to be openly racist and discriminatory without consequence is oppression. Trump is the avatar for this “freedom.” https://t.co/RlqAFYe5Zr
— Joy-Ann Pro-Democracy & Masks Reid (@JoyAnnReid) March 4, 2021
Yes, because code-switching, mask wearing and all of the other hoops that black people have to go through to appease enough of the majority to even GET into law school isn’t the issue. But censoring yourself from saying the N word amongst friends is https://t.co/PsKFXl1BUb
— Dr. Jason Johnson (@DrJasonJohnson) March 4, 2021
“To them, not being able to be openly racist and discriminatory without consequence is oppression,” Reid wrote. “Trump is the avatar for this ‘freedom.'”
Both Reid and Johnson were addressing a Deseret News article by journalist Bari Weiss, who claims “self-censorship is threatening democracy.”
In the article, Weiss noted how people on the left and right feel pressure to “self-censor” when talking about certain political topics. She mentioned a study from the Cato Institute that found 62% of Americans self-censor, and another 32% worry their political views could harm their employment prospects.
Reid will be teaching a master’s journalism class at Howard University in the spring of 2021.