systemically and repeatedly pro profiled because of the color of their skin. the social media has been powerful and what michael and others are doing is powerful because it s the informal part. we ll come back, because i want to talk about stop and frisk. but before we go out, i want to read this quote from the detroit writer and filmmaker, because i think she captures this sense. she writes, i thought that this is not a unique or original story. she recently organized a rally thursday, calling for justice for mcbride. she says, about every six weeks, we basically have some racial kill historic to protest and to mourn and to be outraged about. and that feeling that this is now our new normal. when we come back, more on how that is also part of the stop and frisk story, when we come back. when we made our commitment to the gulf, bp had two big goals: help the gulf recover and learn from what happened so we could be a better, safer energy company.
contributor james peterson takes to task those focusing on the nsa story while for the most part ignoring the stop and frisk story by ask how can we have a discussion about civil liberties and security and privacy and safety without connecting it to the physical surveillance to which black and brown americans have been historically subject? joining me now is msnbc contributor james peterson, director of africana studies at lehigh university. david sirota, columnist for salon.com. just joined nfswcorp.com as well. james, what caused you to write the piece? well, i mean, i think a few things caused me to write it. one, wanted to sort of put on the table the fact that i ve had some of these experiences, myself, and try to give a broader sense of what might be the way forward for us to connect the dots across some of these very, very important conversations. i m following folk talking about stop and frisk and following folk talking about the nsa. seen very, very little of the intersect
nsa story while for the most part ignoring the stop and frisk story by ask how can we have a discussion about civil liberties and security and privacy and safety without connecting it to the physical surveillance to which black and brown americans have been historically subject? joining me now is msnbc contributor james peterson, director of africana studies at lehigh university. david sirota, columnist for salon.com. just joined nfswcorp.com as well. james, what caused you to write the piece? well, i mean, i think a few things caused me to write it. one, wanted to sort of put on the table the fact that i ve had some of these experiences, myself, and try to give a broader sense of what might be the way forward for us to connect the dots across some of these very, very important conversations. i m following folk talking about stop and frisk and following folk talking about the nsa. seen very, very little of the intersection of these very, very important issues.
work the government is doing against all of our communities and there are opportunities for folks to come together. david, how do you put guts on the nsa story when even i come in here and i think about it, where it just seem remote. i think to myself, i guess there s a database somewhere that might have some thing i have, i don t know. what s that going to do to my life at the end of the day? well, look, i think that s a fair question. i think that s where imaginations can run wild. look, i wrote a piece today for nsfwcorp about how we have to wonder whether members of congress have to fear what the n nsa have on them. is there a j. edgar hooverish going on? the other thing you think about, look, you may be comfortable with the nsa surveilling america under a president you like, but are you going to be comfortable with it under a president or politician that you don t like?
we look at the massive amount of work the government is doing against all of our communities and there are opportunities for folks to come together. david, how do you put guts on the nsa story when even i come in here and i think about it, where it just seem remote. i think to myself, i guess there s a database somewhere that might have some thing i have, i don t know. what s that going to do to my life at the end of the day? well, look, i think that s a fair question. i think that s where imaginations can run wild. look, i wrote a piece today for nsfwcorp about how we have to wonder whether members of congress have to fear what the n nsa have on them. is there a j. edgar hooverish going on? the other thing you think about, look, you may be comfortable with the nsa surveilling america under a president you like, but are you going to be comfortable with it under a president or politician that you don t like? what about when your mayor gets access to this or your police department ge