# Racist Coverage of Waco Biker Violence **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 20, 2015, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-coverage-of-waco-biker-violence/720441 "2015-05-20T19:30:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2015, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-coverage-of-waco-biker-violence/720441/21 "2015-05-20T23:55:10Z")
> [@Mr.Nylock](#): > > I’m concerned about the lack of Asians in these gangs. [They have their own.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_gangs_in_the_United_States#Asian) ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2015, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-coverage-of-waco-biker-violence/720441/22 "2015-05-21T00:15:34Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > I hate it when the news media fail to mention the races of those worthy enough to make the news. Fucking racists, the lot of them. > Wait now, anti racists, I meant to say. > Let me generate my outrage anew… > I hate it when the news media points out that others in the news media have failed to mention the races of those worthy enough to make the news. Fucking racists, the lot of them. > Oh fuck, this is confusing. I sympathise with the op’s newsperson: pretending to be outraged about racism is haaard! I trust that you **don’t** hate it when someone in the media points out how the race of persons involved in something actually does affect the media coverage of it, and usually to the disadvantage of blacks. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2015, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-coverage-of-waco-biker-violence/720441/23 "2015-05-21T00:19:19Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > I trust that you **don’t** hate it when someone in the media points out how the race of persons involved in something actually does affect the media coverage of it, and usually to the disadvantage of blacks. I think that the media pointing out the race of newsworthy people is never done out of consideration for anything other than green things. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2015, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-coverage-of-waco-biker-violence/720441/24 "2015-05-21T00:19:51Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > 😕 It comes out of [India](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thuggee). And I have never in my life heard a black use it (perhaps I would have if I listened to rap or hip-hop). You lead a very sheltered life. Hasn’t that been obvious for years? ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2015, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-coverage-of-waco-biker-violence/720441/25 "2015-05-21T00:26:26Z")
I have to figure that the reason the police treated them differently isn’t because of some kind of fundamental race-based differential treatment, but because from everything I’ve read, once the gunfight was over, the bikers didn’t put up a fight with the cops, and weren’t bent on wrecking shit that wasn’t either Bandido or Cossack. This is unlike say… Baltimore or Ferguson, where the intent appeared to be rioting, resisting law enforcement and general destruction and mayhem. I suspect had the bikers gone on some sort of looting spree and set the Lane Bryant near the Twin Peaks on fire, the Waco PD would have handled them quite a bit more roughly. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2015, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-coverage-of-waco-biker-violence/720441/26 "2015-05-21T00:26:35Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > You lead a very sheltered life. Hasn’t that been obvious for years? I used to work for a black lawyer with mostly black clients, in the course of which I attended many almost-all-black social functions; never heard any black say “thug.” ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2015, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-coverage-of-waco-biker-violence/720441/27 "2015-05-21T00:35:37Z")
I know as much about rap/hip-hop as I know about Lithuanian jazz, but aren’t references to “thug life” fairly common? ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2015, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-coverage-of-waco-biker-violence/720441/28 "2015-05-21T00:36:38Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > I trust that you **don’t** hate it when someone in the media points out how the race of persons involved in something actually does affect the media coverage of it, and usually to the disadvantage of blacks. I guess it’s OK for the media outlets to ignore the facts because those facts might hurt someone’s feelings??? _On May 17, 2015, a lot of people, somewhere in the State of Texas, were involved in a multi-gang fight. Nine people were killed, eighteen were injured, and 170 were arrested. Police have provided mug shots but news outlets are not allowed to discuss the height, sex, or race of those arrested. Some 1,000 weapons were found, or confiscated, at the scene. The color of the weapons are unknown._ ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2015, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-coverage-of-waco-biker-violence/720441/29 "2015-05-21T00:37:43Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > I used to work for a black lawyer with mostly black clients, in the course of which I attended many almost-all-black social functions; never heard any black say “thug.” Yeah, well black lawyers aren’t the ones likely to use it. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2015, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-coverage-of-waco-biker-violence/720441/30 "2015-05-21T01:02:50Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > I know as much about rap/hip-hop as I know about Lithuanian jazz, but aren’t references to “thug life” fairly common? There was even [a group](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thug_Life) by that name. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2015, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-coverage-of-waco-biker-violence/720441/31 "2015-05-21T01:21:37Z")
[Relevant toons.](http://www.democraticunderground.com/10026699489) ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2015, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-coverage-of-waco-biker-violence/720441/32 "2015-05-21T01:24:25Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Yeah, well black lawyers aren’t the ones likely to use it. Most of the clients were lower-class/working-class folk. Some were actual, you know, thugs, young guys who were in and out of jail all the time. Never heard one say “thug.” ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2015, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-coverage-of-waco-biker-violence/720441/33 "2015-05-21T01:27:55Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > I guess it’s OK for the media outlets to ignore the facts because those facts might hurt someone’s feelings??? I guess it’s not OK for the media [to say black “criminals” “loot” food and white “survivors” “find” food when the two groups are acting in the exact same way in the exact same disaster](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/van-jones/black-people-loot-food-wh_b_6614.html). ---
**Author:** ![dasmoocher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dbc845/32.png) [@dasmoocher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dasmoocher)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2015, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-coverage-of-waco-biker-violence/720441/34 "2015-05-21T02:08:56Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > I guess it’s not OK for the media [to say black “criminals” “loot” food and white “survivors” “find” food when the two groups are acting in the exact same way in the exact same disaster](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/van-jones/black-people-loot-food-wh_b_6614.html). That reportage is not surprising. Blacks “protest and riot”, while whites “demonstrate”. I don’t want to hijack the Waco-themed thread, but your link was to an article about Katrina and I was just in New Orleans less than two weeks ago. I also have family that have been affected by the Red River floods in ND and MN in years past. The response of the citizenry was interesting and how it was reported in the media, also. I may have missed it, but I don’t remember the mid-westerners being characterized as looters, although I’m sure some of that happened. Maybe another thread for that. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2015, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-coverage-of-waco-biker-violence/720441/35 "2015-05-21T02:23:41Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > 😕 It comes out of [India](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thuggee). And I have never in my life heard a black use it (perhaps I would have if I listened to rap or hip-hop). Whut?! Thug life? are you kidding? ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2015, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-coverage-of-waco-biker-violence/720441/36 "2015-05-21T02:29:25Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Most of the clients were lower-class/working-class folk. Some were actual, you know, thugs, young guys who were in and out of jail all the time. Never heard one say “thug.” I’m sure you’ve never heard a lot of stuff. What’s your point? ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2015, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-coverage-of-waco-biker-violence/720441/37 "2015-05-21T02:29:34Z")
> [@dasmoocher](#): > > That reportage is not surprising. Blacks “protest and riot”, while whites “demonstrate”. > > I don’t want to hijack the Waco-themed thread, but your link was to an article about Katrina and I was just in New Orleans less than two weeks ago. I also have family that have been affected by the Red River floods in ND and MN in years past. The response of the citizenry was interesting and how it was reported in the media, also. I may have missed it, but I don’t remember the mid-westerners being characterized as looters, although I’m sure some of that happened. > > Maybe another thread for that. Comparatively rich people with extensive family networks of support and functioning government relief and evacuation efforts and extensive savings DON’T start looting as quickly as urban poor living government hand out to handout? I AM SHOCKED! > **[Police Trapped Thousands in New Orleans](https://workbench.cadenhead.org/news/2748/police-trapped-thousands-new-orleans)** > > As the situation grew steadily worse in New Orleans last week, you might have wondered why people didn't just leave on foot. The Louisiana Superdome is less than two miles from a bridge that leads over the Mississippi River out of the city. The... ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2015, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-coverage-of-waco-biker-violence/720441/38 "2015-05-21T02:32:14Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > I’m sure you’ve never heard a lot of stuff. What’s your point? That Fox News is, once again, talking nonsense. > [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Fox news says they can’t be called thugs because that word comes out of the black community. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2015, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-coverage-of-waco-biker-violence/720441/39 "2015-05-21T02:37:53Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > That Fox News is, once again, talking nonsense. Listen to some rap, some hip hop, fully inform yourself. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2015, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-coverage-of-waco-biker-violence/720441/40 "2015-05-21T02:55:26Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > I know as much about rap/hip-hop as I know about Lithuanian jazz, but aren’t references to “thug life” fairly common? Yeah, people always talk about the Ganelin Trio, but I’d hold Petras Vysniauskas’ _Džiazo Kompozicijos_ up to anything you’ll hear on _Ancora da Capo_. But I don’t have to tell \*you \*that! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-coverage-of-waco-biker-violence/720441.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-coverage-of-waco-biker-violence/720441.md?page=3)