ICYMI - D.L. Hughley on Racist Police Violence and "How Not to Get Shot"

Jun 7, 2020

Comedian D.L. Hughley discusses "How Not to Get Shot," his book that examines white Americans' reactions to police shootings of unarmed black people. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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how not to get shot and other advice for white people yeah we did the book come from well I was on Megyn Kelly show member and when she was at Fox before she stopped being a racist and move the NBC and we have this heated argument you know because there's never been I think America has never seen a young black man or woman killed by the police that there were so appalled that

driven to action and it was a very frustrating conversation rather than get frustrated I just wrote a book about it and you wrote the book from the perspective of somebody who's taking the advice of that you've seen doled out by white people repeatedly after a shooting or after an incident it's always advice on what black people are doing wrong well why people been getting of advice as we first got here so right you know I figure they are Adept at it but it's like when I hear these things like these nonsensical arguments like like white supremacist this we want our country back like

as I recall when you had to cut it to yourself invited us to the party like we didn't we didn't book a cruise here because we heard they was hiring over on the boat they hiring in America it's just you know people have these warp Notions of what they would do and if you if you would just cooperate or if you would but I think that ultimately people just aren't comfortable uncomfortable with black people or people of color being killed by the police they just that I think they think that that's

supposed to go no one likes to see a cow mutilated but they don't mind even state do you think that I mean that that speaks to in many ways you know black lives matter and what the conversation was about is that we've gotten so used to seeing black bodies traumatized that has people you know both black and white we have lost a notion of what the value of a black person is like to a certain extent like you know we can say America ever had it the like that's what's interesting is that's really like even now when the football players on strike everybody goes don't do that when we're

there's a time and a place to do it but the only time white people watch black feel as if we're singing dancing running the football like that's like the other times they're not going to pay particular particular pay attention to us and I think nobody has more invested in black people being treated fairly and football players like right because if you're big you're black you're fast you're strong that girl that works great on Sunday but on Monday

best you're in the wrong place is the reason they acquit right you had you had an encounter with the police when you were what eight years old well it was your first that was your first encounter with out that we have I was eight years out of grip 135th and Avalon I'm coming from I'm coming from school getting the free lunch in the summer and the police pull up and they pull up mentor to me and my friend and asking us questions about a cat that lived in my neighborhood and he like where is he and I we don't know they they put your hands on the car and I said sir this car is hot and he said nigga if you

you take your hands off this Karma blow your head off now eight years old flash to you know a couple of weeks ago when a young kid in Chicago 10 years old is handcuffed and peeing on herself right and I think that that was my first experience in those and I'll never forget and I'm sure he never will either right and that that shapes a relationship that people have and you know it's funny I always try to have this conversation with people where I go the shooting is that you see are generally like a lost role that's that's like the final step but there was so much along the way you see so many people having these in

actions with police when you move through the book and when you when you talk about these things there's one theme I noticed you have and that is talking about police interacting with black people who have disabilities or black people who may have mental disabilities or mental issues and in the book you talk about you you dedicate the book to your son yes who my son has Asperger's syndrome and he's a very fit kid and you know and my aunt my concern I think like when people say like people are as a teacher

our children to be afraid to respect the police I think black people teach their kids to the theater place it's like they're going outside I want you to don't look him in the eye don't move fast right don't don't run Dad I'm gonna go on Safari now you go into the driveway right right I think that we try to instill a sense of fear in them because we don't want anything to happen to him but you're more likely to be hurt or kill or have a negative in acts with the police if you're mentally emotionally or physically hang it that's what they get shot more wine

I think that worries you more for your son as someone who has Asperger's because I think that sometimes my son has a hard time listening to me I think I think first off when you're when you're young man you can't listen to instructions anyway so I don't even know if it has anything to do with him having a mental disability a kid but but I the fear is that you don't want them to see that as Defiance right Lions calls like in America it's okay for somebody to get killed if

if they're defined they'll go well why did you why didn't you just do it they said why are you fine why did you talk and you never want to I don't want to be one of those guys who's showing pictures so I can humanize my son and so I always tried to sit and sense a sense of fear and it but ultimately the book is just you know it really is not indictments as a society as an inspection when you look at the book from cover to cover what do you hope people will take away from because some might say but like DL I already know this this morbid world that we

having an already know the harsh realities like what am I getting from the book that I may not be getting from everyone else's conversations right so the laugh because it's very funny I know it doesn't seem like it right now but second I think that you'll recognize something that's the only way that we can guarantee that there are not these like we can't keep having these kinds of things happen and everybody kind of go that's the way things are because we can't pretend to be a society you can't say in a society that

we're all about Justice and you're innocent till proven guilty but an officer can summarily a Slaughter someone the streets and and they won't be about to encounter even if we know that they did it like four Lando Castillo he didn't break the law we saw what happened Ryan one uncomfortable with it I tell you what the most dangerous place for black people live is and white people's imagination like it's never the guy they see it's not the black is the black guy Chicago it's a blackout I saw a news is the black on a video like I'm scared of the black dude in the imagination like I hope

ever meet that's a powerful observation because I mean that that really is it's more the idea of black man than the actual black man it's an idea that's been perpetuated through whatever it might be even accuse screen or what happened with trumpet Obama everything they said about him was made up he doesn't belong here he's a Muslim he wasn't born here he hates America he's really a terrorist right people believed it they believed it because the the idea of us is much more impact at impactful and fearful

then the reality of us and and you get to do what you get to like if there's a shooting in Chicago they'll say well you know 75 people were killed in Chicago and that's an indicated what most black people live in Chicago but that is what we get indicted with right right once it will why kids get killed with opiate we don't say that those all white kids right but you get you paint us with one broad brush and it becomes our story and and like I remember Stephen Clark got shot in Sacramento and they pointed to Chicago I'm like I need a new Schoolhouse Rock addition because I don't even know

I didn't even know they were that close how do you how do you how do you use comedy I mean all comedians have different tools and you know coping mechanisms but it's interesting that you say this funny in the book like how do you how do you respond to someone who says but but deal is there anything funny in this snow but it's ironic is that Ronnie just like the things you hear like now this is argument first off this whole week has been hilarious to me like Amorosa is dropping more tapes and Lil Wayne Right

but there's an argument as to whether Trump really said the n-word on tape like that like that's what we need because we serve we heard him admit the sexual assault on tape right we heard him and and I always make the point that the like white people are in a poor position to judge with racism is because they've been so horrible at it before like right but everyone raises the Jim Crow wasn't racist those monuments to the racist weren't racist so that's like a rapist

I will rape is do you know what I mean you bring it and which is what the the kid from Stanford try to do actually is out of course funny enough and they get to do and just like all it like now they're saying like whenever the n-word argument comes up white people go well you say it in hip-hop all the time like HIPAA like the the inward has been the American lexicon since the early 1700s hip hopping around since 1975 like what came first nigga out of Sugar Hill Gang like you know like I don't get how even that's a real argument right right right but they'll have that argument well

usually had all the time like as if the Fret not only has I'm a certain that Donald Trump has said I'm certain that if the tape comes out it'll be his campaign his re-election campaign slogan I'm serious I like there's nothing that he could say about somebody of color or did you get there's nothing so horrible like I can't stand I'm a rose I think she's a horrible human being but you can't call her a dog you if she eat there is a way to have

discourse and disagreements with people without being so barbaric and and I think went that all goes out the window when you're in other when you're a person of color you get to say and do whatever you want and in the end people go all that's all right Tim yeah thank you so much for being on the show

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