Pharrell Williams: Why Aren’t We Talking About Michael Brown’s ‘Bullyish’ Behavior?
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The award-winning songwriter gave his thoughts on the unrest in Ferguson after a grand jury decided not to indict Officer Darren Wilson in Michael Brown’s shooting death.
Grammy Award-winning producer Pharrell Williams has previously gotten flak for his comments on race, such as when he told Oprah that “the new black doesn’t blame other races for our issues.” But that didn’t stop the singer-songwriter from voicing his thoughts on Monday’s grand jury decision in Ferguson, Mo., although he said he didn’t want to “get ... in trouble.”
In an extensive interview with Ebony, the star wondered why there wasn’t more discussion about why Michael Brown exhibited the behavior he did in the convenience store, which Williams described as “bullyish.”
“It looked very bullyish; that in itself I had a problem with,” Williams said, referring to released surveillance video that allegedly shows Brown forcefully stealing cigarillos from a store shortly before he was fatally shot by Officer Darren Wilson. “Not with the kid, but with whatever happened in his life for him to arrive at a place where that behavior is OK. Why aren’t we talking about that?”
However, he did say that Wilson should have been held accountable for shooting Brown. “I believe that [the] Ferguson officer should be punished and serve time. He used excessive force on a human being who was merely a child. He was a baby, man. The boy was walking in the middle of the street when the police supposedly told him to ‘get the f--k on the sidewalk,’” Williams told Ebony. “If you don’t listen to that, after just having pushed a storeowner, you’re asking for trouble. But you’re not asking to be killed. Some of these youth feel hunted and preyed upon, and that’s why that officer needs to be punished.”
The songwriter also blasted police departments’ use of force in the inner city, questioning their use of equipment—such as “mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicles.” He also lamented the fact that President Barack Obama himself has not made an appearance in Ferguson.
“I felt like the president should have gone down there. I think sending Attorney General Eric Holder was a kind gesture, but the president should have gone. He didn’t have to go and take a side; all he needed to do was show his presence and everybody would have straightened up. But he didn’t go. I won’t fault him. He’s a man with a lot of weight on his shoulders, but I personally would have gone because being a ‘man of the people’ means you’re right there with them in it,” Williams said, citing the examples of Martin Luther King Jr. and Gandhi.
Read the full interview at Ebony.
Grammy Award-winning producer Pharrell Williams has previously gotten flak for his comments on race, such as when he told Oprah that “the new black doesn’t blame other races for our issues.” But that didn’t stop the singer-songwriter from voicing his thoughts on Monday’s grand jury decision in Ferguson, Mo., although he said he didn’t want to “get ... in trouble.”
In an extensive interview with Ebony, the star wondered why there wasn’t more discussion about why Michael Brown exhibited the behavior he did in the convenience store, which Williams described as “bullyish.”
“It looked very bullyish; that in itself I had a problem with,” Williams said, referring to released surveillance video that allegedly shows Brown forcefully stealing cigarillos from a store shortly before he was fatally shot by Officer Darren Wilson. “Not with the kid, but with whatever happened in his life for him to arrive at a place where that behavior is OK. Why aren’t we talking about that?”
However, he did say that Wilson should have been held accountable for shooting Brown. “I believe that [the] Ferguson officer should be punished and serve time. He used excessive force on a human being who was merely a child. He was a baby, man. The boy was walking in the middle of the street when the police supposedly told him to ‘get the f--k on the sidewalk,’” Williams told Ebony. “If you don’t listen to that, after just having pushed a storeowner, you’re asking for trouble. But you’re not asking to be killed. Some of these youth feel hunted and preyed upon, and that’s why that officer needs to be punished.”
The songwriter also blasted police departments’ use of force in the inner city, questioning their use of equipment—such as “mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicles.” He also lamented the fact that President Barack Obama himself has not made an appearance in Ferguson.
“I felt like the president should have gone down there. I think sending Attorney General Eric Holder was a kind gesture, but the president should have gone. He didn’t have to go and take a side; all he needed to do was show his presence and everybody would have straightened up. But he didn’t go. I won’t fault him. He’s a man with a lot of weight on his shoulders, but I personally would have gone because being a ‘man of the people’ means you’re right there with them in it,” Williams said, citing the examples of Martin Luther King Jr. and Gandhi.
Read the full interview at Ebony.
Comments
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let the roast begin...
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Pharrell is a pop star. He is in the jay z pop star, get paid at all cost and don't offend whitey group. He aint down for the cause. ? yall expect??? I been telling yall about these crossover negroes for years.
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I call blacks like him boomerangs because everytime racist do something they turn around and point the spotlight on blacks instead of the racist
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10 second video clip of a man does not define who he is/was. We all are human, and have moments and breaking points. Who knows what Mike was dealing with that day. Was probably trying to roll 1 and relax. Regardless of his behavior, he did not have to die. The officer is supposed to be trained, and able to deal with people, even if they are 3 times his size. There were many ways to neutralize Mike , such as taser, pepper spray, or a shot to the leg as a last resort. There have been serial killers apprehended without being killed such as the Batman Killer and many more.
I hate when these rich celebrity mufuckas offer their out of touch opinion. These mufuckas have been removed from the real world for so long, they are blind to the real struggle that still exists.
There is no New Black. FOH with that ? . You are a ? with money in the eyes of the Cacs you want to appeal to. Black is Black, money or not. The Wealth of this life is in the People, not.the money. New Blacks won't realize that until it's too late. As one of their own said "Even if you in a Benz, you still a ? in a coupe. " -
Some ? I kno' said the same thing. Doesn't matter what he did, he was unarmed and shot dead. The police are meant to protect even those they arrest, since not every person they take in will be trialled let alone convicted.
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Black male aggressiveness, and the way someone people try to define black male identity through it in part, is definitely a conversation worth having, but not in this context where it'll just serve to distract us from Brown's unjustified killing and make white people think that they are on to something in their sense that he was a bad guy and so his killing was justified.
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A Talented One wrote: »Black male aggressiveness, and the way someone people try to define black male identity through it in part, is definitely a conversation worth having, but not in this context where it'll just serve to distract us from Brown's unjustified killing.
Shut ur ? ass up ? -
I get what he s trying to say but this just ain't the time for this ? right now
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real ? . after talkin with my homie who read some of the court transcripts, I can see why the police officer shot him. ACCORDING to his story that is though. if the officer lied about what happened, then there may not have been as seemed.
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...The behavior Brown displayed doesn't call for you to be killed...No matter if you want to call it bullying that boy should still be alive...Pharrell should think about that the next time he throws a fit over running out of eye-liner and wants to take out his frustrations on someone...
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the sooner we realize black entertainers and athletes are bought and sold us out the bettet off we'll be..
even the ones who gives fish..
? them too..
they aint teachin nobody HOW to fish.. -
ROZAYTABERNACLE wrote: »real ? . after talkin with my homie who read some of the court transcripts, I can see why the police officer shot him. ACCORDING to his story that is though. if the officer lied about what happened, then there may not have been as seemed.
Of course he is lying. If not about what happened near the car, then about what happened when he shot him again and killed him. Dude even said that Brown was reaching into his pants, something which is very hard to believe given the situation and the fact that Brown was unarmed. -
Where jay z and beyonce n kanye?
Thats right thy dont give a ? bcu there with old white people at partys -
BOSSExcellence wrote: »the sooner we realize black entertainers and athletes are bought and sold us out the bettet off we'll be..
even the ones who gives fish..
? them too..
they aint teachin nobody HOW to fish..
cosign....
like I tell my lil brothers about these athletes
just cause they get paid millions don't mean that that their employers don't still look at them like slaves
hell they even call their bosses "owners" SMH
how hard would it be for black athletes to come out together and protest for real? they could literally shut the season down at any time but mofos ain't willing to risk that
? what an entertainer got to say for real -
How the ? is a rich ? who doesn't live in the black community and probaly associates with mostly white people going to define what black is
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He said the cop should be held accountable for what he did. He's basically saying both sides played a part in the equation. But of course ? 's arent going to read the article and call him a ? .
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Idk enough about this case to make an educated but some of yall are naive when it comes to cops and how they handle situations
It's been hard for me to get worked up about this the way I was when Oscar Grant/Trayvon were killed
Dude just robbed a store not stole from but robbed and refused to move out of the middle of the street...he was a ? ?
As for cops, it's easy for everybody to say shoot him in the legs or tase him
Cops have lost their lives trying to do exactly that...in that moment, they just reacting
Who knows who is telling the truth cause one party ain't here to tell his story
It's just weird to me that this is the case that got ? riled up, not one of the truly innocent kids who lost their lives but cause of this case -
That bullyish behaviour warrented this unarmed teen to lose his life - Some ? thats has lost touch with reality and shakes his ass like a ? cause he is happy.
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That bullyish behaviour warrented this unarmed teen to lose his life - Some ? thats has lost touch with reality and shakes his ass like a ? cause he is happy.
Pharrel's statement about the bullying isn't needed but he didn't say Brown deserved it. Just that he was being a "bully" in the store. Still stupid as ? but if you're going to ? on Pharrell for this, which he deserves, be accurate about what you're ? on. Don't leave room for people to defend that ? -
That bullyish behaviour warrented this unarmed teen to lose his life - Some ? thats has lost touch with reality and shakes his ass like a ? cause he is happy.
Pharrel's statement about the bullying isn't needed but he didn't say Brown deserved it. Just that he was being a "bully" in the store. Still stupid as ? but if you're going to ? on Pharrell for this, which he deserves, be accurate about what you're ? on. Don't leave room for people to defend that ?
Fair point... -
I see what Pharell is trying to say and I partly agree with him BUT the reason no one is talking about the bullyish behavior is because he was shot dead. I'd say that kinda overshadows the behavior topic.
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It's weird to you because you're a certified boot licking, butt kissing, white-washed, sellout, submissive, ? ? . Black kid gets killed, and your focused on him being an ? . I hope your coward ? ass never has children, and if you do I hope they don't end up like you. ? you and the vile ? you came out of.Idk enough about this case to make an educated but some of yall are naive when it comes to cops and how they handle situations
It's been hard for me to get worked up about this the way I was when Oscar Grant/Trayvon were killed
Dude just robbed a store not stole from but robbed and refused to move out of the middle of the street...he was a ? ?
As for cops, it's easy for everybody to say shoot him in the legs or tase him
Cops have lost their lives trying to do exactly that...in that moment, they just reacting
Who knows who is telling the truth cause one party ain't here to tell his story
It's just weird to me that this is the case that got ? riled up, not one of the truly innocent kids who lost their lives but cause of this case
