The Daily Show's Jon Stewart tore into the right wing for their ridiculous reactions to the grand jury decision in the Eric Garner case. Stewart opened up his show this Thursday by apologizing for his reaction to the decision the previous night and the fact that no one was indicted, because as it turns out, actually there was one indictment -- of the man who filmed the incident.
STEWART: Let that be a lesson to you kids out there. Photographing crime does not pay.
As Stewart went onto discuss, even with the clarity and lack of ambiguity that was missing in the Michael Brown case, we've still got pundits and politicians on the right desperately trying to blame Garner's death on "anything but the injustices of a flawed system."
Cue the likes of Bernard Kerik and Peter King and their ilk blaming Garner's death on his size. "Martial arts expert" Sean Hannity explaining what the legal definition of a "choke hold" is. And then there was Peter King again trying to pretend there was no racial motivation for the killing because "no one used any racial epithets."
STEWART: So a cop's got to use the n-word for it to be racism? You've never heard the phrase, a picture is worth a thousand epithets?" I don't know if people are saying that this cop is racist, but it seems the escalation of the incident may be a byproduct of a system that's applied unequally and with prejudice. Because if it's not that, what is it?
Cue ghoul Rudy Giuliani, back out there again this week, saying that Garner would be alive today had he not resisted arrest, or as Stewart noted, if they hadn't choked him. Stewart went onto point out that not everyone who resists arrest is treated the way that Garner is, and introduced as "evidence" some footage from Jersey Shore, where a very drunk and foul-mouthed Jenni "JWoww" was definitely not put into a choke hold for resisting arrest and smarting off to the cops.
STEWART: You're telling me she was less of a menace to society at that time?
Stewart asked if there was anyone out there who would admit that this is symptomatic of a larger issue and he thought he found his man in Sen. Aqua Buddha, Rand Paul, but alas, he let him down as well and blamed Garner's death on the cigarette tax in New York.
STEWART: What the fuck are you talking about? Well, I guess now we know what it takes for a Senator from Kentucky to admit cigarettes can kill. I don't know what to say.
Jon wrapped things up with a brief discussion on the relationship between police departments and prosecutors and why they can't be relied upon to go after their colleagues when they get out of line.
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