This has been going around and I wanted to make my own post about it instead of adding commentary to another.
This explanation? Is bullshit. Widespread protests have been going on since May, giving Rask plenty of time to educate himself on racism and police brutality before this interview. Even a surface level of understanding and support for the Black Lives Matter movement should have given him more than enough of an explanation as to why wearing a Boston police hat is unacceptable. Contrastingly, continued support for police despite education on systemic oppression shows a deliberate political and moral stance.
Even if, for the sake of argument, Rask wasn’t trying to make a statement—it doesn’t matter. Intent doesn’t matter; the act itself does. If you don’t intend to be racist but you perform a racist act, the thing you did is still racist. Ignorance doesn’t matter either. If you are ignorant that an act is racist but you perform the racist act, the act is still racist. There is no question that this act was racist no matter how much anyone tries to rationalize it and trying to rationalize it, write it off, or sweep it under the rug in any way is unacceptable.
There is no excuse for Rask to be ignorant. Rask, as a veteran public figure, has a heightened responsibility to be aware of how his actions affect others.
You cannot claim to “want to be part of the change” and then openly support the corrupt system that created the need for change in the first place.
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