You know things are bad when Jon Stewart is left speechless.
So we can all agree that things are pretty bad after the Mike Brown and Eric Garner cases, right? That was pretty much the point Jon Stewart was making on The Daily Show a couple nights ago. After a grand jury in New York failed to indict Justin Damico for the illegal choke hold he administered, Stewart was almost left speechless.
Jon Stewart expressed the collective sentiment with that last word.
Almost, but not quite, since The Daily Show must go on. Here’s what Stewart had to say about the case: “"I honestly don't know what to say. If comedy is tragedy plus time, I need more f*****g time. But I would really settle for less f****g tragedy to be honest with you.”
Stewart seemed to have lost his usual composure and wit. His commentary was full of the still raw emotion of the night. Even so, his speech was on point and shared thee sentiment, expressed by many on social media and, of course, those who took to the streets in support of the Ferguson protesters.
Watch the whole segment below.
"We are definitely not living in a post-racial society, and I can imagine there are a lot of people out there wondering how much of a society we're living in at all. I don't know what to say. It just happened, so I have not had a chance to digest it,” the comedian continued. He made the point that many have repeated over the past few days – if there was any lack of evidence to be blamed in the Mike Brown case, there could be no doubt for Eric Garner.
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"None of the ambiguities of the Ferguson case exist here in the Staten Island case... the guy's not acting threatening, and we know that not through witness testimony, unreliable bystanders, but because we are fucking watching it."
There really wasn’t much more to say that hadn’t already been said, shouted at protests or argued in multiple panels on various news outlets. So, aptly, Stewart ended the segment with a resounding “F******K!”
And then moved on to some rather calming footage of kittens.
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