Samuel L. Jackson In Twit-Storm Over Issac Comments, Rags On GOP
Samuel L. Jackson, who is basically everyone’s favorite actor in the whole world ever, is currently battling a Twitter firestorm over a quip he made about Hurricane Issac (also known as Tropical Storm Issac) skipping the RNC and heading on over to New Orleans, a city that has yet to fully recover from the horror of Hurricane Katrina exactly seven years ago.
Samuel L. Jackson made a light joke on the microblogging service about the impending hurricane, and the actor was soon battening down his own hatches under a hail of flying tweet-debris and a rain of criticism.
It seems in this politically charged climate, and with what many believe are some highly-suggestive, dog-whistle style political attacks from the right against the President, race is the elephant and donkey in the room as the election edges ever closer.
And somehow, Samuel L. Jackson, a beloved national treasure, got yanked into it. I want everyone to go to your rooms and think about what you’ve done.
It all began when SLJ made the following comments on Twitter, regarding Issac’s approach and the veer off course from the RNC in Tampa towards fragile New Orleans. Jackson not only did not mention, but did not hint at race when he said:
Unfair Shit: GOP spared by Issac ! NOLA prolly Fucked Again! Not understanding God’s plan!
— Samuel L. Jackson (@SamuelLJackson) August 27, 2012
Reaction was swift and bizarrely, much of it accused the actor — who you may have noticed, is black — of racism:
#RACIST Samuel L. Jackson rants GOP ‘spared’ by tropical storm thehill.com/blogs/twitter-… And we’ll ‘spare’ our $ by boycotting your movies#moron — Dirty Di (@Di_Abolical) August 28, 2012
1/3 bit.ly/Ntkwq3 Very few in my profession to respect these days. Jackson is a sick, twisted, hateful racist… — Audrey Russo (@audrey_russo) August 28, 2012
While Jackson’s comments, as we pointed out, did not mention race, it’s interesting a lot of responders seemed to infer a race-related tone to the remarks — kind of following with the “angry black man” narrative lobbed at Obama in recent weeks by the self-same GOP with which many of these Twitter users align. The tone was not lost on Jackson, who responded:
Daayum! Poked a Hornets nest, hunh? Apologies to God, Tampa, da GOP& Isaac(sp)! Who played the Race card?!
— Samuel L. Jackson (@SamuelLJackson) August 27, 2012
The Pulp Fiction actor then joked:
Whoooo! A lotta shit stirred into a Bullshit tweet! Politics Religion get MUHFREPUBLICANS heated!
— Samuel L. Jackson (@SamuelLJackson) August 27, 2012
Jackson reminded Twitter users everywhere to be safe, regardless of their party affiliation:
Seriously, leave the path of Danger if you’re asked. Be Safe be Smart wherever you are whatever your Politics!
— Samuel L. Jackson (@SamuelLJackson) August 27, 2012
But he isn’t shying away from politics — the venerated actor most recently tweeted:
If U had a direct line to Mitt, like U do to me, what would you say? Seeking knowledge not Vitriol!
— Samuel L. Jackson (@SamuelLJackson) August 28, 2012
What do you think of Samuel L. Jackson’s comments on the hurricane and the RNC?