A white Jewish man wrote the poem "Strange Fruit" that became the lyrics to this song. Abel Meeropol. So, yes, it is only *some* that don't get it. He was a teacher and a social activist, absolutely fed up with the rampant racism throughout the country. I agree that it would not be so painfully beautiful and moving…

Isn't it better to A) listen to their accusation, B) judge the merits of the accusation and self-reflect, and C) make your own decision? Rather than just unquestioningly accept any and all accusations of racism and bigotry?

Self-righteous grandstanding is the favorite sport of the Internet.

She shouldn't apologise if she's not really sorry. And if she thinks the accusations were overblown, she has a right to say so. Accusing someone of something on the internet, and getting attention, doesn't automatically make the accusation valid. As for the song, she interpreted its meaning to be part of a larger…

Gawker Media has increasingly become one celebrity pile on after another.

I think sometimes it's the SJWs' schadenfreude, and the collective back-patting that comes from the "well, I knew what 'strange fruit' referred to, so why didn't you?" I mean, sometimes a person is an actual racist, sometimes a person is tone-deaf, and sometimes a person is just uneducated. I appreciate that these…

#SocialJustice!!ZOMDFSDGSDd13-493294-193-*#$()@#()$*#@)*$#

So now Annie Lennox is the face of white privilege and racism? Annie Lennox? Don't tell Desmond Tutu:

Here's an idea: Let's just pick on people who are actually racist a-holes. She does loads of charity work and is/was on Nelson Mandela's HIV charity and was at his funeral.She knows the history of the song and didn't need to give you a lesson. Tavis was asking what the song meant to HER—not what the song meant…

Fun fact! Strange fruit was written by Jewish songwriter Abel Meeropol. He adopted the Rosenbergs children after their parents execution.

Was it "Are you, are you going to the tree?" That's from the Hunger Games movie that came out this year. It is about a hanging, not a lynching, though. The song's about a guy who tried to organize a resistance and got framed for murder, and hanged. Totally fictional content, though.

Internet pile-ons also tend to snowball, becoming ever-more disproportionate to whatever issue they are addressed, until they reach a hysterical, frenzied crescendo that just makes everyone involved look terrible. See: Dr Matt Taylor and his somewhat distasteful shirt.

She should've acknowledged the song's meaning, but I'm not really about these Internet pile-ons lately. I just never see them bring about much dialogue or real change. Celebrities continue making these missteps, the usual comment drama ensues, the overwrought think pieces roll out like clockwork, the apologies are…

It was overblown. And now people are still pissed because she's still not reacting the way they would have liked, by self-flagellating and promising to check her white privilege for life and buying a Solidarity is for White Women t-shirt and refusing to sing anything that was ever sung by a black singer because…

Many years ago I was a note-taking minion at a series of meetings attended by Donald Rumsfeld, Henry Kissinger, Pete Wilson, guys like that. This was before the smartphone era, but during the cell phone era. I will never forget the time that an Air Force minion's phone started ringing mid-meeting. He was so panicked…

If the difference between terminating an anencephalic fetus at 21 weeks and euthanizing a senior citizen escapes you, I'm genuinely concerned for your ability to take care of yourself.

Right. But then...why are you having to lie? I guess if you're broke and spending like it's going out of style, but otherwise...this is why I will always have separate accounts.

If Republicans ever have enough political power to ban abortion, they will have almost certainly eliminated government assistance programs, too, so...

Politics, as they say, is not about the big picture, politics is about surviving to Friday afternoon.

If you earned it, you should be able to spend it however you please once the bills are paid.