Don Lemon wonders ‘how can you not be racist’ if raised in US

“Listen, white people are so scared right now to do anything, to talk about anything, to broach these conversations. … They’re sort of frozen because they — who wants to be called a racist, right? Who wants people to think that they have a racial blind spot?” Lemon said, adding, “Every year, I have hydrangeas in my yard, they come back a different color, or a tulip or an orchid. And it’s not because they’re different, it’s because the soil is different, right?”

“It depends on the nutrients in the soil,” he continued. “So, if you grew up in America, you came out of American soil, considering the history of this country … change the thinking here, how can you not be racist? How can you not have racial blind spots? How can you not see that the factory reset in America is whiteness?”

The comments come as protests hit the country in the wake of George Floyd’s death. Floyd, an unarmed black man, died on Memorial Day after former officer Derek Chauvin, who is white, knelt on Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes. Chauvin was fired from the force and charged with second-degree murder. The three other officers who were involved in detaining Floyd were also fired and charged with aiding and abetting murder.

Though many of the protests advocating for racial equality and the end to police brutality have been peaceful, violent demonstrations have also broken out, most notably in New York City.

Some New York police officers were attacked, including one who was struck by a hit-and-run driver, one who was beaten in the Bronx, and another who was “nearly killed” when a brick was thrown at him. The New York Police Department reported that hundreds of officers were injured during the protests. Former New York City Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik said hundreds more were planning to leave the force.