‘Post Traumatic SLAVERY syndrome’: Brandt Jean sparks social media battle after forgiving his brother’s killer

“I personally want the best for you,” Brandt said after the jury sentenced Guygur to a 10-year prison sentence for murder. “I wasn’t going to say this in front of my family, I don’t even want you to go to jail. I want the best for you because I know that’s exactly what Botham would want for you. Give your life to Christ. I think giving your life to Christ is the best thing Botham would want for you.” Brandt then embraced Guygur, whose racist texts and social media posts had surfaced during the trial.

Many applauded Brandt’s forgiveness on social media, though some were not pleased with the moment and the dynamics of how people reacted to Brandt’s act of grace.

Many responded with anger to the Dallas Police Department, which tweeted following the sentencing: “Botham Jean’s brother’s request to hug Amber Guyger and Judge Kemp’s gift of her bible to Amber represent a spirit of forgiveness, faith and trust. In this same spirit, we want to move forward in a positive direction with the community,” the department wrote in a tweet.

Some voices took to social media to weigh in. Bishop Talbert Swan accused Brandt’s forgiveness of being a symptom of what he dubbed “Post Traumatic SLAVERY Syndrome,” for which he took intense backlash.

“I think some things are being conflated. Botham Jean’s brother has every right to hug, forgive, and grieve in any way he sees fit. But his personal decision to extend forgiveness does not absolve this woman of what she’s done. Forgiveness & absolution are two different things,” writer and scholar Clint Smith III wrote.

“The brother of Botham Jean is the last person who should be subjected to derision right now. The very last,” Smith added in another tweet criticized those who disparaged Jean’s decision.

“White people have been using Christianity to gaslight us into forgiving them for white supremacy since the ships arrived. The grace given to Amber Guyger after killing Botham Jean is no different,” said Forbes 30 Under 30 recipient Frederick Joseph.

“All I know is if you’re going to share those clips of Amber Guyger getting hugs you damn well better have the same energy for that clip of Botham Jean’s mother calling out police corruption,” said film and television critic Rebecca Theodore-Vachon.

Some took aim at police misconduct, positing that the media wasn’t focusing enough on the outrage from Jean’s mother at the sentence, which was far from maximum of life in prison.

“The media’s focus on hugs and forgiveness and not Botham Jean’s mother’s righteous rage at police misconduct is predictable and wrong,” said Nikole Hannah-Jones, a reporter with the New York Times Magazine.

Staff writer for the Atlantic Adam Serwer wrote, “We would be living in a very different world if many of the people who exult in black displays of forgiveness reciprocated that grace and mercy but that’s not reflected at all in our criminal justice policy, and it makes you question what they really find compelling about it.”

Some also criticized Judge Tammy Kemp, who presided over the case, for having embraced Guygur and giving her a Bible. The Freedom from Religion Foundation filed a complaint against Kemp on Thursday.

Brandt and Botham’s mother, Allison Jean, told NBC News that she might not have reacted in the same way as her son, saying, “I don’t want forgiveness to be mistaken with a total relinquishing of responsibility.”

Jemar Tisby, an African American historian and writer told the Washington Post that people have a right to be upset and demand justice.

“Black people, when they experience injustice, there’s almost an expectation that we will immediately forgive and therefore can sort of move on,” Tisby said. “So I think a lot of people are reacting — that we have a right to be angry, a right to grieve, and a right to want justice.”