US President Barack Obama condemned the torture of a mentally disabled white man by four African Americans, streamed on Facebook Live, as a “despicable” hate crime, while expressing hope for a future with less racial tensions.
In an interview with CBS, Obama rejected the notion that violence stemming from racial tensions had worsened in the US, saying it was now getting more attention because of technology and the widespread use of social media.
“We see visuals of racial tensions, violence and so forth because of smartphones and the Internet … what we have seen as surfacing, I think, are a lot of problems that have been there a long time,” he said. “Whether it’s tensions between police and communities, whether it’s hate crimes of the despicable sort that has just now recently surfaced on Facebook, I take these things very seriously.”
“The good news is that the next generation that’s coming behind us … have smarter, better, more…