In a recent interview, President Obama calls hate crimes like the one showing a mentally disabled teen getting attacked by four African Americans “despicable.”
In a recent interview with CBS Chicago, President Obama called the recent live-streamed beating of a mentally disabled white teenager by four African-Americans “despicable.”
The president is quoted as saying, “What we have seen as surfacing, I think, a lot of problems that have been there a long time. 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.”
Obama also noted that he doesn't believe race relations have gotten worse in the U.S., instead, he attributed increased public awareness about such racially motivated events to the growing use of Internet and smartphones.
He also added, "I take these things very seriously."
At the center of the recent controversy is the attack which had been recorded on a phone and broadcast live on Facebook, notes the BBC.
The 18-year-old victim reportedly ended up at a home where the four suspects allegedly tortured him, all the while making derogatory comments about Donald Trump and white people, notes the Daily Caller. According to Chicago police, the victim was "made to drink from a toilet bowl, had part of his scalp removed with a knife, and was bound, gagged and beaten."
While the alleged attackers face hate crime charges, Obama has expressed hope for the future, stating, “I think the overall trajectory of race relations in this country is actually very positive. It doesn’t mean that all racial problems have gone away. It means that we have the capacity to get better. ”
