Justice

Sarah McBride Shuts Down Clint Eastwood's Defense of Donald Trump's Racism

August 4th 2016

Clint Eastwood may be a Hollywood legend (with some government experience, and an infamous appearance at the 2012 Republican National Convention), but that shouldn't mean he gets a free pass for making some pretty questionable statements on racism.

Thankfully, Sarah McBride, National Press Secretary at HRC, and first openly transgender speaker at a national party convention, wasn't willing to let Eastwood's comments slide.

What Eastwood Said.

In an interview with Esquire magazine, Eastwood declared that Americans are the "kiss-ass" and "pussy" generation for calling out Donald Trump for his many examples of racism. He elaborated:

"Everybody's walking on eggshells. We see people accusing people of being racist and all kinds of stuff. When I grew up, those things weren't called racist."

Clint Eastwood Was Born in 1930.

As McBride points out on Twitter, Eastwood was born during a period when things were very, very different, and arguably worse for swaths of the U.S. population.

So she decided to call out Eastwood by asking Twitter to help make a list of how times have changed.

The List of Things that Weren't Considered Racist When Clint Eastwood Was Growing Up:

Slayed.

Others on Twitter Pitched In:

Seriously.

And it's not about political correctness; it's about realizing and recognizing that just because you grew up a certain way in a certain time doesn't mean that that's an excuse for how you act, think, and behave today. Times change. In this case, for the better.

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  • Correction:August 04, 2016Updated the piece to reflect Sarah McBride's correct title. She is the National Press Secretary at HRC.
This story was first published August 4th 2016.