RNC 2020 speaker Abby Johnson said 'smart' cops would profile her biracial son in resurfaced video
The Republican National Convention (RNC) 2020 which took off on August 24 has been making headlines for a number of controversial reasons. One of them includes Abby Johnson, one of the top speakers at the event who made a statement on racism involving her adopted biracial son in a recent video that did not go down well with many.
Abby Johnson, a prominent anti-abortion activist, said in the video that it would be "smart" for a police officer to racially profile her biracial son stressing "statistically, my Brown son is more likely to commit a violent offense over my White sons". "I recognize that I’m gonna have to have a different conversation with Jude than I do with my Brown-haired little Irish, very, very pale-skinned, White sons, as they grow up," Johnson said in the 15-plus-minute video posted to YouTube in late June when the US was in the middle of violent protests in the wake of the brutal death of George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis.
"Right now, Jude is an adorable, perpetually tan-looking little Brown boy," Johnson said, adding: "But one day, he’s going to grow up and he’s going to be a tall, probably sort of large, intimidating-looking-maybe Brown man. And my other boys are probably gonna look like nerdy White guys."
The 40-year-old woman doesn’t feel bad that the police could one day see her sons differently because of their contrasting skin color. Rather, she feels it is sensible. "Statistically, I look at our prison population and I see that there is a disproportionately high number of African-American males in our prison population for crimes, particularly for violent crimes. So statistically, when a police officer sees a Brown man like my Jude walking down the road — as opposed to my White nerdy kids, my White nerdy men walking down the road — because of the statistics that he knows in his head, that these police officers know in their head, they’re going to know that statistically my Brown son is more likely to commit a violent offense over my White sons."
"So the fact that in his head, he would be more careful around my Brown son than my White son, that doesn’t actually make me angry. That makes that police officer smart, because of statistics. Now if he acts in an unjust manner toward my brown son than my white son, that makes me angry. But statistically, if he’s on more high alert, I’m not angry about that." In the video, Johnson clarified that she would be upset if a cop treated her "Brown son violently, more violently than my White son."
Johnson spoke at the RNC 2020 on August 25 as one of the highest-profile anti-abortion activists at the platform.
'Trump has done more for the unborn than any other president'
Johnson, who also made a controversial statement that she did not believe in women’s voting rights, endorsed President Donald Trump as the GOP nominee for the November 3 election. "I support President Trump because he’s done more for the unborn than any other president. This election is a choice between two radical, anti-life activists, and the most pro-life president we’ve ever had. That’s something that should compel you to action," she said.
Johnson, who has a colorful past within the anti-abortion circles where she is revered, has also expressed her support for the policy of one-vote per household, according to The 19th — a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization. When asked what would happen if the husband is a Republican and wife a Democrat, Johnson said they would have to decide on one vote. "In a godly household, the husband would get the final say," she even said.
Johnson is a former employee of Planned Parenthood who quit working in a Texas clinic many years ago after witnessing a 13-week pregnant woman undergoing abortion. She also gained popularity after hit 2019 anti-abortion film 'Unplanned' was made on the basis of her life story.
Johnson’s presence at the RNC did not impress many either. NARAL Pro-Choice America President Ilyse Hogue, for instance, condemned her inclusion in the event, telling VICE News over mail: "Rolling out the red carpet for Abby Johnson to join the Republican National Convention as a featured speaker underscores Trump and Republicans’ ongoing willingness to peddle and prop up dangerous conspiracy theories and disinformation."