Maybe I’m too woke at this point. Too cynical. The ‘too much internet’ syndrome, as I like to call it. My first reaction when I saw this video this morning was… fake.
Uploaded to Facebook by Marmar Duval, the video shows an older man, (who seems to be a stranger to these kids) approach a fight between Jamar Mobley and another teen in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The man, who was identified by Breaking AC as Atlantic City resident Ibn Ali, gives an impassioned speech to the two, convincing them to stop the violence and shake hands.
“Everybody on your phones, all y’all, y’all the real cowards. Record that too,” the man says.
“Look at the trick of the devil, who ill advised you?” the man asks. “Who told you wrong?”
“They’re laughing,” the man says, pointing to the crowd watching, “Anybody that laughs at you while you’re upset, they ain’t your friend.”
Well folks, unfortunately, I hate to be the one to tell you that this video is fake. Let’s rock with some quick bullet points:
- The video begins midway into the fight as the two teens are grappling. We do not see the start.
- No punches are landed.
- The two quickly separate.
- They seem to be posing.
- It seems like something that would go viral and be fake.
After the two break up, they seem to be standing around waiting for something. I don’t know if you’ve ever been in a fight, but there’s certainly never time for standing around.
Then the dude walks up, and tell me this doesn’t look like two kids posing for the poster of a movie. They know what’s coming and want to make it look good.
Exactly. And my final point is that, while the meat of this video could be real, the beginning just isn’t. The man just walks up, nobody reacts in confusion or terror, nobody asks him what he wants, he just begins to speak, and they begin to listen.
Either way, fake or not, it worked. At the time of this writing, in just over 24 hours, it has almost 20 MILLION views. That’s virality at its finest.
So, what do you think? Am I being too cynical? Trust me, I get this message and I WANT this to be real, but I’ve seen enough internet in my life to know that it’s probably not.
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Oh, and one more thing: this is just my opinion, so chill out.
So dope!!! #Salute the homie who stepped in and spoke real to our young generation. We all need a word or 2 to help! https://t.co/hJ4BT611sw
— LeBron James (@KingJames) March 21, 2017
