On Thursday I had the pleasure of joining Cam & Co. on NRATV to discuss my recent commentary on Joy Reid’s interview with Killer Mike.

The MSNBC host had invited the popular rapper on her show following a Twitter dust-up between the two. That exchange (in which Killer Mike was most definitely in the wrong) had sprung up following Reid’s harsh criticism of Killer Mike – also known as Mike Render – for appearing on Colion Noir’s NRATV show to talk about the Second Amendment and gun control.

It’s important to note that Render has never claimed to be a friend of the NRA and in fact did not go on Noir’s show to defend the NRA in any matter. He made it clear that he is uncomfortable with the NRA and their “messaging” and he didn’t back away from that during their respectful, intelligent exchange. Rather, the performer made his case for why he felt it was vitally important to the freedom of African-Americans to exercise and protect their Second Amendment rights.

He explained as much to Reid when she chastised him for appearing on a forum that she feels is “anti-black”. Without blinking an eye Render explained that he felt a population that had only been granted their full freedom less than 70 years ago (following the eradication of Jim Crow laws) should be very concerned about any attempt to now deny them of their constitutional rights. He went on to say that given the issue of police violence and discrimination against African-Americans he didn’t feel comfortable letting government authorities be the only people in the country allowed to own and carry weapons.

It’s a fantastic point and one that deserves to be discussed and debated further in public forums. Even Reid had to begrudgingly admit that she agreed with most of what he said…and she simply left it at that. Rather than delve into that discussion, she immediately pivoted back to her complaint that he chose the wrong forum to say such things.

Mike was right, but the forum was wrong so none if it counted.

Joy Reid is on MSNBC specifically because of her coverage of race issues in the United States. She unabashedly takes the race angle on most controversies and frankly, I find nothing wrong with that. It’s her gig. It’s what she does.

But that just makes it even more pathetic that she would deliberately throw away an opportunity to have a productive, intelligent discussion about one of the biggest issues facing black Americans today. Killer Mike teed it up for her and she struck out in the name of pettiness. Reid was more concerned about shaming Render for his choice to reach out to people who might not think like him and try to exert some influence outside “the choir”. She was more concerned about the NRA than the topic of the civil rights of African-Americans.

It’s shoddy journalism at best and pettiness at worst.

You can check out a clip of my discussion with Cam Edwards on NRATV right here, and you can watch the entire discussion by clicking here.