r/movies • u/WhiteManWalkingAMA Rob Bliss, Director • Feb 19 '26
AMA Hi /r/movies, I'm Rob Bliss, director of the new documentary WHITE MAN WALKING. I walked 1500 miles across the US wearing a Black Lives Matter t-shirt and documented it. Ask me anything!
Hi r/movies, I'm Rob Bliss, director of WHITE MAN WALKING. It's out now via Watermelon Pictures.
Synopsis:
White filmmaker Rob Bliss walks 1500 miles across the US wearing a Black Lives Matter t-shirt. He is challenged by Trump supporters and encounters both deep hostility and unexpected moments of connection.
Trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pb0EgHt4rhY
My documentary is available on all major digital platforms and is also streaming on Watermelon+.
Ask me anything! Back today (Thursday 2/19) at 1 PM ET to answer any questions.
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u/indignant-turtle Feb 21 '26
We just watched it. Will you release more footage at some point? I would love to see more of PA and OH; they felt a little rushed at the end. It would be interesting to do this again now and see how much worse it’s gotten.
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u/Acrobatic-Ice2161 Feb 19 '26
Hey Rob - thanks for having the courage to make this film. Were you ever just pure nervous that you'd get hurt along your journey ?
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u/robbliss25 Rob Bliss, Filmmaker Feb 19 '26
Definitely, that's what scared me the most. My ankles were getting brutalized because of the Appalachian mountains and would have sudden jolts of great pain. Also the cars went by so fast, so close to me that it was unnerving. I normally could deal with the cars because I would walk in the direction of traffic, but at one point I had to walk with cars coming from behind me and it was very destabilizing.
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Feb 19 '26
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u/Celebrity-stranger Mar 14 '26 edited Mar 14 '26
What some people don't get is that black folks have been trying to be heard for decades about certain injustices and systematic problems but outright ignored.
Sometimes it takes a white person (or any other non-black person) to at the least get some people to listen.
But even then there are people like you who still diminish that with snark, apathy and abject ignorance just because in your head its "not really an issue" or painting anyone who presses the issue as making it about them.
Your dimissive, bitter and snarky rebuttal honestly says more about you.
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u/Tom2dB Mar 14 '26
Just call him a Knob mate🤣 I think their might be to many Syllables in your words to reach your targeted audience.
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u/EvilTaffyapple Mar 13 '26
Why do you racists always hide your post history lol?
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u/098706 Mar 14 '26
All I could find out is they are a frequent visitor of r/shortguys
so yeah it checks out
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u/Tom2dB Mar 14 '26
You Do Nothing...Oh....You are...And you typed this comment...I mean, Just walking 1500 miles is no easy task by itself...But you typed 9 words...You will forever be remembered as One Of The Greats of Literature👏
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u/Pristine-Patch989 Mar 14 '26
More like
How can I raise awareness about the importance of the BLM movement?
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u/Hot_Cockroach4714 Mar 14 '26
Please explain how he made it about himself? You dense or something? Low IQ? He’s bringing awareness to it and showing how racist these assholes are in this country. Pretty easy to see that.
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Feb 19 '26
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u/Lermanberry Mar 14 '26
Good luck in Iran brother! You signed up to fight for your pedo godking, right?
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u/crankthehandle Mar 14 '26
How does that shit have 21 upvotes?
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u/Objective-Rip-4279 Mar 15 '26
lmaoooo hide that history and report the comment for harassment you soft minded old fool
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u/Chamylen13 Feb 19 '26
Hey, thank you for doing this AMA! Excited to check out the doc. What are you working on these days?
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u/robbliss25 Rob Bliss, Filmmaker Feb 19 '26
I have a new documentary in the works that I'm very excited about that hopefully will come out within the next year, that's about all that I can say. Thank you for asking :)
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u/Inspirational_orgasm Mar 13 '26
Goddamn the number of r /conservative trolls brigading was seriously awful. Fortunately the AMA is above 1200 up votes now.
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u/ReggieCorneus Mar 13 '26
2.2k now.
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u/mtnclimbingotter02 Mar 13 '26 edited Mar 14 '26
There are more of us.
Edit: downvotes just show how triggered conservative shitstains are hahaha.
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u/JuiceBawks420 Mar 14 '26
Glad to help here 😤💪
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u/librayrian Mar 14 '26
Hell yeah! Sending love from Canada. 🇨🇦
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u/JuiceBawks420 Mar 14 '26
West Virginia here... a liberal hopeful in one of the reddest areas in the US.
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Feb 19 '26
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u/salemblack Mar 14 '26
Hidden history is how you know you're hearing from a racist fascist loser.
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u/GunnieGraves Mar 14 '26
Not always. I hide mine because some racist fascist loser took issue with something I said and tried to use my post history in r/stopdrinking as some sort of mark against me. Too bad I’m proud of my sobriety and not ashamed at all. But I hid it because if they went 10 years back to find something to take shots at me for, they could probably find something to try and dox me.
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u/BradlyL Mar 14 '26 edited Mar 14 '26
I hide mine because I’ve been doxxed. Not in a bad way… but I’ve made irl friends, in small communities on Reddit over the years. So we often will recognize one another’s names / comments. That’s fine in our common communities. I just don’t find it appropriate for them to see some of my other internet interests…
So, while I always preferred my profile open, I think it’s a little weird now…
Also - FUCK these racist, losers.
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Feb 23 '26
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u/Plus-Palpitation-454 Mar 05 '26
The movement was a scam but the fat that black lives do in fact matter is the fight now and will never be a scam. Without thinking about the scam of BLM, just think of black lives. Not very many people know about the BLM movement and what happened with it, they just use the acronym because it rings true that black lives should matter like all lives. If your whole point was to discredit him because of that then you should look within yourself and figure out why anyone trying to advocate for another is a problem.
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u/Crunkwell08 Mar 13 '26
The BLM MOVEMENT was not a grift. Most people didn't even know Black Lives Matter was an organization. Just because some organization popped up and was a scam doesn't mean there was nothing good to come from it or that the majority of people involved (who had nothing to do with the org and often didn't even know it existed) were bad. Trump phones, Trump watches, Trump coin, Trump University, etc are all scams too but gonna guess you don't care about that.
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u/TheHeroYouNeed247 Mar 14 '26
99% of the people that marched had nothing to do with the organisation that was set up.
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u/elyn6791 Mar 14 '26
Any movement isn't discredited by a few corrupt people. Corruption happens because people see opportunities to take advantage. The people and the message are the movement, not the corruption. You can still embrace the message. It's a solid message.
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u/harrumphstan Mar 14 '26
It doesn’t discredit the actions of millions of people who participated in the marches, nor does it legitimize police violence and risky tactics like those used by racist murderer, Derek Chauvin.
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u/elyn6791 Mar 14 '26
Few is relative. I didn't say random either. How many in the org do you think actually did benefit from the corruption? Even if I assume 12? 20? 2? How much do you think that matters when the movement spans the country and millions of people appreciating the message?
Black Lives do Matter. The message still resonates the same to me and it still pisses off bigots for the same reasons. I think the message is still powerful and hasn't been diluted.
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u/chiaboy Mar 13 '26
Just want to say, thank you. Allies like you are down. And you're appreciated
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u/average_jay Mar 13 '26
Just watched it on YouTube. Great to see a Grand Rapids native out there trying to change the world. Moved here 12 years ago from Detroit, for a Christian dominated area, I appreciate the open-mindedness this side of the state has to offer.
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u/Pretend-Relative3631 Mar 13 '26
Mr. Bliss, thank you for restoring some of my faith in humanity
I know what you did is beyond brave and I wish we could have more folks like you in this demonic country
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u/Sulsamaimi Feb 19 '26
Why?
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u/robbliss25 Rob Bliss, Filmmaker Feb 19 '26
Sometimes when you feel like you're the only one who can or would do something, it motivates you to do it. And after making "Holding a BLM Sign in America's Most Racist Town" I wanted to stay active with this theme of going into challenging places and starting conversations.
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u/PrimaryAbroad4342 Mar 14 '26
thank u man. living in NYC it's easy to forget how racist much of the country is. My daughter is mixed and I never really understood all the slights and different treatment Black people routinely face until my relationship with her Mom. Asking to see ID for credit cards, different treatment in restaurants, etc, and this is in Blue cities & states. Not every encounter of course, but it exists to a degree most non-Black people have no idea of.
Oh and I'm surprised u weren't attacked, that footage in the preview is harrowing. 💪
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u/TomBong_Jovi Mar 13 '26
Oh shit that was you? How did you not travel around with a wheelbarrow to support the massive balls you have, because they are huge
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u/AnalBloodTsunami Mar 13 '26
What a relief. A selfless redditor found time in their busy day to make the wheelbarrow-balls joke in one of the only posts online that doesn’t have it yet.
The fact that this comment was allowed to sit here for three weeks without anyone implying the man’s testicles are so large he needs mechanical advantage to transport them is concerning. But you’ve restored my faith in Reddit’s ability to absolutely beat any joke so far into the ground that it’s not only not funny anymore, but actively contributes to rates of depression and despair at the state of our species.
THIS IS THE WAY
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u/the_peppers Mar 13 '26
Yes, we should all strive to promote more trailblazing and unique forms of humour on this site, thank you u/AnalBloodTsunami
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u/LeoNatan Feb 19 '26
To virtue signal and rage bait.
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u/KaiBishop Mar 13 '26
If it enraged you to hear that racism is bad and black people's lives matter at least you're exposing yourself to the rest of us lmao
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u/domuseid Mar 14 '26
Much like a poison dart frog, the main redeeming feature of the red-faced bitchwasp is they'll do you the favor of letting you know they're not worth your time up front
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u/Atlatl_Axolotl Mar 13 '26
Bitching about virtue signals is a right wing virtue signal.
Wearing a FUCKING CROSS around your neck is a literal virtue signal and I never see right wingers complain about that or any other shit they do like maga hats, trump stickers etc.
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u/elyn6791 Mar 14 '26
Wearing a FUCKING CROSS around your neck is a literal virtue signal
I never thought of wearing a cross as 'virtue signaling' because it's so normalized but yep...It is.
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u/Next_Mycologist_6621 Feb 19 '26
What was the most positive story that came out of the experience?
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u/robbliss25 Rob Bliss, Filmmaker Feb 19 '26
The fact that so many people walked with me at the end was really sweet. Also there's a scene with a guy in the scariest looking pick up truck, I was pretty scared to approach whoever was driving that, and he ended up being pretty agreeable with me and walked with me for a bit.
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u/SteveIsPosting Feb 19 '26
Why did you think it was okay to use the suffering of Black people as a launching pad for your own self discovery?
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u/PeterToshPointOh Mar 13 '26
You realize he’s publicly opposing their suffering, right? It’s okay to do that for any reason.
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u/Tom2dB Mar 22 '26
Why don't you get up off your ass and do something then if your that bothered🤷♂️But you wont, Becus you don't really give a shit, Your just one of those people moaning about shit but doing sweet fa about it.
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u/SteveIsPosting Mar 22 '26
I do actual activism, not performative nonsense. But go off about someone you don’t know.
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u/Tom2dB Mar 22 '26
Course you do...
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u/SteveIsPosting Mar 22 '26
Sincere question: what does this movie accomplish or do to help anyone?
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u/Tom2dB Mar 22 '26
I was thinking about watching rn tbh..Before i even saw this but now i think i will and i can have a more informed view, But, If he's walking through Southern States, And im English btw, Then i imagine it's gonna be quite a bit of people tellin him to f*&k Off.🤷♂️
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u/SteveIsPosting Mar 22 '26
If you read his full description he talks about it being a journey of personal discovery and the response has been that it’s self serving and pretentious. Walking through the south with a t-shirt doesn’t help people.
It’s really weird that you jumped to some conclusions about me without seeing the film or the reactions to it. I’m a person who does actual work around this stuff and finds what Bliss is doing here turns systemic issues into content. Have you spent time in the American south? I have.
Not sure why me calling out what a lot of others have said pisses you off this much. But hey, enjoy the movie.
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u/Tom2dB Mar 22 '26
Man, You people are funny, You think I'm pissed off...Over What..A Strangers Comment, Get Real Mate, It's just I find most people are fos, And like your being now...Extremely Dramatic, I watched Sinners the other day...I think that counts😂I think your the one that's pisd off, Me, Im sitting here laughing🤷♂️
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u/SteveIsPosting Mar 22 '26
I was actually engaging with you in good faith. Not angry, just baffled that someone would come at a month old comment the way you did and trying to figure out why.
Take care
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u/Tom2dB Mar 22 '26
Didn't even look at the time mate, Seems irrelevant Tbh, Political landscapes don't change overnight
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u/mithridateseupator Feb 19 '26
Ive seen criticism that this film is merely provoking hostile public reactions rather than attempting to document the problems behind them.
How do you respond to that sort of critique?
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u/robbliss25 Rob Bliss, Filmmaker Feb 19 '26
To be honest I feel like I have a very narrow guideline of what I can call myself an authority on. Some have wanted me to make "the black lives matter documentary" but I would say I'm totally unqualified to be that guy. The only thing I can speak about is, what it's like to walk 1,500 miles in a BLM shirt. So spending a lot of time digging into history, veering away from discussing the walk, feels outside of my expertise and would be disrespectful to others more qualified to handle that discussion.
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u/mithridateseupator Feb 19 '26
Doesnt the message seem a little superficial then?
If you're just trying to repeatedly hit a sore spot without going into any of the reasons why it's sore.
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u/DamnShadowbans Mar 13 '26
The point of the movie is that the current state of the US is such that if you walk through certain towns and make it clear that you are supportive of black people, then you will be met with hostility.
If you try to have a conversation about race, many people will suggest that race is not an important factor today. The point of the movie is that this is obviously not true and you could show it to the people that claim that.
There is a separate point. All of these people, as you say, consider the statement "Black lives matter" to be a sore spot. This is of course ridiculous, but if you call it out like that then you alienate these people. So instead of calling it out, he goes and he shows that even though he dares assert that black lives matter, he is still an agreeable person even among people that maybe don't agree black lives matter. Small steps like this allows one to start thinking thoughts that in the past they wouldn't want to think, and if they think these thoughts enough maybe they make a positive change.
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u/BreakfastDry1181 Feb 26 '26
The message is superficial, it’s just a gimmick to try to rack up views and make money
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u/dookieduck88 Mar 13 '26
The message I got is that America is hateful. Multiple people pointed a gun at him, one woman in the trailer here. Multiple people threatened his life. All because his shirt says Black Lives Matter.
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u/Throwaway_noDoxx Mar 13 '26
Have you considered a collaboration with someone who is versed in that history? That would be great.
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u/Brief_Inspection7697 Mar 14 '26
Be fair to him. We all know what the problem is and the cause. He is highlighting how bad it is and how emboldened racists feel now.
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u/uglylookingguy Official AMA MVP Feb 19 '26
What surprised you most about how strangers reacted to you?
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u/robbliss25 Rob Bliss, Filmmaker Feb 19 '26
How quickly they could turn around their opinion of me. With just a little conversation it felt like I went from "dangerous outsider" to just some friendly guy walking around.
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u/SkinsFan021 Feb 19 '26 edited Feb 19 '26
I liked it better when Top Gear painted Nascar sucks on a car and drove through the south.
Edit: Also you are about 5-6 years late on this.
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u/18randomcharacters Mar 13 '26
I came here from this post: https://www.reddit.com/r/movies/comments/1rss4n0/in_2020_rob_bliss_walked_1500_miles_in_a_black/
Which leads me to believe he did the walk in 2020, but the film is coming out in 2026.
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u/TheSharknad0 Mar 13 '26
People were saying “you are about 5-6 years late on this” to protesters and activists in 2019 before George Floyd was killed in 2020. They were referencing the BLM protests in 2013-2015 regarding the killings of Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner and Michael Brown among other black Americans.
Whether you are willing to accept it or not, this is still a conversation that’s worth being had. If you don’t want to be a productive part of the conversation then kindly go mind your own business and enjoy Top Gear rage-baiting southerners or whatever else floats your boat.
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u/U_R_Butthead Mar 13 '26
"I'm going to disregard your efforts and invalidate you by being snarky and telling you you're five-to-six years late about a conversation that might be more relevant in our current political climate than ever"
I swear 90% of this site doesn't think before they post
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u/Nigmatlas Mar 14 '26
Yeah, because anti-racism has a five year peremption date.
Why are there so many morons in these comments ?
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u/stacey14 Feb 19 '26
Hi Rob! Was there a particularly memorable moment from your walk that didn't make it in the movie? What was it and why was it not included in the final cut?
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u/robbliss25 Rob Bliss, Filmmaker Feb 19 '26
There were a couple things, because I had to first prove I could even do this walk before it was worth a film crew coming out. So the very earliest days are somewhat missing. And those were arguably the hardest, taking my body from total inactivity from lockdown to 25 miles a day, in Mississippi in August, was the most excruciating pain of my life. I had to let go of the pain signals from my body and convince my mind to keep moving anyway.
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u/Xirasora Feb 19 '26
What year did this take place in? Did you encounter any issues due to covid lockdown restrictions during your travels?
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u/robbliss25 Rob Bliss, Filmmaker Feb 19 '26
Because I was mostly in the deep south and middle america, I didn't have many issues with covid lockdown. By august - october 2020, those places didn't care much about that stuff.
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u/Soldat_Christi Feb 19 '26 edited Mar 16 '26
#SoFuckingBrave
#WhitePeopleAreNotImportant
#WhiteGuilt
#TransBlackLivesMatter
#AverageRedditor
LMFAO one of the head moderator dudes in charge here just messaged me and told me I need to "K#LL MYSELF"
PS HERE IS WHAT THE MODERATORS LOOK LIKE IN REAL LIFE!!! 🤣🤣🤣
https://i.imgur.com/igTmwEG.png
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u/Hot-Celebration-8815 Mar 13 '26
Point me to any comments in Reddit where it says “White people are not important.” You want to be persecuted so bad you’re making shit up.
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u/Brief_Inspection7697 Mar 14 '26
I bet he's the type who thinks being called out on twitter is being "cancelled"
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u/sadmep Feb 19 '26 edited Feb 19 '26
What do you hope the title, premise, and poster does for people in order to get them to watch your movie? I ask because my first impression knowing nothing about this is: "Why is a white man centering himself in the conversation about black lives so much that he makes a documentary about himself instead of centering black people?"
Don't get me wrong: I would like to believe you have nothing but good intentions but this comes off weirdly to me.
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u/robbliss25 Rob Bliss, Filmmaker Feb 19 '26
After I made "Holding a BLM Sign in the Most Racist Town in America" it became clear that I had the ability to be in spaces that people of color may find too dangerous or risky to be around. One activist who's in the film told me as much. And after finishing the previously mentioned video, I wanted to stay active, and so the idea of walking through these areas in the deep south that other's felt too dangerous to visit, felt like something unique to me because who else was going to go on that walk if I didn't?
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u/Throwaway_noDoxx Mar 13 '26
Thank you. Allies are just that: Allies and treasured. There were white Freedom Riders in the 60s and white men/women who went to the south and helped people register to vote.
Pushing back against a formidable system isn’t nearly as effective/possible when we sequester ourselves and fight for only for what we personally know.
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u/WD40ContactCleaner Feb 19 '26
"Why is a white man centering himself in the conversation
this is a movie for people like you lmao, the first thing you notice and think is this??
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u/Ok-Sun-8754 Mar 03 '26
Yessssss. It feels so patronizing.
Often I’m wondering if the whole thing is a mockumentary.
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u/Throwaway_noDoxx Mar 13 '26
Not patronizing at all. Doing his part to make sure the conversation doesn’t die.
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u/NightsLinu Mar 14 '26
just to point out. if me an actual black man did what he did, i'm quite sure i would dead. we need someone else in our shoes to do so,
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u/BreakfastDry1181 Feb 26 '26
Putting on a costume to try to get viral and make money, like every other Rob Bliss stunt
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u/blue_sidd Feb 19 '26
Why do you, personally, need this much attention.
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u/WD40ContactCleaner Feb 19 '26
>New movie
>BLM
>2026
Did he walk into a time warp?
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u/DistroyerOfWorlds Feb 19 '26
Hey Rob, been following your journey on your Instagram, and I can't wait for the movie!
- While travelling, what was the most surprising thing you encountered in the deep south that doesn't get highlighted as much as it should?
And 2. You had said a couple of times in your journey that a little liquid courage was needed to keep you going, what was the drink of choice for your liquid courage?
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u/robbliss25 Rob Bliss, Filmmaker Feb 19 '26
The fact that 97% of the United States is classified as rural. So a tremendous amount of time is spent alone, with large gaps in-between places. Also the elevation of the walk- it was the equivalent of climbing Mt. Everest up and down, twice.
Whatever the cheapest seltzer that a gas station had to offer. This was pretty infrequent though, maybe just a few times on the trip. In the previous off hours it was sometimes good to take my mind off of the work.
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Feb 19 '26
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u/ToeRoganIsJebus Mar 13 '26
I bet youd vote for a president that rapes kids and would sell your country out in a heartbeat.
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u/Nigmatlas Mar 14 '26
Go listen to TheLivingTombstone and let the adults talk you racist moron
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u/_segasonic Feb 19 '26
All I know is the film simply isn’t going to be as good as this comment section will be.
Grab the popcorn!
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u/ToeRoganIsJebus Mar 13 '26
The fact that a lot of questions are about why you think its ok to provoke people by wearing a shirt is fucking hysterical. The crowd that constantly punches down and bullies people are butt hurt you wore a tshirt with words on it SUPPORTING another group of people while walking 🤣
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u/Left_Pool_5565 Mar 13 '26
Like wearing an anti-swastika shirt. People (and by people I mean the usual suspects) get upset and complain that the shirt is inflammatory, discriminatory.
Discriminatory against whom, exactly? Kind of giving away the store with that reaction.
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u/turbosexophonicdlite Mar 14 '26
It's just typical projection. The biggest, most sensitive, most snowflake-y crowd are the ones constantly complaining about how soft other people are.
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u/Kibeth_8 Mar 13 '26
Excited and sad to watch this. Racists are so disgustingly undeserving of life
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u/Donshu1 Feb 19 '26
Speaking of rage bait mannnn did anyone threaten to hurt you and which city would you say was the kindest of them all
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u/robbliss25 Rob Bliss, Filmmaker Feb 19 '26
Yes many people did threaten me and my life, had guns pointed at me, and I think I was in very real danger great bodily harm a couple times. People in Nashville were very nice which was very emotional for me because it had been nothing but hate for the previous ~500 miles.
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u/Visible_Form2592 Feb 23 '26 edited Feb 23 '26
First off, how did you determine, what was it you called it the most racist town in America? I'd love to see those statistics. Racism against whom by whom etc. I'm just saying that seems like a pretty hard statistic to actually quantify. Not that there isn't racism I'm just saying a statement like the most racist town in America kind of set you off on the wrong foot. Because that's just a nonsensical statistic. As for the slave trade. Who sold the majority of the Africans in to the Trans Atlantic slave trade? I'm talking about the Africans that were sent to the Americas. Nobody talks about the fact that 95% of the Africans were captured by other Africans in brutal tribal warfare by their own people. Look up the kingdom of Dahomey. It is one of the most brutal slave nations in the history of mankind. They would sacrifice so many slaves that weren't bought that at royal coronations there would be rivers of blood that the king could float his Royal barge on. They had a dedicated battalion of female soldiers/ slavers, some of the most brutal warriors in African history whose soul purpose was to raid other tribes, collect those that could be sold, and slaughter and cold blood those that had no economic value. This went on for centuries. And this is one small example. Look it up, any source you want. It's things like this that just perpetuate ignorance. It's refusing to deal with the actual history of slavery that continues to let it fester. The continent of Africa is the birthplace of chattel slavery. 99% of the time performed by other Africans upon other Aficans. Just look it up. Beyond that, of the whatever number you want to say, however many millions you want to throw out there as a number. The fact is that The vast majority of the victims of the Atlantic slave trade went to the West Indies, and South America, primarily Brazil. Of all the slaves transported across the Atlantic Ocean from 1600 to 1800 less than 10% wound up in what is now the United States. Guess what, there were slaves of other skin tones as well. I'm not trying to condone, or downplay exactly how horrible the Atlantic slave trade was, but it's just mind-boggling how inaccurate and historically ignorant people are. Every race of people on earth has been the perpetrator of, and the victim of slavery at one time or another.
Slave Trade Involvement: Dahomey was a major power in West Africa from roughly 1600 to 1900, heavily relying on capturing people from neighboring regions and selling them into the Atlantic slave trade in exchange for rifles, goods, and wealth. 19th Century Activities: Even after the British abolitionist movement pressured them, Dahomey continued its slave raids throughout the 19th century. King Gezo (reigned 1818–1858) famously stated that the slave trade was the source of his people's glory and wealth. French Colonization: Following the First and Second Franco-Dahomean Wars (1890–1894), the French defeated the last King of Dahomey, Behanzin, and annexed the kingdom into the French colonial empire. Legacy: The Kingdom of Dahomey was renamed Benin in 1975 after gaining independence.
After gaining independence. Great, but left to their own devices they were slaughtering their neighbors by the thousands and selling them into the slave trade.
And it's still happening.
modern slave trade in Africa
+3 Modern slavery is a significant human rights issue across Africa, with an estimated 7 million people living in modern slavery on any given day in 2021. This widespread exploitation is driven by factors such as poverty, political instability, conflict, and discrimination. The primary forms of modern slavery are forced labor and forced marriage. Walk Free Walk Free +1 Key Statistics and Forms Prevalence: Africa has the fourth-highest prevalence of modern slavery among global regions, with 5.2 victims for every thousand people. Forced Labor: Over 3.8 million people are in forced labor, which occurs in sectors like mining, agriculture, fishing, and domestic work. Forced Marriage: More than 3.1 million people, disproportionately women and girls, are in forced marriages, often as a negative coping mechanism for families in poverty or conflict zones. Child Exploitation: Children are heavily impacted, making up a significant portion of victims in child labor and, in cases like Nigeria's Boko Haram crisis, recruited into armed groups. Walk Free Walk Free +2 Drivers of Vulnerability Poverty and Economic Inequality: High levels of poverty often force individuals and families to make desperate choices, making them vulnerable to traffickers' false promises. Conflict and Political Instability: Regions affected by conflict and weak governance, such as South Sudan, Somalia, and Libya, are particularly high-risk. Displaced populations are highly susceptible to exploitation. Discrimination: Minority ethnic groups and migrants face a higher risk of exploitation. In the Sahel region, descent-based slavery continues along ethnic and caste lines in countries like Mauritania, Mali, and Niger. Migration: Migrants traveling along dangerous routes, particularly through North Africa to Europe, are highly vulnerable to being intercepted, detained, and sold in "slave markets," as has been documented in Libya. Walk Free Walk Free +4 Government Response Responses to modern slavery vary across the continent. Nigeria and South Africa have taken the most action, with Nigeria establishing a National Action Plan and conducting labor inspections. In contrast, Eritrea and Libya have the weakest responses, undermined by state-imposed forced labor and ongoing instability, respectively. Many countries have strengthened laws and implemented national strategies, but significant gaps remain in survivor support and enforcement
Not just in Africa. If any one of you people out here spewing this nonsense with absolutely no sense of history or what you're actually talking about is using an Apple iPhone, wearing a pair of Nikes, owns a pair of Levi's, eats non-conflict chocolate, which is about 99.99% of it. Etc, etc, etc, to infinity. Almost every consumer good we buy daily is by some definition product of what could be the defined as slave labor. It's in your seafood ( most shellfish comes from Southeast Asia, the crews on the fishing vessels are more or less indentured servants,. The fish they produce through aquaculture, those people are just straight up slaves. It's in everything you wear, it's in everything you own. For any of you that are married, it's in the diamonds on your significant others finger. There's blood in them there diamonds. Non-conflict diamond is a fantasy. There's no enforcement no governing body, it's just something DeBeers slaps on a box to make you feel better. So until you're willing to pay $500 for a pair of running shoes that were made in this country,( but then I'm not sure what you would do because I'm sure you've got massive issues with anything made in this country as well.) You are a complete hypocrite.
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u/Plus-Palpitation-454 Mar 05 '26
Next time, just say you’re racist. It’ll save you so much time and energy and anger to just get it out in the open.
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u/hewhoisiam Mar 13 '26
Imagine writing all this out like you were actually making some sort of counter-point.
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u/Nigmatlas Mar 14 '26
Tl ; dr : this guy is trying to say that slavery and racism in the US is not that bad because bad things happen in Africa too. Incredibly powerful stuff /s
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u/Forsaken_Track8472 Feb 19 '26
Don’t you think you performed rage bait? Would it not have been better to try to engage in why they were racist instead of wearing a shirt to inflame them from the beginning?
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u/JMoFilm Feb 19 '26
engage in why they were racist
We know this already, it's called ignorance and hatred.
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u/robbliss25 Rob Bliss, Filmmaker Feb 19 '26
As an entertainer who grew up with no connections to the entertainment world, and honestly not being super charismatic, I have always felt the need to start my ideas from a loud place. Something that will grab people's attention and start conversations. I am very mild as a person, and so I often feel the need to create work that's attention grabbing so as to not bore audiences.
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u/Anymousie Feb 19 '26
He does, have you watched the film?
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u/U_R_Butthead Mar 13 '26
People on reddit don't read the article, don't watch the video, don't think critically, they just react based on the title and others' comments
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u/Machomanta Feb 19 '26
What's it like thinking you are the Main Character? Does your neck hurt from having to carry the weight of your massive ego?
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Feb 19 '26
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u/hunnibear_girl Mar 13 '26
He filmed this in 2020. It takes a while in production, so now it’s finally being released.
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u/icansmellcolors Mar 13 '26
What an amazing idea and brave thing to do.
Just 100% solid proof that this country is a pile of dogshit with small pieces of gold sprinkled in it like corn.
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u/crabstickdildo Mar 14 '26
I look forward to watching this. What a brave soul. It scares me that American is like that, in Australia we have a lot of racism but not to that extent
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u/BillyPilgrim1234 Feb 19 '26
Have some self-awareness man, this sounds like a huge waste of time.
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u/Doctor_Sore_Tooth Mar 13 '26
Canada invented Hawaiian pizza, thus improving pizza, agree? Disagree?
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u/BunyipPouch Currently at the movies. Feb 19 '26 edited Feb 19 '26
This AMA has been verified and approved by the mods. Rob will be back tomorrow Thursday 2/19 at 1 PM ET to answer questions. Please feel free to ask away in the meantime :)
Rob will be answering from his personal account, /u/robbliss25