A Message to Trayvon Martin Sympathizers
Published July 21, 2013
By Romany Malco, Huffington Post, July 17, 2013.
I haven't touched on the Trayvon Martin issue because race matters in this country are the paralysis of the American people. To constructively discuss Trayvon would require empathy, introspection and an understanding of America's social and economic history. This is why the open forums we have seen thus far seem to fuel more ignorance and bias than reasonable debate.
To be brutally honest, the only reason people are even aware of Trayvon Martin is because it became a topic within mainstream news and pop culture. Meaning: News directors saw it as a profitable, sensational story. Hundreds of blacks die annually in South Side Chicago without even a blurb. Trayvon isn't in the mainstream news for any reason other than ratings and profit. The news coverage on the Zimmerman case almost implies that the killing of this young black man is somehow an anomaly and I resent that.
In this country, if it isn't streamlined through mainstream media and pop culture, it doesn't seem to warrant national debate. Our "government" continues to wreak havoc on our civil liberties and there is little to no protest from the black community because of media diversion tactics that keep such pertinent issues out of mainstream media. But if Jay-Z or Rihanna were to make mention of it, we'd suddenly be jolted out of our sugar comas and protesting on freeways.
My point being, people are up in arms about Trayvon based on regurgitated pundits and manipulated facts aired to elicit emotion while fueling America's anger and division. That's how you boost ratings. No different from Piers Morgan's desperate rant over gun control when he knew his ratings were in the dumps. And from where I stand, anyone who still relies on corporate-owned media pundits to support an argument isn't equipped to offer worthwhile solutions.
People are using Trayvon Martin's death as an excuse to project their own deep-seated issues with racism and will not be capable of intelligent, empathetic debate until they've cooled down and afforded themselves an education.
Addressing Trayvon without first addressing the absence of critical thinking in our schools, the lack of introspection, the reasons for our low tolerance and our country's skewed value system does nothing more than create a sounding board for the ignorant. So rather than facilitate more racism outcry, I'd like to address young black people specifically.
I believe we lost that trial for Trayvon long before he was killed. Trayvon was doomed the moment ignorance became synonymous with young black America . We lost that case by using media outlets (music, movies, social media, etc.) as vehicles to perpetuate the same negative images and social issues that destroyed the black community in the first place. When we went on record glorifying violent crime and when we voted for a president we never thought to hold accountable. When we signed on to do reality shows that fed into the media's stereotypes of black men, we ingrained an image of Trayvon Martin so overwhelming that who he actually may have been didn't matter anymore.
Don't you find it peculiar that the same media outlets who have worked so diligently to galvanize the negative stigmas of black men in America are now airing open debates on improving the image of black males in American media? Do you honestly think CNN is using their competitive time slots for philanthropy?
"You never want a serious crisis to go to waste." - Rahm Emanuel
If we really wanted to ensure Trayvon Martin's killing was not in vain, we'd stop perpetuating negative images that are now synonymous with black men in America. We'd stop rapping about selling drugs and killing niggas. The next time we saw a man beating a woman, we'd call for help or break it up, but one thing we would not do is stand by with our cellphones out -- yelling WORLDSTAR! Instead of rewarding kids for memorization, we'd reward them for independent and critical thinking.
We'd spend less time subconsciously repeating lyrics about death and murder and more time understanding why we are so willing to twerk to songs that bemean women and boast of having things we cannot afford. We'd set examples of self-love for our youth by honoring our own hair, skin and eye color. We'd stop spending money on designer gear that we should be spending on our physical and psychological health. We'd seek information outside the corporate owned-media that manipulates us. We'd stop letting television babysit our kids and we'd quit regurgitating pundits we haven't come up with on our own.
Education, introspection, self-love and excellence are the only ways to overcome the wrath of ignorance. So before going back to popping molly and getting Turnt Up, I urge you to consider the implications of your actions. Your child's life may depend on it.
July 21, 2013 at 11:33 am
Norm Kelly says:
Mostly well said.
Few things left out of the Zimmerman review.
1.) The DOJ stirring up race hate, against the legal mandate for the department. The DOJ being led by the racist, law-ignoring, attorney general, who for some reason continues to have the support of POTUS.
2.) POTUS, who continues to stick his nose into situation that it doesn't belong when he doesn't even have all the facts. Electing a mostly black man to the office of President didn't help heal any race relation issues. Because of his attitude and the law-ignoring attorney general he continues to support, race relations are actually worse today than when he took office. So much for a nation that supports black people enough to elect a black man, twice. (even after his first term where he proved his incompetence)
3.) The normal racism whores who continue to stir up negative race relations instead of trying to repair race relations. The Jackson, Sharpton, reverend buffet-slayer all need to be held accountable for getting involved where they don't belong.
I paid zero attention to the Zimmerman trial because it should never have happened. The president should have kept his mouth shut, once again. The information that the DOJ did everything it could to stir up public sentiment, but only after the trial was underway. The fact that (apparently) CNN stuck it's nose into the situation (though I wouldn't actually know this from first hand account cuz nobody with intelligence watches CNN, and it's not available on my tv on purpose) is just another reason that following the trial was a waste of time. Nothing about this case screamed racial motivation. Trayvon was not targeted because he was black. Contrary to reports from the NYTimes, Zimmerman IS not a white hispanic. After hearing about the NYT report, it was obvious that Zimmerman would be lucky to get a fair trial, and God-forbid he was acquitted, it would be impossible for the race-whores to let it go.
While this was a good column, it left out too much. And the race whores have indeed not let it go, including major (liberal) media.
Next case.
July 21, 2013 at 1:58 pm
Vicky Hutter says:
Excellent commentary!
It seems we no longer have unbiased reporters; the "news" media is entertainment with "news cycles" in minutes until there must be something new to write or say to retain ratings or increase market share. So-called "experts" and pundits enamored with the sound of their own voices talk about both issues and relatively inconsequential items to death. Local crime and isolated incidents become expanded by the media implying that the story is national in scope and happening across the country when in reality it is local in scope.
I don't think I'm alone in believing that it was inappropriate for the seated president to respond to the Zimmerman verdict publicly as he did. Was he giving permission for minorities to engage in violent protests against racism or saying all minorities should be angry about their treatment by whites in the U.S.? It certainly seems that this action served as an attempt by this president to divert attention from a focus on serious charges and scandals affecting his administration. Where are his advisers to help him know how to assert genuine leadership as president of the United States?
July 21, 2013 at 4:31 pm
John Bailo says:
So according to your logic, Robert DiNiro should stop making movies about psychos and Mafiosi because it then gives George Zimmerman the right to shoot me in my apartment.
July 23, 2013 at 3:00 pm
Paul Blair says:
This entire article is reeks of blame-the-victim mentality. Is the author making the claim that if Black people start 'behaving', institutional injustices that they face will just go away? This seems more like an intentionally unreasonable pre-requisite for further action, designed to maintain the status quo, much like immigration reform opponents' demands for 100% border security before any other measure is considered.
The interest in the Trayvon martin case was not a creation of the mainstream media. It was driven by the grassroots. I was reading about the case every day for weeks before the story was even acknowledged by the MSM, and even then it was only a couple of the MSNBC shows (Chris Hayes was the first I remember talking about it) for a while. Yes, once the media got a hold of it and the ratings that it delivered, it used the story, but that in no way makes the story a media creation, nor does it negate the outrage that drove the story to begin with.
The reason why the case garnered so much outrage is not media manipulation but because it is a microcosm of the institutional racism that African American's still face to this day. From the automatic assumption of guilt surrounding Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman, which regardless of what happened during the confrontation, ultimately was the precursor to Trayvon Martin's death, to Florida's stand your ground law, which removes the standard duty to retreat and made George Zimmerman's actions, however irresponsible, perfectly legal, the entire structure of our society has been set up so that people like George Zimmerman can kill people like Trayvon Martin and get away with it.
