If nobody else will say it…I will.I know I can’t be in the minority (no pun intended) to think it; so why don’t we go ahead and size up the tremendous elephant sauntering about the room?
Over this past Thanksgiving weekend I, like the multitude, overindulged and maybe underappreciated the daily blessings in which I’ve been bestowed over the years.Sometimes, I like many of us take for granted my own well-being as well as family members.Tragedy, though unpredictable is still uncommon…hopefully at least.Life sometimes grants complacency.
One family who undoubtedly had a difficult Thanksgiving weekend was the family of murdered KATV television anchor Anne Pressly.
For those who haven’t followed the story, the Arkansas journalist and actress was found unresponsive in her home by her mother on October 20.She had been severely beaten during a home invasion.
Pressly died approximately 5 days later from her injuries.
On Thanksgiving day, the arrest of Curtis L. Vance was made, with DNA evidence linking him to the murder.
(Wait, did you think “it?Did you wonder?Did any immediate question pop into your mind?)
To be honest, I had never heard of Pressly prior to her murder, although my first assumption soon after was that she was White, given her backstory (born in South Carolina, raised in Little Rock, collegiate education in Memphis)That led me to the conclusion of “Caucasian.”
Yes, I’m human and subject to racial assumptions as are all of us.In fact, that’s the point of this editorial today.But I digress.
It was at the announcement of her passing on October 25th that I prayed for two things.I prayed for Pressly’s family and that the killer be found post haste.
Well actually, I prayed for three things.The first two I sincerely prayed for, the third was a bit more flippant and dismissive in nature.I also “prayed” that the eventual suspect/killer wouldn’t be Black.
I know, it sounds bad, superficial and arguably insensitive, but I’m not going to lie.In my selfish desire to have all of us co-exist in peace and unity, I really don’t want any further public additions to the negative stereotypes of Black men.I felt the same way with the murders of college coeds Lauren Burk and Eve Carson earlier in 2008.
Do I want justice?Absolutely.
Yet and still, the issues of race often times have unintended consequences and collateral damage and I would argue that the perception of murder is never colorblind. Of course, all people are created equal and life is equally invaluable.Unfortunately, I also know that life is not fair and neither is our society.The death of a White woman presumably at the hands of a Black man has further reaching consequences than vice-versa.
It just is.
As we consider the supposed “post-racial” America we live in given the recent election of Barack Obama as president, let’s also be mindful of the instantaneous rise in hate crimes immediately thereafter.Let’s also be mindful of the record number of Obama death threats (and counting) and he hasn’t even taken office yet.It’s reasonable to say that such behavior is connected more to Obama the “Black man” winning than McCain “the Republican” losing.
Meaning…race still matters and is still deeply divisive in nature.We as a country have made tremendous strides, but significant progress is not the same as “mission accomplished.” I would like to “think” that there won’t be a racialized backlash to this murder, and surely hope there won’t be.Largely, the media has stayed away from this aspect of the story for obvious reasons.
Good reasons too at that.They (the media) may not talk about the pachyderm that just knocked over the dining room table but I will.I seriously doubt I’m the only one who “wondered” whether the suspect apprehended in Pressly’s murder was Black.Maybe I’m wrong and I’m simply hypersensitive to these issues. Then again, my hypersensitivity may in fact have nothing to do with this and I’m actually right.
Did you wonder…did you want to know…did you “feel” anything upon realizing that suspect Curtis Vance is African-American?
If you did…I would say you’re human.If you didn’t…respectfully I’d say you’re lying, regardless of you being White, Black or some hue in between the two.
The “level of contempt” towards O.J. Simpson even today, when directly compared to “indifference leveled” at also-acquitted Robert Blake emboldens my belief. The public outrage surrounding the recent murders of Jennifer Hudson's mother, brother and nephew arguably have been less than with Anne Pressly. Granted, Hudson's tragedy was arguably more extensively covered given her celebrity status...but let's be clear, still no arrests have been made.
(Update: 4:00pm December 1 - as of first publishing of this article, no arrests had been made but news is just in that William Balfour has been arrested in connection to the Hudson murders)
There's a distinction to be made between coverage and outrage. The Hudson murders occurred in the same week as Pressly's murder and the coverage of murders tilted in Hudson's favor. The outrage...not so much.
Tragic and horrible events such as Pressly’s murder serve as fodder for White supremacists of course; yet also require us collectively to dig deep and honestly assess race relations in America.
If we as Americans are “proud” to have elected Obama president, yet by and large are predisposed to see African-American men as walking felons…what have we as a nation achieved?
Genuine thoughts and prayers to the Pressly and Hudson families. I hope justice is served, irrespective of color.
The Mo'Kelly Report is an entertainment journal with a political slant; published weekly at www.eurweb.com. It is meant to inform, infuse and incite meaningful discourse...as well as entertain. The Mo’Kelly Report is syndicated by Newstex and Blogburst. For more Mo’Kelly, http://www.mokellyreport.blogspot.com.
Not only was I "fearful" that Pressly's killer was Black, I was fearful of them even interviewing a Black person about it... as I am everytime there is a heinous crime. Senseless killing of White individuals by Blacks "represent" Blacks to Whites in the same way that mass murder by Whites represents Whites to Blacks. The feed into the respective stereotypes. Unfortunately, my first thought at hearing of any kind of criminal act is, "I hope he wasn't Black". My heart always goes out to the victims, but my mind always worries about retaliation.
My reaction to finding out that the assailant was black was: surprise. I had assumed it would be a white man, perhaps a spurned or would-be lover.
Once I did find out that the assailant was black, other than that moment of surprise, I never gave his skin color another thought. I just wanted to know how he knew her and what the reason was, the same things I would have wondered in any case.
I do "get" yours and Dwayne's reactions. You know, we've talked a lot about this here and elsewhere: some of your views are based on fear and not on reality.
There are racists crackers out there and we all know it. You know it better than I do, because they might act more proper around me if they know what I'm about.
But a few bad apples...
So let's give the media a little credit here, just a little slack. Maybe the man's skin color wasn't so important to the story. Maybe people generally didn't behave as though it was. Why make up a story where there isn't one? That's the sort of thing that makes me nuts.
But yes, I understand completely your "prayer" that it would be a caucasion.
Just so I'm not misunderstood, I aplaud the media in this instance. The fact that they didn't Willie Horton-ize the story is something that has been a growing trend. I respect journalists who report, rather than speculate, on the news. I hate that there was ever a need to pray for anything other than the victims and those who loved them in these cases. But my fear in those instances is based firmly in reality, because it doesn't even take a few bad apples... it just takes one...
It just takes one...to what? To justify irrational fear?
If I read what I see and hear correctly, most young black people know of prejudice and lack of opportunity from stories their parents and grandparents tell. If they come across an occasional white person who dares to treat them in a racially hostile way, more likely it will be the white person who is vilified by others for this behavior.
As Morris said: better but not solved. Then again, Morris believes racism will always exist. He is probably correct about that but again, it is a matter of degree.
I know you and I have discussed this before and I recall we came pretty close to agreeing: it does only take an occasional bad experience to make you fear when the next one will come. On the other hand, most blacks will never be the victims of racial violence or even aggressive racial hostility, at least that is my belief.
It's the same debate, it seems, we've been having for a while now: does talking about it perpetuate it?
I know Morris is being real and being honest, but I also think he cooked up a non-issue: nobody seems to care that the dude was black.
Walt, I've been shot at by White kids for being Black on three occasions for "walking while Black"... although, thank God I was only hit on one occasion (but hit three times on that occasion). I've been picked up by the police several times for "fitting the description"... and once it because my 5'8" body must have looked like it was 6'1" (the description); another time they asked the guy in the backseat, "is this your partner?", and it didn't matter that he said no. I was attacked in my dorm room at the U. of Miami by a drunk kid who came in my room yelling "where's the nigger?", 'cause I was hated for being respected by the White women on campus for being a gentleman (and I never touched one of 'em). I was pulled out of my car at gunpoint by the cops while driving a student home because "you look too young to be driving this car" (I was no longer happy about my new Cutlass Cierra). My brother was handcuffed to a pipe in the basement of the police dept. and had his ribs broken because the cops knew their bogus charges wouldn't stick... and when he came befor the judge, the judge asked him, "well Mr. H-, I don't think there is a reason for jail time here... I think you learned your lesson!".
It only takes one time Walt. Each of these was one time. And I have never done any criminal activity in my life. Even in my gang days, they knew "The Teacher" wasn't going to jeopardize his future with foolishness. Yes, we've had this discussion several times, but as I told you before, Black folks don't talk about everything that happens... we pick and choose our spots. Talking about it doesn't perpetuate it, not does it stop it... which is why we don't talk about it. But the fact that we don't talk about our specific examples doesn't mean they don't exist. Again, this didn't happen to my mother or father in old NC, or GA, this was me on the east and west ends of NY between 1978 and 1994. And I didn't say anything about Iowa in 2000-2002... it wouldn't even fit in one blog.
You say Morris cooked up an issue, and no one cared if he was Black. Well, obviously you've never been shot or arrested for being Black, 'cause it was definitely an issue to the kids that shot me and the cops that pulled their guns on me. There is an old saying, "just because you're paranoid doesn't mean people aren't out to get you". Our fear is not imagined. Like I told you before, we just want that to be understood.
At the heart of this discussion is that the day-to-day experience for Black men is severely different than others.
Police pulled guns on me when I was 13 and sitting in the passenger side of a car because the bank next to it had just been robbed (while my mother was inside).
The bank robbers were White.
I can't tell you of the numerous times women will clutch their purse as I pass or refuse to help with directions (rolling down the window) out of "fear" of the Black man.
When in truth, if I meant them harm, clutching the purse or tightly rolling the window would in no way protect them.
I drive a sports car, but was stopped in a beach community and asked by the police "how did I get the car"...even though my registration was clearly in order and had MY name printed on it.
I've been stopped on college campuses (back in my 20s) while wearing college fraternity paraphernalia and a fraternity license plate holder and asked if I have any "guns or weapons in the car" and what business did I have on the campus.
In none of the instances was I given any type of citation. There is just a different experience for Black men.
And I'm a completely law-abiding citizen with zero marks on my record. I don't wear gang paraphernalia and my pants don't sag.
My experience is COMMON among Black men, unheard of amongst White.
The big "surprise" (to Black people) in the Rodney King case was that it actually was caught on tape.
We'll talk. But as Morris said, my experiences are common, and not really book worthy... at least for other Black men. Google Johnny Gammage. He was one of my three best friends in college. If his cousing wasn't a pro football player, he wouldn't have made the papers. Instead, he is an example of how "it" happens, and why "we" fear.
Not pushing away the symbolic significance of Obama aside, but I would argue that this incident does MORE to ingrain stereotypes than Obama does to dismiss them.
We don't "see" or interact with the President on a day-to-day basis.
He (and every president) is perceived as separate and distinct from the general public.
I don't in any way think that ordinary Americans see "me" and think "Obama." I would argue that more Americans think "Vance" before Obama.
Or err on the side of "caution" (sarcasm) and assume Vance.
You might be a little more concerned about the actual brutal murder of an innocent young woman, and less about how the brutal crime affects perceptions of you and your race. That's asking too much, I suppose.
Anyone care to speculate as to why the killer felt the need to be so savage? It's not difficult for a healthy full-grown man to kill a slight woman after he gets what he wants. But why the over-the-top out-of-the-ordinary violence against someone he didn't even know? Almost like he hated her for some reason.
I took the time to explain explicitly how I prayed for the family and for the killer to be found.
Discussing "why" the alleged killer was so brutal is ridiculous when 1) we don't know all the details and 2) we don't know the parameters or connection to the victim if any.
If you hadn't noticed, we haven't spent any time "discussing" the "brutality" how Jennifer Hudson's 7-year old nephew was shot in the head either.
Discussing the particular gruesome details of murder cases is not the point of this blog or discussion. We can neither impact the investigation of the murder or the subsequent court case.
But we CAN impact how society learns from it.
So no, you're incorrect when you assume we're not "concerned" with the brutality of the crime.
In fact, you sound rather ignorant of the fact that such brutal crimes happen DAILY in urban neighborhoods.
Maybe we should talk about that too...since you want us to have our "concern" in the right place...anonymous.
In fact...without any "searching" I went to the LA Times homicide blog...maybe you'd like to discuss the "gruesomeness" of THESE crimes, just in the past few weeks.
Link is http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/homicidereport/
________________
Hollywood: Man in coma dies after fatal beating
A 21-year-old Latino man who fell into a coma after being beaten unconscious in the 6660 block of Hollywood Boulevard died about 3:40 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 6.
Officers discovered the unidentified man lying on the sidewalk with a severe head injury on Saturday, Nov. 1. He was taken to a hospital, where his fight for life ended five days later.
(Sound familiar...severe beating, death five days later?...didn't make the evening news nationally) ___________
Or maybe you'd like to read Washington D.C.'s version
Link is http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/metro/crime/
Tell me, would you like to discuss the "brutality" of these crimes with us...or are you only interested in us discussing the brutality of a White woman dying at the hands of a Black man?
The Mo'Kelly Report is published weekly on the entertainment news website EURWEB.com (The Electronic Urban Report).
By day, Mo'Kelly is producer/editor of a nationally syndicated radio program for a top public affairs and pop culture pundit.
You've probably heard of him but Mo'Kelly can't say who it is specifically. Mo'Kelly controversial. Mo'Kelly likes keeping job. Mo'Kelly got mortgage to consider.
Good reasons too at that. They (the media) may not talk about the pachyderm that just knocked over the dining room table but I will. I seriously doubt I’m the only one who “wondered” whether the suspect apprehended in Pressly’s murder was Black. Maybe I’m wrong and I’m simply hypersensitive to these issues.
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17 comments:
Not only was I "fearful" that Pressly's killer was Black, I was fearful of them even interviewing a Black person about it... as I am everytime there is a heinous crime. Senseless killing of White individuals by Blacks "represent" Blacks to Whites in the same way that mass murder by Whites represents Whites to Blacks. The feed into the respective stereotypes. Unfortunately, my first thought at hearing of any kind of criminal act is, "I hope he wasn't Black". My heart always goes out to the victims, but my mind always worries about retaliation.
Morris,
My reaction to finding out that the assailant was black was: surprise. I had assumed it would be a white man, perhaps a spurned or would-be lover.
Once I did find out that the assailant was black, other than that moment of surprise, I never gave his skin color another thought. I just wanted to know how he knew her and what the reason was, the same things I would have wondered in any case.
I do "get" yours and Dwayne's reactions. You know, we've talked a lot about this here and elsewhere: some of your views are based on fear and not on reality.
There are racists crackers out there and we all know it. You know it better than I do, because they might act more proper around me if they know what I'm about.
But a few bad apples...
So let's give the media a little credit here, just a little slack. Maybe the man's skin color wasn't so important to the story. Maybe people generally didn't behave as though it was. Why make up a story where there isn't one? That's the sort of thing that makes me nuts.
But yes, I understand completely your "prayer" that it would be a caucasion.
Just so I'm not misunderstood, I aplaud the media in this instance. The fact that they didn't Willie Horton-ize the story is something that has been a growing trend. I respect journalists who report, rather than speculate, on the news. I hate that there was ever a need to pray for anything other than the victims and those who loved them in these cases. But my fear in those instances is based firmly in reality, because it doesn't even take a few bad apples... it just takes one...
Dwayne,
It just takes one...to what? To justify irrational fear?
If I read what I see and hear correctly, most young black people know of prejudice and lack of opportunity from stories their parents and grandparents tell. If they come across an occasional white person who dares to treat them in a racially hostile way, more likely it will be the white person who is vilified by others for this behavior.
As Morris said: better but not solved. Then again, Morris believes racism will always exist. He is probably correct about that but again, it is a matter of degree.
I know you and I have discussed this before and I recall we came pretty close to agreeing: it does only take an occasional bad experience to make you fear when the next one will come. On the other hand, most blacks will never be the victims of racial violence or even aggressive racial hostility, at least that is my belief.
It's the same debate, it seems, we've been having for a while now: does talking about it perpetuate it?
I know Morris is being real and being honest, but I also think he cooked up a non-issue: nobody seems to care that the dude was black.
I disagree Walt. It's an issue to US black folk because it feeds into those very stereotypes about us.
We are tired of being thought of as thugs and hooligans. So, maybe our knee-jerk reaction comes with the territory of our cultural environment.
Zack,
We agree. I understand where the fear and concern come from.
I would be out of line to say that it's not an issue. It's an issue if somebody believes it is.
However, with our eyes wide open, we do our best to see things as they are.
That was my broader point.
Walt, I've been shot at by White kids for being Black on three occasions for "walking while Black"... although, thank God I was only hit on one occasion (but hit three times on that occasion). I've been picked up by the police several times for "fitting the description"... and once it because my 5'8" body must have looked like it was 6'1" (the description); another time they asked the guy in the backseat, "is this your partner?", and it didn't matter that he said no. I was attacked in my dorm room at the U. of Miami by a drunk kid who came in my room yelling "where's the nigger?", 'cause I was hated for being respected by the White women on campus for being a gentleman (and I never touched one of 'em). I was pulled out of my car at gunpoint by the cops while driving a student home because "you look too young to be driving this car" (I was no longer happy about my new Cutlass Cierra). My brother was handcuffed to a pipe in the basement of the police dept. and had his ribs broken because the cops knew their bogus charges wouldn't stick... and when he came befor the judge, the judge asked him, "well Mr. H-, I don't think there is a reason for jail time here... I think you learned your lesson!".
It only takes one time Walt. Each of these was one time. And I have never done any criminal activity in my life. Even in my gang days, they knew "The Teacher" wasn't going to jeopardize his future with foolishness. Yes, we've had this discussion several times, but as I told you before, Black folks don't talk about everything that happens... we pick and choose our spots. Talking about it doesn't perpetuate it, not does it stop it... which is why we don't talk about it. But the fact that we don't talk about our specific examples doesn't mean they don't exist. Again, this didn't happen to my mother or father in old NC, or GA, this was me on the east and west ends of NY between 1978 and 1994. And I didn't say anything about Iowa in 2000-2002... it wouldn't even fit in one blog.
You say Morris cooked up an issue, and no one cared if he was Black. Well, obviously you've never been shot or arrested for being Black, 'cause it was definitely an issue to the kids that shot me and the cops that pulled their guns on me. There is an old saying, "just because you're paranoid doesn't mean people aren't out to get you". Our fear is not imagined. Like I told you before, we just want that to be understood.
Dwayne,
Wow.
Are you planning a memoir? Can I help you write it?
If it is still that bad out there, then we absolutely need to talk about it more, not less.
I'd like to start a more intense dialog on this subject.
If you wouldn't mind emailing me at wbennettjr@yahoo.com, I have a suggestion I'd like to make to you.
Walt,
At the heart of this discussion is that the day-to-day experience for Black men is severely different than others.
Police pulled guns on me when I was 13 and sitting in the passenger side of a car because the bank next to it had just been robbed (while my mother was inside).
The bank robbers were White.
I can't tell you of the numerous times women will clutch their purse as I pass or refuse to help with directions (rolling down the window) out of "fear" of the Black man.
When in truth, if I meant them harm, clutching the purse or tightly rolling the window would in no way protect them.
I drive a sports car, but was stopped in a beach community and asked by the police "how did I get the car"...even though my registration was clearly in order and had MY name printed on it.
I've been stopped on college campuses (back in my 20s) while wearing college fraternity paraphernalia and a fraternity license plate holder and asked if I have any "guns or weapons in the car" and what business did I have on the campus.
In none of the instances was I given any type of citation. There is just a different experience for Black men.
And I'm a completely law-abiding citizen with zero marks on my record. I don't wear gang paraphernalia and my pants don't sag.
My experience is COMMON among Black men, unheard of amongst White.
The big "surprise" (to Black people) in the Rodney King case was that it actually was caught on tape.
Walt,
We'll talk. But as Morris said, my experiences are common, and not really book worthy... at least for other Black men. Google Johnny Gammage. He was one of my three best friends in college. If his cousing wasn't a pro football player, he wouldn't have made the papers. Instead, he is an example of how "it" happens, and why "we" fear.
Dwayne,
I have some specific ideas I'd like to discuss with you. I look forward to the opportunity.
Morris,
This underscores the point you made in your post, that you feared the assailant was black because it would fuel the stereotype.
That's a very important point.
It's incredibly chilling to assess that this is the state of affairs in this country at this time.
As you said: the election of Barack Obama does nothing to address this issue.
Not pushing away the symbolic significance of Obama aside, but I would argue that this incident does MORE to ingrain stereotypes than Obama does to dismiss them.
We don't "see" or interact with the President on a day-to-day basis.
He (and every president) is perceived as separate and distinct from the general public.
I don't in any way think that ordinary Americans see "me" and think "Obama." I would argue that more Americans think "Vance" before Obama.
Or err on the side of "caution" (sarcasm) and assume Vance.
You might be a little more concerned about the actual brutal murder of an innocent young woman, and less about how the brutal crime affects perceptions of you and your race. That's asking too much, I suppose.
Anyone care to speculate as to why the killer felt the need to be so savage? It's not difficult for a healthy full-grown man to kill a slight woman after he gets what he wants. But why the over-the-top out-of-the-ordinary violence against someone he didn't even know? Almost like he hated her for some reason.
Well "anonymous...."
I took the time to explain explicitly how I prayed for the family and for the killer to be found.
Discussing "why" the alleged killer was so brutal is ridiculous when 1) we don't know all the details and 2) we don't know the parameters or connection to the victim if any.
If you hadn't noticed, we haven't spent any time "discussing" the "brutality" how Jennifer Hudson's 7-year old nephew was shot in the head either.
Discussing the particular gruesome details of murder cases is not the point of this blog or discussion. We can neither impact the investigation of the murder or the subsequent court case.
But we CAN impact how society learns from it.
So no, you're incorrect when you assume we're not "concerned" with the brutality of the crime.
In fact, you sound rather ignorant of the fact that such brutal crimes happen DAILY in urban neighborhoods.
Maybe we should talk about that too...since you want us to have our "concern" in the right place...anonymous.
In fact...without any "searching" I went to the LA Times homicide blog...maybe you'd like to discuss the "gruesomeness" of THESE crimes, just in the past few weeks.
Link is http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/homicidereport/
________________
Hollywood: Man in coma dies after fatal beating
A 21-year-old Latino man who fell into a coma after being beaten unconscious in the 6660 block of Hollywood Boulevard died about 3:40 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 6.
Officers discovered the unidentified man lying on the sidewalk with a severe head injury on Saturday, Nov. 1. He was taken to a hospital, where his fight for life ended five days later.
(Sound familiar...severe beating, death five days later?...didn't make the evening news nationally)
___________
Or maybe you'd like to read Washington D.C.'s version
Link is http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/metro/crime/
Tell me, would you like to discuss the "brutality" of these crimes with us...or are you only interested in us discussing the brutality of a White woman dying at the hands of a Black man?
Get back to me on that one.
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