As I have watched the news and blogs lately I am shocked and saddened over the direction it would appear the United States continues to head. I think at this point we can all agree that this country is far from enlightened when it comes to issues of race and interracial interaction. I think it is also safe to say that we all are painfully aware that there is a lot of work to be done however; does it appear to anyone else that instead of progressing forward we are seeing a delve backward?
Trayvon Martin’s murder was a catalyst for much of America to at least begin to talk about race. While there is a split in white America as to the extent of Zimmerman’s guilt (he now has an “official” website for donations to assist him with legal bills and living expenses due to, according to Zimmerman, his “forced inability to maintain employment” ), there is also a lack of an outcry for other cases. In the case of James Craig Anderson, there is no question of the perpetrators guilt however; where was the huge outcry? Were whites silent due to the fact that the Anderson murder was clearly based solely on race? Was the silence due to the fact that whites were ashamed or shocked or was it because they had no room for denial and therefore had nothing to say?
The recent shooting in Tulsa where race is now being cited as possible motivation for the killing and the authorities are not commenting as to whether or not it will be classified as a hate crime. Why? Prior to the shooting rampage the shooter spoke about his father’s murder at the hands of a black man (he used the “n” word) and then stated that he was not well in the head and a short time later three black men are dead. There are grumblings throughout white America that are muttering things about fear of backlash and riots and one senseless murder leading to another (meaning an ongoing retalitory cycle of murder), etc. Are those undertones racist or is it just plain fear? Either way, my fear is that we, as a country, are spiraling backward and gaining speed. Does anyone else feel as though that is the case and if so, how can we stop the bleeding?
http://cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/us/2012/04/09/candiotti-tulsa-shooting-arrests.cnn.html
http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/22/justice/mississippi-hate-crime/index.html