I am watching the morning TV news shows. Without exception, mainstream news outlets are interviewing Friends, family and colleagues of the officers murdered in the Dallas shooting. The fallen police officers and their Families are being humanized. They are being depicted for the world to see as "kind and caring", they were "family men", "hard working, reliable and dedicated officers". Their wives and children are being interviewed and given a chance to express their sorrow, telling the world how their loved one never left for work without first kissing and hugging them, allowing the world to feel their pain, ti see them as human. All of that is fine and certainly my heart bleeds for them. But where is the balance? Where is the humanization of and compassion for the other victims that led up to the unfortunate shooting in Dallas, those murdered by the police? Ain't they and their Families human and deserving of compassionate too? What about their pain, their loss?
Within hours after viewing the same video that shocked the world as we saw an innocent Black man being toppled and murdered by Baton Rouge, Louisiana police, CNN obviously found it appropriate to go out of its way to find and post an old mugshot of Alton Sterling, not a photo of the endearing Family man as shown of the slain police officers and as we have now seen of Alton Sterling on social media, but a mugshot depecting gim not as a victim but as a criminal. Diamond Reynolds has been scrutinized for filming the murder of Philando Castile following his being shot point blank by the police in the presence of a 4 year old child who, along with her Mother, has been traumatized for the rest of her life. Where is the compassion and depictions of humanity for them?
The pundits criticize that instead of filming the murder of Philando Castile, Ms. Reynolds should have been "helping" him. Of course it was a dimwit on faux' news who made this ridiculous statement but still... Ms. Reynolds, in her calm, helped us all as a nation. She helped to expose the truth of policing in Black neighborhoods. She gave living proof to the realities of Driving While Black. Mr. Castile was presumably stopped for a broken tail light and is now dead. Let's not forget Sandra Bland who is also dead after being stopped by the police for a failure to use her signal to change lanes. Why isn't mainstream media impressed with not only Ms. Reynold's calm and resolve in the midst of horror but also her heroics and the good deed she performed for society? Why is there no compassion and warm and fuzzy interviews humanizing and eliciting compassion for her, her Daughter and the Families, Friends and colleagues of Mr. Castile and Mr. Sterling? Where is the compassion for the child who has now lost her innocence for life because she will never erase the sight of murder from her mind? These men and their Families are victims too. Why no interviews of sympathy and/or humanity for them? Ain't they human too?
Watching the news and feeling some kinda' way about the double standard I am being subjected to this morning. Thank God for at least some balance being offered by Roland Martin on TVOne. They are on a mission to present the news from Black and human perspectives. So how do we, citizens, change the narrative of the media and make them understand that they cannot point the finger at politicians, organizations or anyone else without first exploring their influence and their undeniable culpability for what is the state of race relations in America? How do we make them address that Black folks are human, can be victims, feel pain and need compassion too?
Feeling some kinda' way this Monday morning... Have a Nice Day Folks!
